The
East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) is a
league of football teams from
south-east Scotland
formed in
1923. It is one of Scotland's three "senior" non-leagues
which sit below the
Scottish
Football League (SFL), the other two being the
Highland Football League and the
South of Scotland
Football League (SoSFL).
Its clubs
are largely drawn from the Edinburgh
, Lothians and Scottish Borders areas, although with a
number of clubs having opted to join their ranks from the SoSFL in
recent years: (Annan Athletic,
who left when elected to the SFL in 2008; Threave Rovers, who subsequently left to
rejoin the SoSFL; and Dalbeattie
Star, who resigned as members in July 2009 to concentrate on
the SoSFL) mean there are other clubs, Gretna 2008 and Stirling
University, from other areas too.
The EoSFL is split into two divisions, with 11 clubs in the Premier
Division and 12 in the First Division. Two clubs are promoted and
relegated between the two divisions at the end of each season. The
current league sponsor is Central Taxis.
The EoSFL oversees the leagues and League Cup competitions; the
East of Scotland Football Association (EoSFA) is a technically
independent body, which organises all the other cups. Most of the
officials sit on both bodies, and the Executive Committee is a
joint organisation. The current President of the EoSFA is Morain
Scott (of
Coldstream) while the
President of the EoSFL is Tom Allison (of
Lothian Thistle). The secretary of both
organisations is John Greenhorn (
Ormiston).
The EoSFL also organises an Under-19 league, along with a League
Cup and Challenge Cup. Current members are
Spartans,
Tynecastle,
Whitehill Welfare,
Edinburgh City,
Lothian Thistle,
Civil Service Strollers,
Preston Athletic and
Berwick Rangers. The Under-19 teams of
Hearts, Hibs and Livingston do not participate in EoSFL
competitions. All 11 teams play in the
Scottish Football
Association's
Scottish Youth
Cup annually.
The EoSFL and EoSFA are full members of the
Scottish Football
Association.
EoSFA & EoSFL members 2009–10
The league comprises two divisions, with 11 clubs in the Premier
Division, playing home-and-away (20 matches in total), and 12 clubs
in the First Division (22 matches in total). At the end of the
season, the top two clubs in the First Division are promoted, with
the bottom two club in the Premier Division relegated.
Annan Athletic were elected to the
Scottish Football League on
3 July 2008. Newly-formed
Gretna
2008 joined the league on 11 July 2008, and were placed in the
First Division, reprieving
Selkirk, who
had been due to be relegated. Stirling University also joined in
the summer of 2008. Dalbeattie Star resigned as EoSFL members in
July 2009, after the fixtures had been announced. However, rather
than giving relegated Easthouses Lily a reprieve, the league
management committee decided to proceed with an 11-team Premier
Division for 2009-10. The 2009-10 league will be sponsored by
Central Taxis.
- *Civil Service
Strollers
- *Coldstream
- *Edinburgh City
- *Edinburgh
University
- *Heriot-Watt
University
- *Lothian Thistle
- *Preston Athletic
- *Selkirk
- *Spartans
- *Tynecastle
- *Whitehill Welfare
- *Craigroyston
- *Easthouses Lily
Miners Welfare
- *Eyemouth United
- *Gala Fairydean
- *Gretna
- *Hawick Royal
Albert
- *Kelso United
- *Leith Athletic
- *Ormiston
- *Peebles
- *Stirling
University
- *Vale of Leithen
All 23 clubs enter the League Cup, the King Cup, Image Printers
East of Scotland Qualifying Cup and South Challenge Cup, which also
includes South of Scotland League clubs as well as full SFA members
Girvan, Glasgow University and Burnisland Shipyard.
In addition, the following clubs are also members of the EoSFA
only, playing in the national leagues:
- *Heart of Midlothian
(play in Scottish Premier
League)
- *Hibernian (play in Scottish Premier League)
- *Livingston (play in Scottish Football League Third
Division)
- *Berwick Rangers (play in
Scottish Football League
Third Division)
All have little involvement in EoSFA competitions: Hearts and Hibs
contest the
East of Scotland
Shield (although this competition is held irregularly), while
Berwick Rangers and Livingston participate in the East of Scotland
(City) Cup.
Cup competitions
- Scottish Cup: Only the 12 SFA
members play in this competition. Knock-out tournament, with
replays until the Semi-Finals and Final.
- South Challenge Cup: This
competition, new from 2007–08, replaced the old Scottish Qualifying Cup (South)
under the new Scottish Cup format. It is for all clubs in the south
of Scotland, aside from reserve teams - and thus it has 38
entrants, 23 from the EoSFL, 12 from the South of Scotland Football
League, two amateur SFA clubs - Burntisland Shipyard F.C. and
Glasgow University, and one
club in membership of the SFA and SJFA -
Girvan. It is a straight knock-out
tournament.
- The King Cup: Open to all 23 EoSFA
members playing in the EOSFL. Straight knock-out tournament without
replays. The King Cup final is traditionally the last game of the
season.
