LONDON \u2014 The world\u2019s oldest soccer ball, found in a bedroom once used by Mary, Queen of Scots, will go on display for the first time in the United States \u2014 having made the long journey across the Atlantic from Scotland to Florida. <\/p>\n
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The ball, believed to be about 500 years old, is one of Scotland\u2019s most cherished historical objects. It\u2019s made from thick leather panels stitched together and turned inside out, for a smoother, more aerodynamic surface, and has a pig\u2019s bladder forming its inner core.<\/p>\n
The artifact is being loaned from the Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum in Scotland, which called the ball \u201ca true piece of football history.\u201d <\/p>\n
It will have its own moment of glory Wednesday, as it is spotlighted at the World Cup game between Brazil and Scotland \u2014 marking the first time in its near 500-year history that the ball will attend a FIFA World Cup<\/a> game. <\/p>\n \u201cThe world\u2019s oldest football is an extraordinary object that connects Scotland\u2019s rich sporting heritage with a game followed and loved across the globe,\u201d Lucy Casot, chief executive of Museums Galleries Scotland, said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the ball takes its place alongside the world\u2019s best players and most passionate fans in the United States, it is a powerful reminder of the global reach of Scotland\u2019s collections.\u201d<\/p>\n The ball, roughly the size of a melon, will be on display at the Coral Gables Museum<\/a> in Miami as part of its headline exhibition \u201cDiplomacy and the Beautiful Game: From Scotland to Brazil to Haiti<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The ball was discovered during renovation work in the 1970s at Stirling Castle, lodged in the rafters behind the oak paneling in the Queen\u2019s Chamber. Scientific testing dates the ball to between 1540 and 1570 \u2014 the era of James V and the young Mary, the museum said. <\/p>\n It has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world\u2019s oldest football.<\/p>\n Records show that football has been popular in Scotland since at least the 15th century \u2014 and Mary is known to have taken an interest in the sport, according to the museum.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we do know about Mary, Queen of Scots, was that she was a keen sportswoman \u2014 she enjoyed football, golf, jousting, tennis,\u201d Caroline Mathers, director of the Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum, said in a social media video<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cSo I like to imagine that Mary had a kick about with this ball at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n Scotland\u2019s exuberant fans, dubbed the Tartan Army<\/a>, have earned the affection of many in the U.S. and across social media after they overran Boston<\/a> for their early soccer fixtures. They have now arrived in Miami for Wednesday\u2019s high-stakes game.<\/p>\n \u201cWe brought the ball over to Miami … and I think it\u2019s going to bring us good luck,\u201d Mathers joked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONDON \u2014 The world\u2019s oldest soccer ball, found in a bedroom once used by Mary, Queen of Scots,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":318053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-318052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Stirling](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260624-stirling-castle-mb-1009-2b65af.jpg\")
An 1825 engraving of Stirling Castle, in Stirling, Scotland.Smith Collection \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782257484681_nn_hja_tartan_army_to_miami_260623_S3_1920x1080-3nz8jt.jpg\")
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