The touchline of big clubs in European football are adorned with incredibly comfortable seats for players, coaches, and staff to sit in and watch the games unfold. There was a time when the sidelines looked far less cosy and modern. Look at pictures of football stadiums from just 30 years ago, and you will see old-fashioned football dugouts.

These small, dank, dirty, and damp smelling football dugouts housed players, coaches, and trainers during games. Many times, dugouts were cramped and it was difficult to get all of the players into the bench area.

But who invented the football dugout?

It would make sense that English football took the idea from an American sport it has a lot in common with and that sport is baseball. Dugouts have been a part of baseball for a long time, but it seems the English football bench areas were not influenced by America.

The man that introduced the dugout to football was Donald Coleman, a former Aberdeen player that managed Norway’s Bergen. While in Norway, Coleman learned a variety of training methods and brought them back to Scotland in the 1930s.

It wasn’t long after returning that Coleman introduced the football dugout at Aberdeen’s Pittodrie Stadium. So, why did Coleman invent the dugout? Well, that question has a very interesting answer. It wasn’t just to give players and coaches a place to sit and watch the match. Coleman had another motivation when he created the dugout.

Coleman wanted to see the footwork of his players and to analyse their play with the ball. Sitting below ground level in the dugout allowed him to do just that and to learn about his players. It was an interesting concept and one that few (if any) coaches today would realise that was the reason for the creation of football dugouts.