- East of Scotland League
Cup: currently sponsored by Colin Campbell Sports. For season
2007–08, the 24 EoSFL clubs were divided into 4 groups of 6,
meeting each team once, thus playing 2/3 times at home and 2/3
times away. The group winners qualified for single-legged
semi-Finals and final. The format for 2009–10 has still to be
decided.
- The East of
Scotland Qualifying Cup: currently sponsored by Image Printers.
All 23 EoSFA members playing in the EOSFL enter. The finalists join
the first teams of Berwick
Rangers and Livingston in the East of Scotland (City) Cup.
Straight knock-out without replays.
- East of Scotland
Cup: Finalists of the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup join
Berwick Rangers and Livingston
in single-legged semi-finals and final, which go straight to
penalties if drawn after 90 minutes. The 4 EoSFA members in the
national leagues (Hearts, Hibs, Berwick and Livingston, formerly
Meadowbank Thistle) used to all enter, but now Hearts and Hibs
reserves contest the East of
Scotland Shield - albeit intermittently.
- East of Scotland
Consolation Cup: known as the 'Alex
Jack Cup'. Competition for 12 non-SFA members of the EoSFL,
usually played on the same weekends as Scottish Cup matches. Acts
both as a top-up cup, giving these teams matches on otherwise idle
weekends, and as an opportunity for what tend to be smaller clubs
to gain trophies. Straight knock-out, without replays.
- East of Scotland Shield:
since the mid–1980s this tournament has become a one-off match for
youth/reserve teams of Hearts and Hibs.
History
Original EoSFL
An earlier East of Scotland League existed between 1896 and 1906
when the
supplementary Edinburgh Football League changed
its name after accepting
Dundee as a
member. There is no connection between the two incarnations of the
league.
Recent history
The EoSFL is generally not viewed as being as strong as the
Highland League (with fewer of their club sides defeating SFL sides
in the Scottish Cup competition as opposed to the HFL) but is still
regarded as being stronger than the SoSFL. A number of the sides in
the EoSFL have applied to join the SFL in recent years, with
Gala Fairydean applying in 1994,
2000 and 2002,
Preston
Athletic applying in 2000 and 2002,
Annan Athletic in 2000 and
Edinburgh City attempting to join in
2002.
In 2004,
Threave Rovers pulled
out of the League to concentrate their efforts on the
South of Scotland Football
League. This left the League with an uneven number of clubs and
they were expected to fill the vacancy in the Summer of 2005, with
Gala Rovers widely touted as likely
candidates. However this did not happen. The only change that
happened at that year's Annual General Meeting of the League was
that
Tollcross United
announced they would be competing as
Tynecastle from the 2005–06 season.
In 2006,
Peebles Rovers merged
with several local amateur sides to become
Peebles, who took Rovers place in the league.
At the 2007 AGM, agreement was reached to admit the reserve side of
Berwick Rangers as the twelfth
member of the First Division. They have also entered the League
Cup, but no other cups, in 2007–08. However, the reserves lasted
only one season following Berwick Rangers' relegation to the fourth
tier of Scottish football. They have been replaced by
Stirling University.
The newest
entry in the EoSFL is Gretna 2008,
formed in the wake of the financial disaster that befell Gretna's
former club,
Gretna F.C. The original club had
meteorically risen from the
Third Division to
the
SPL in three years due
to the support of multimillionaire
Brooks
Mileson. However, they were not competitive in the SPL in their
only season in that league in
2007–08, and
Mileson was forced to withdraw his support due to a health crisis
that would ultimately claim his life. The debt-ridden club resigned
its place in the SFL, and was liquidated in August 2008.
In the
meantime, local supporters formed a new club to keep senior
football in the town—although Gretna 2008 has initially had to play
its home matches in nearby Annan
.
Gretna 2008 takes the place in the EoSFL, though not the league
position, of
Annan Athletic,
which was elected by the SFL to take the place in the Third
Division that Gretna F.C. was forced to resign. Annan Athletic had
been in the EoSFL Premiership, while Gretna 2008 begins its life in
the EoSFL First Division.
Stadia
Attendances in the EoSFL are not particularly high as clubs in the
Edinburgh area must compete with a number of SFL and SPL clubs and
in the Borders area the sport of
Rugby
Union is more popular. Crowds vary from in the hundreds at
Gretna, Spartans and Preston, to handfuls at Eyemouth or
Easthouses. Generally, the majority of clubs attract a few dozen
fans to each match.
The following clubs have seated stands and floodlights at their
stadiums:
Edinburgh City,
Preston Athletic,
Gala Fairydean,
Hawick Royal Albert,
Gretna FC 2008,
Spartans, and
Peebles (although
Peebles lack floodlights).
The following clubs have floodlights only:
Edinburgh University (depending
what pitch is in use),
Lothian
Thistle,
Heriot-Watt
University.
Selkirk is believed to
be considering fitting floodlights in the next season or two.
Champions Spartans are playing at their new stadium for the first
time in season 2009-10. Ainslie Park has a capacity of 4,000,
including 504 seats. It has floodlights too. Ainslie Park also has
a full size and floodlit artificial training pitch.
