Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

is home to three

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

swimmers and

Aberdeen Football Club Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the and have never been relegated from the top division of the Scottish football league system since they were elected to the top ...

Football

Aberdeen's largest football club is

, but there are also other senior teams, notably Cove Rangers. There was also a historic senior team Bon Accord who no longer play. Local junior teams include Banks O' Dee, Culter, Stoneywood, Glentanar and

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

. Aberdeen also hosts the

Aberdeen International Football Festival The Aberdeen International Football Festival (AIFF) was an international association football festival in Aberdeen, Scotland. The festival was launched in 1981. Over the years, the festival has become something of an institution in the city's ca ...

as part of the

Aberdeen International Youth Festival Aberdeen International Youth Festival was a festival of performing arts and one of Scotland's major international cultural events, which ran from 1981 to 2017. Each year the festival brought over 1000 young people in performing arts companies ...

at Seaton Park with the finals held at the Chris Anderson Stadium.

Aberdeen Football Club

was founded in 1903. Its major success was winning the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

in 1983 and three

Scottish Football League Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League Scottish Football League First D ...

titles between 1980 and 1986, under the future

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

manager

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...

. The club's stadium is Pittodrie, which was Britain's first all-seater stadium. Aberdeen holds the distinction of being the last team to have won the Scottish top flight title outside the

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

and is the only Scottish team to have won two European trophies, having added the

European Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

to their European Cup Winners' Cup success later in 1983. Well known footballers who have played for the club include

Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player who is currently Technical Director of Dundee. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Sc ...

Alex McLeish Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defender for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps f ...

and club legend

Willie Miller William Ferguson Miller MBE (born 2 May 1955) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, who made a club record 560 league appearances for Aberdeen. Sir Alex Ferguson described Miller as "the best penalty box defender in th ...

Denis Law Denis Law (24 February 1940 – 17 January 2025) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchest ...

, the joint top scorer for the Scotland national team was also born in the city, but spent his professional career playing for English and Italian clubs. Aberdeen PittodrieStadium

Golf

Public

Aberdeen has a number of public golf courses including: *Auchmill *Balnagask *Hazlehead *King's Links

Hazlehead Park Hazlehead Park is a public park in the Hazlehead, Aberdeen, Hazlehead area of Aberdeen, Scotland. 180 hectares in size, it was opened to the public in 1920, having formerly been the estate of Hazlehead House, home of William Rose, shipbuilder. I ...

is public-owned and has two 18-hole and pitch and putt golf courses. The No. 1 course was designed by Alistair MacKenzie, better known for designing the

Augusta National Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta National, Augusta, or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is known for hosting the annual Masters Tournament. Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Rob ...

Private Courses

Aberdeen and the immediate areas of

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

has the following private courses: * Cruden Bay * Deeside Gold Club * Murcar Links * Mewmachar * Royal Aberdeen Royal Aberdeen Golf Club was founded in 1780 and used to play on the Queen's Links before moving to a new links at Balgownie, north of the River Don, in 1888. The club hosted the

Senior British Open The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open), is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is jointly owned and run by The R&A, the same body that organises The O ...

in 2005. The club also has a second course.

Swimming

Aberdeen swimming team is based at Northfield Pool, the ''City of Aberdeen Swim Team'' (COAST) have been running since 1996. The team comprises several smaller swimming clubs, and has enjoyed success on all levels from North District to international. Three of the team's swimmers have qualified for the

Rugby Union

Aberdeen hosted

Caledonia Reds Caledonia Reds were a Scottish rugby union team. They participated in two seasons of the Heineken Cup. They evolved from one of the traditional four amateur districts of Scotland, North and Midlands, in 1996. Their home games were shared betwe ...

