Ayr Utd's Somerset Park is one of the sites being recorded by Historic Environment Scotland as part of a new project exploring the history of football in Scotland. The project aims to identify and record sites connected to the history of football in Scotland for further investigation and recognition. The project will mainly look to focus on the development of Association Football from the 1860s onwards, a time when Scotland's first teams and players played an important role in developing and popularising the version of the sport that is played worldwide today. The information gathered through the survey will be used to help HES identify sites for further research, recording and possible recognition as Protected Historic Places, such as listed buildings and scheduled monuments. Victoria Murray, Head of Heritage Information, Recording and Business at HES, said: 'As Scotland get ready to return to football's world stage, it feels like the right time to look at the origins of the modern game and Scotland's role in that story.' Cathkin Park, an early football ground in Glasgow, is also being recorded as part of the project. Ged O'Brien, football historian and founder of the Scottish Football Museum, welcomed the launch of the project. He said: 'Football is all about memories. Many of those memories are stored in the places we love: the stadium, the pub, the park where we played. They must be recorded, cherished and protected, so that future generations can have their own memories.'