Ormiston,
Vale of Leithern and
Whitehill Welfare have
covered standing provision.
The
largest stadium in the EoSFL is Meadowbank Stadium
, home of Edinburgh
City, with a capacity of between 16,000 and 17,000 all seated,
an electronic scoreboard, floodlights and various other
facilities. The running track, however, means spectators are
a long way from the pitch. Most cup finals tend to be played at
Whitehill Welfare,
Preston Athletic or
Heriot-Watt University, or very
occasionally at Heart of Midlothian or Hibernian's grounds.
List of winners
1923–24 Coldstream
1924–25 Vale of
Leithen
1925–26 Civil
Service Strollers
1926–27 Civil
Service Strollers
1927–28 Berwick
Rangers
1928–29 Peebles
Rovers
1929–30 Bathgate
1930–31 Bathgate
1931–32 Penicuik Athletic
1932–33 Peebles
Rovers
1933–34 Peebles
Rovers
1934–35 Peebles
Rovers
1935–36 Peebles
Rovers
1936–37 Jedburgh Artisans
1937–38 Penicuik Athletic
1938–39 Bo'ness
1939–40 -
1944–45 No league championship
for the duration of the
Second World
War
1945–46 Peebles
Rovers
1946–47 Berwick
Rangers
1947–48 Hibernian
'B'
1948–49 Hibernian
'B'
1949–50 Heart of
Midlothian 'B'
1950–51 Hibernian
'B'
1951–52 Hibernian
'B'
1952–53 Hibernian
'B'
1953–54 unfinished
1954–55 Eyemouth
United
1955–56 Eyemouth
United
1956–57 Eyemouth
United
1957–58 unfinished
1958–59 unfinished
1959–60 unfinished
1960–61 Gala
Fairydean
1961–62 Gala
Fairydean
1962–63 unfinished
1963–64 Gala
Fairydean
1964–65 Gala
Fairydean
1965–66 Gala
Fairydean
1966–67 Hawick Royal
Albert
1967–68 Hawick Royal
Albert
1968–69 Gala
Fairydean
1969–70 Cowdenbeath
'A'
1970–71 Eyemouth
United
1971–72 Spartans
1972–73 Civil
Service Strollers
1973–74 Hawick Royal
Albert
1974–75 Selkirk
1975–76 Selkirk
1976–77 Selkirk
1977–78 Vale of
Leithen
1978–79 Vale of
Leithen
1979–80 Whitehill
Welfare
1980–81 Whitehill
Welfare
1981–82 Whitehill
Welfare
1982–83 Whitehill
Welfare
1983–84 Spartans
1984–85 Whitehill
Welfare
1985–86 Whitehill
Welfare
1986–87 Vale of
Leithen
1987–88
(Premier Division) -
Whitehill Welfare
(1st Division) -
Annan
Athletic
1988–89
(Premier Division) -
Gala
Fairydean
(1st Division) -
Peebles
Rovers
1989–90
(Premier Division) -
Annan
Athletic
(1st Division) -
Coldstream
1990–91
(Premier Division) -
Gala
Fairydean
(1st Division) -
Easthouses Lily Miners
Welfare
1991–92
(Premier Division) -
Easthouses Lily Miners
Welfare
(1st Division) - Manor Thistle
1992–93
(Premier Division) -
Whitehill Welfare
(1st Division) - :*
Civil Service
Strollers
1993–94
(Premier Division) -
Whitehill Welfare
(1st Division) -
Tollcross
United
1994–95
(Premier Division) -
Whitehill Welfare
(1st Division) - Pencaitland
1995–96
(Premier Division) -
Whitehill Welfare
(1st Division) -
Edinburgh
City
1996–97
(Premier Division) -
Spartans
(1st Division) -
Lothian
Thistle
1997-98
(Premier Division) -
Whitehill Welfare
(1st Division) -
Peebles
Rovers
1998–99
(Premier Division) -
Whitehill Welfare
(1st Division) -
Easthouses Lily Miners
Welfare
1999–00
(Premier Division) -
Annan
Athletic
(1st Division) -
Threave
Rovers
2000–01
(Premier Division) -
Annan
Athletic
(1st Division) - Pencaitland &
Ormiston
2001–02
(Premier Division) -
Spartans
(1st Division) -
Preston
Rovers
2002–03
(Premier Division) -
Whitehill Welfare
(1st Division) -
Edinburgh
University
2003–04
(Premier Division) -
Spartans
(1st Division) -
Kelso
United
2004–05
(Premier Division) -
Spartans
(1st Division) -
Easthouses Lily Miners
Welfare
2005–06
(Premier Division) -
Edinburgh
City
(1st Division) -
Craigroyston
2006–07
(Premier Division) -
Annan
Athletic
(1st Division) -
Dalbeattie
Star
2007–08
(Premier Division) -
Whitehill Welfare
(1st Division) -
Heriot-Watt
University
2008–09
(Premier Division) -
Spartans
(1st Division) -
Tynecastle
Total Titles Won
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Facts
Map
Search