, a Scottish rugby team, before they merged with the

Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...

in 1998. The city is also home to the Scottish Premiership Division One rugby club Aberdeen GSFP RFC who play at

Rubislaw Playing Fields Rubislaw Playing Fields in Aberdeen, Scotland is an sports field for Aberdeen Grammar School and for the Scottish Premiership (rugby), Scottish Premiership rugby union team Aberdeen GSFP RFC. Of course other sports are played here such as Hock ...

, and Aberdeenshire RFC which was founded in 1875 and runs Junior, Senior Men's, Senior Ladies and Touch sections from the Woodside Sports Complex and also Aberdeen Wanderers RFC. Former Wanderers' player Jason White was captain of the

Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represents the Scottish Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship, where they are the current Doddie Weir Cup holders. They also participa ...

. Aberdeenshire Rugby Football Club is based in the North of the city at Woodside Sports Complex near the Great North Road on the banks of the river Don. They currently play in the

Scottish League Championship The Scottish League Championship is the domestic rugby union league system within Scotland. Operated by the Scottish Rugby Union, the championship was founded in 1973 as the first formalised national league system within any home nations country. ...

B (East), the 3rd tier of club rugby. In 2005 the President of the SRU said it was hoped eventually to establish a professional team in Aberdeen. In November 2008 the city hosted a rugby international at Pittodrie between

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, with Scotland winning 41–0. In November 2010 the city once again hosted a rugby international at Pittodrie between

and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, with Scotland winning 19–16.

Floorball

Aberdeen Oilers Floorball Club The Aberdeen Oilers are a floorball club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They were founded in 2007 and currently play in the Scottish Floorball League. They won the Northern League Championship in 2008/09, Scottish Floorball League in 2012/13 and ...

was founded in 2007. The club initially attracted a range of experienced Scandinavian and other European players who were studying in Aberdeen. Since their formation, Aberdeen Oilers have played in the British Floorball Northern League and went on to win the league in the 2008–09 season. The club played a major role in setting up a ladies league in Scotland. The Oilers' ladies team ended up second in the first ladies league season (2008–09).

Rugby League

Aberdeen Warriors

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

team previously played in the Scotland Rugby League Conference Division One, but have since disbanded. The Warriors also ran Under 15's and 17's teams.

Aberdeen Grammar School Aberdeen Grammar School is a state secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of thirteen secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department. It is the oldest school in the city and one of the oldest schools in the ...

won the Saltire Schools Cup in 2011.

Other sports

The Chris Anderson Stadium (formerly the Aberdeen Regent Park Greyhound Stadium in Linksfield), now part of the

Aberdeen Sports Village Aberdeen Sports Village is a sports facility in Aberdeen, Scotland. History The present athletics track is situated on the site of the Aberdeen Regent Park Greyhound Stadium which later became the Linksfield Stadium and subsequently the Chris ...

has a running track and is used for athletics, hockey and football. It also has numerous boxing gyms where the WBU lightweight champion of the world,

Lee McAllister Lee "Aberdeen Assassin" McAllister (born 5 October 1982) is a Scottish professional boxer nicknamed the "Aberdeen Assassin". McAllister held the Commonwealth lightweight and light-welterweight titles, the IBO International light-welterweight t ...

trains in the Granite City boxing club. There is also St Mary's Boxing Club, Kincorth Boxing Club and Kingswells Boxing Club. There is also a baseball team in Aberdeen called the Granite City Oilers, founded in 2013, competing in the Scottish National Baseball League. There are two

underwater hockey Underwater hockey (UWH), also known as Octopush in the United Kingdom, is a globally played limited-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team's goal by propelling ...

clubs: Aberdeen University and Reef Rats.

Defunct sports

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing was held at two venues in Aberdeen;

Holburn Stadium Holburn Stadium, also known as Aberdeen Greyhound Stadium, was a Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is not to be confused with the Aberdeen Regent Park Greyhound Stadium. History The sta ...

(1933 to 1969) and Aberdeen Regent Park Greyhound Stadium (1932 to 1936).

Footnotes

{{Aberdeen