The Scotland national under-21 football team, controlled by the Scottish Football Association, is Scotland's national under 21 football team and is considered to be a feeder team for the Scotland national football team.

The team is for players of 21 years of age or under at the start of a two-year European Under-21 Football Championship campaign. Therefore players can still be playing for the Under-21s at up to 23 years old. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, making it possible to for example play for the U-21s, senior side and again for the U-21s. It is now also possible to play for one country at youth level and another at senior level (providing the player is eligible). James McEveley is a current Scotland international and former England U-20 player.

As a European U21 team, Scotland compete for the European Championship, held every other year. The team has qualified for the final stages of these Championships on six occasions, although not since 1996. There is no Under-21 World Cup, although there is an Under-20 World Cup.

Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba ([ˈalˠ̪apə]  listen (help·info))) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland constitutes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

Edinburgh, the country's capital and second largest city, is one of Europe's largest financial centres. Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, was once one of the world's leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil capital.

A National under-21 football team represents the second-highest stage in European international football competition. Only Europe (UEFA) uses an under-21 age limit - all of FIFA's other Confederations - and FIFA itself - run competitions for under-20 age groups. European countries compete for the UEFA Under-21 Championship. To be eligible in U-21 teams it is necessary to be a maximum of 21 years old when the competition starts.

A football team is the collective name given to a group of players selected together in the various team sports known as football.

Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-star team or even selected as a hypothetical team (such as a Dream Team or Team of the Century) and never play an actual match.

There are several varieties of football, with the most notable being Association football, Gridiron football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby league and rugby union. The number of players selected for each team within these varieties and their associated codes can vary substantially. In some, use of the word "team" is sometimes limited to those who play on the field in a match and does not always include other players who may take part as replacements or emergency players. "Football squad" may be used to be inclusive of these support and reserve players.

The term football club is the most commonly used for a sports club which is an organised or incorporated body with a president, committee and a set of rules responsible for ensuring the continued playing existence of one or more teams which are selected for regular competition play (and which may participate in several different divisions or leagues). The oldest football clubs date back to the early 19th century. The word team and club are sometimes used interchangeably by supporters, although typically refers to the team within the club playing in the highest division or competition.

Paul Hanlon (born 20 January 1990) is a Scottish footballer who plays for Scottish Premier League club Hibernian as a defender. He is also the current club vice-captain. Hanlon has also represented Scotland at under 19 and is the current under 21 squad captain.

Hanlon played for the well known Edinburgh youth football club Hutchison Vale, along with future Hibs teammate Danny Galbraith. Hanlon was an attacking midfielder who scored plenty of goals in youth football, but was converted to a defensive position after he signed for Hibs. He played his first senior game for Hibs on 12 January 2008, against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup, due to injuries sustained by David Murphy and Lewis Stevenson. Hanlon played for Hibs on a regular basis over the next seven months, and he agreed a five year contract with the club.

During the 2008–09 season, however, Hanlon was replaced by Ian Murray as Hibs' regular left back. Hanlon was loaned out to St. Johnstone in December 2008, initially for one month. St. Johnstone wanted to extend the loan arrangement, but Hibs refused to allow this. Hanlon went straight back into the Hibs team after returning from St. Johnstone, but he was dropped soon afterwards by Mixu Paatelainen due to a defensive error he made in a match against Kilmarnock.