Highland Football League: Difference between revisions
| Line 638: | Line 638: | ||
| <center>2 |
| <center>2 |
||
| <center>3 |
| <center>3 |
||
| 2002–03, 2005–06 |
| 2002–03, 2005–06 |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| [[Aberdeen F.C.|Aberdeen]] 'A' |
| [[Aberdeen F.C.|Aberdeen]] 'A' |
||
Revision as of 13:12, 3 July 2013
.png) | |
| Founded | 1893 |
|---|---|
| First season | 1893–94 |
| Country | Scotland |
| Number of clubs | 18 |
| Level on pyramid | 5 |
| Feeder to | Scottish Professional Football League Third Division |
| Domestic cup(s) | Scottish Cup |
| League cup(s) | Highland League Cup |
| Current champions | Cove Rangers (2012–13) |
| Most championships | Clachnacuddin (18 titles) |
| Website | highlandfootballleague.com |
| Current: 2012–13 Highland Football League | |
The Scottish Highland Football League (commonly known as the Highland League) is a football league, operating in the North of Scotland. It features teams not only from the Scottish Highlands, as the name may suggest, but also the north-east lowlands of Moray and Aberdeenshire. The league is a full member of the Scottish Football Association and is currently sponsored by the Aberdeen-based Press & Journal newspaper.
Historically, the league was one of the three senior leagues outwith the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League, along with the East of Scotland and South of Scotland Leagues. However, as part of the reorganisation of Scottish football during the 2012–13 season, it became a feeder division along with the newly formed Lowland League to the bottom tier of the merged Scottish Professional Football League.
History
Formation
The Highland League was formed on 4 August 1893, at the Inverness Workman's Club by employees of the Highland Railway Company who had their HQ and Locomotive Workshops based in the Highland capital. The original league consisted of seven teams: Inverness Thistle, Caledonian, Clachnacuddin, Forres Mechanics, Inverness Union, Inverness Citadel and Cameron Highlanders. Ross County were an eighth original member, but resigned membership in November 1893. The inaugural champions were Inverness Thistle. Of the original teams, two are still playing in the league today (Clachnacuddin and Forres Mechanics) and two merged to become current Scottish Premier League club Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Recent history
Many of the member clubs have performed well when competing against SFL clubs in the Scottish Cup. However, from the 1990s onwards, the HFL has been a victim of its own success, with various teams defecting to the Scottish Football League (SFL). Furthermore it has also had to contend with overexposure of large teams in the area, such as Aberdeen and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, as well as the Old Firm to the South, and to an extent English football. However, the lack of Premier League, and to a lesser extent First Division, teams in the area, has worked in its favour, with some football fans being less willing to travel long distances to games in southern Scotland.
The league has been somewhat weakened in recent years by the departure of many former members who have subsequently joined the SFL. This happened in 1994 when Caledonian, Inverness Thistle and Ross County left. Until then the HFL had operated with 18 clubs; this was reduced by the departure of the three mentioned clubs, but Wick Academy from the North Caledonian Football League were elected, to create a league of 16 clubs. This was the state of affairs till 2000 when Elgin City and Peterhead were elected into the SFL. In 2002 Inverurie Loco Works were elected into the HFL to give it a membership of 15 clubs.
In 2008, North Region Junior League sides Formartine United and Turriff United both submitted bids to join the Highland League, following in the footsteps of past Junior League side Inverurie Locos. Banks O' Dee and Strathspey Thistle also applied. On 25 February 2009, Formartine United, Turriff United and Strathspey Thistle were accepted into the league for the following season, with Banks O' Dee being the unsuccessful club.
Results from the HFL and the Highland League Cup have featured on the Press Association vidiprinter since the start of the 1997–98 season.
The Highland League is the subject of a song of the same name by the band I, Ludicrous.[1]
HFL Members
Current members
| Club | Joined |
|---|---|
| Brora Rangers | 1963 |
| Buckie Thistle | 1909 |
| Clachnacuddin | 1893 |
| Cove Rangers | 1986 |
| Deveronvale | 1938 |
| Formartine United | 2009 |
| Forres Mechanics | 1893[2] |
| Fort William | 1985 |
| Fraserburgh | 1922[3] |
| Huntly | 1928 |
| Inverurie Loco Works | 2001 |
| Keith | 1924 |
| Lossiemouth | 1946 |
| Nairn County | 1914 |
| Rothes | 1938 |
| Strathspey Thistle | 2009 |
| Turriff United | 2009 |
| Wick Academy | 1994 |
Former members now playing in the Scottish Football League
Other competitions
The main Cup competition is -
The North of Scotland FA Clubs compete in the -
The Aberdeenshire FA clubs compete in the -
There are also the SHFL U19 League and Cup. The SHFL Youth Development League has both U15 and U17 competitions which are uncompetitive.
List of HFL championship winners
Source:Scottish Football History – Highland League Final Tables
Performance by club
| Club | Winners | Runner Up | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caledonian | 1895–96, 1898–99, 1899–00, 1901–02, 1910–11, 1913–14, 1925–26, 1930–31, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1963–64, 1970–71, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1987–88 | ||
| Clachnacuddin | 1894–95, 1896–97, 1897–98, 1900–01, 1902–03, 1903–04, 1904–05, 1905–06, 1907–08, 1911–12, 1920–21, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1938–39, 1947–48, 1974–75, 2003–04 | ||
| Elgin City | 1931–32, 1934–35, 1952–53, 1955–56, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1989–90, 1992–93 | ||
| Buckie Thistle | 1919–20, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1933–34, 1936–37, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1957–58, 2009–10, 2010–11 | ||
| Inverness Thistle | 1893–94, 1906–07, 1909–10, 1928–29, 1935–36, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1986–87 | ||
| Keith | 1961–62, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1984–85, 1999–00, 2006–07 | ||
| Huntly | 1929–30, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2004–05 | ||
| Peterhead | 1946–47, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1988–89, 1998–99 | ||
| Cove Rangers | 2000–01, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2012-13 | ||
| Fraserburgh | 1932–33, 1937–38, 2001–02 | ||
| Ross County | 1966–67, 1990–91, 1991–92 | ||
| Deveronvale | 2002–03, 2005–06 | ||
| Aberdeen 'A' | 1912–13, 1924–25 | ||
| Forres Mechanics | 1985–86, 2011–12 | ||
| Nairn County | 1975–76 | ||
| Inverness Citadel | 1908–09 | ||
| Rothes | 1958–59 | ||
| Inverurie Loco Works | |||
| Black Watch | |||
| Highland Light Infantry | |||
| Brora Rangers | |||
| Formartine United |
Notes
- ^ http://scottish-football-historical-archive.com/iludicrous/discography/discog.html
- ^ Forres Mechanics did not compete 1895-1896 and 1901-1902.
- ^ Fraserburgh did not compete 1926-1928.
- ^ Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. were formed by the merger of Caledonian and Inverness Thistle
- ^ a b c d e f g h i won after a play-off
- ^ Clachnacuddin were awarded the Championship after Black Watch refused to play-off due to the referee that the League appointed
- ^ Clachnacuddin had most points
- ^ Keith had most points
- ^ Fraserburgh and Clachnacuddin were equal on points
- ^ Elgin City won the league, but were found to have dishonestly requested the bringing forward of their final match in order to avoid two players being unavailable through suspension