The Old Firm is the collective name for the Glasgow association football clubs Celtic and Rangers. The origin of the term is unclear but may derive from the commercial benefits of the two clubs' rivalry.
The two clubs are the most successful in Scotland, between them having won 97 Scottish League championships, 68 Scottish Cups and 41 Scottish League Cups. Interruptions to their ascendancy have occurred infrequently, most recently with the challenge of the New Firm of Aberdeen and Dundee United in the first half of the 1980s. Since the 1985–86 season one half of the Old Firm has won the Scottish League and since the 2005–06 season the Old Firm have finished in the top two places.
Rangers and Celtic have played each other 399 times: Rangers won 159 matches, Celtic 144 matches and 96 were draws. At the time of Rangers going into liquidation in June 2012, the two clubs had been competing four times a year in the SPL as well as meeting regularly in Scottish cup competitions.
The clubs have large support bases around Glasgow but also have supporters clubs in most towns throughout Scotland and in many cities around the world. The presence of Rangers and Celtic has been estimated to be worth £120 million to the Scottish economy.
Read more about Old Firm: Rivalry and Sectarianism, Head-to-head Record
Famous quotes containing the word firm:
“A book is like a man—clever and dull, brave and cowardly, beautiful and ugly. For every flowering thought there will be a page like a wet and mangy mongrel, and for every looping flight a tap on the wing and a reminder that wax cannot hold the feathers firm too near the sun.”
—John Steinbeck (1902–1968)