football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Scottish Professional Football League The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As ...

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

Highland Football League The Scottish Highland Football League (SHFL, commonly known as the Highland League) is a senior football league based in the north of Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system The Scottish football league syst ...

Scottish League Two The Scottish League Two, known as cinch League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League Two was ...

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

Highland Football League The Scottish Highland Football League (SHFL, commonly known as the Highland League) is a senior football league based in the north of Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system The Scottish football league syst ...

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaker, tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the ...

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

Tay Road Bridge The Tay Road Bridge ( gd, Drochaid-rathaid na Tatha) carries the A92 road across the Firth of Tay from Newport-on-Tay in Fife to Dundee in Scotland, just downstream of the Tay Rail Bridge. At around , it is one of the longest road bridges in E ...

East of Scotland Football League The East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) is a senior football league based in the east and south-east of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–9 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Fo ...

West of Scotland Football League The West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) is a senior football league based in the west of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–10 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Founded in 202 ...

East of Scotland Football League The East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) is a senior football league based in the east and south-east of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–9 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Fo ...

West of Scotland Football League The West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) is a senior football league based in the west of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–10 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Founded in 202 ...

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,The Spartans in 2014–15 (lost 1–0 to

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, just south of the border with Scotland. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite hailing fr ...

in a replay),

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

in 2015–16 (lost 2–0 to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

) and BSC Glasgow in 2019–20 (lost 4–1 to Hibernian).

History

The Lowland Football League was intended on helping institute a

football pyramid In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

including

promotion and relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

from Scottish football's national divisions down to its junior and

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

levels by the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

.

Formation

The Lowland League was founded by a unanimous vote of members of the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

(SFA) on 11 June 2013, The league would be composed of teams drawn from the East of Scotland,

South of Scotland South of Scotland may refer to: * The southern portion of Scotland ** Geography of Scotland * South of Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region) * South of Scotland (European Parliament constituency) * South of Scotland District (rugby union) ...

, and junior leagues, who met on 17 June 2013 to elect between them the founder-members of the new league. While most clubs were invited to submit bids to join, Preston Athletic, The Spartans and Threave Rovers were offered automatic entry as they were already fully licensed by the SFA. While 27 clubs had registered their interest, the Lowland League received 17 applications to join. After the meeting on 17 June, it was announced there would be 12 teams in the league, and that they would be:

Dalbeattie Star Dalbeattie Star Football Club is a Scottish association football club based in Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway. It currently competes in the . The club had previously played in the South of Scotland Football League. Home matches are played a ...

,

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

, Edinburgh City, Gala Fairydean Rovers, Gretna 2008, Preston Athletic, Selkirk, The Spartans, Threave Rovers, University of Stirling, Vale of Leithen, and Whitehill Welfare.

Expansion

Subsequent seasons saw the number of participating clubs increase. Two clubs, Edinburgh University and BSC Glasgow, were admitted to the league for the 2014–15 season. They were joined the following season by Cumbernauld Colts. Civil Service Strollers and

Hawick Royal Albert Hawick Royal Albert Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the town of Hawick in the Scottish Borders. The club was founded in 1947 as Hawick Royal Albert and in 2019 merged with amateur side Hawick United to create Hawick Royal Al ...

joined in June 2016, making it a 16-team league.

Pyramid movement

The end of the 2015–16 season was the first time that founding members would leave the league; Edinburgh City became the first club to be promoted to the

SPFL The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As we ...

, while Threave Rovers declined the opportunity to re-apply to the league after finishing bottom and rejoined the South of Scotland Football League. The same season also saw East Stirlingshire become the first club relegated into the league from

Scottish League Two The Scottish League Two, known as cinch League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League Two was ...

. Another founding member would leave the league at the end of the

2016-17 16-17 is a band from Basel, Switzerland. Their music combines punk rock, hardcore punk, jazz and industrial music. Biography 16-17 was founded in 1983 by Alex Buess, Knut Remond and Markus Kneubühler. When the group played its first conc ...

season as Preston Athletic were relegated to the East of Scotland League. They were replaced by Edusport Academy who became the first club to gain promotion from the

South of Scotland League The South of Scotland Football League (SoSFL) is a senior football league based in south-west Scotland. The league sits at level 6 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Founded in 1946, it i ...

. In 2017–18 the first promotion play-off took place between the champions of the East of Scotland and

South of Scotland South of Scotland may refer to: * The southern portion of Scotland ** Geography of Scotland * South of Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region) * South of Scotland (European Parliament constituency) * South of Scotland District (rugby union) ...

leagues, with former SJFA East Region club

Kelty Hearts Kelty Hearts Football Club is a football club based in the village of Kelty in Fife, Scotland. Formed in 1975 and nicknamed ''the Hearts'', ''the Maroon Machine'' and ''the Jambos'', they play their home games at New Central Park. Their home ...

winning 10–0 on aggregate over Threave Rovers to gain promotion.

Decline of Selkirk

During the 2018–19 season Selkirk resigned their membership in the league owing to insurmountable difficulties. It was agreed by the Lowland League board that all fixtures played by and to be played by Selkirk in 2018–19 would be expunged from the record along with any other data involving Selkirk for that season. The Lowland League moved forward with 15 clubs, however Whitehill Welfare, who finished bottom in the season's competition, were still relegated to the East of Scotland League. East of Scotland champions Bonnyrigg Rose were promoted to the league after gaining their SFA membership.

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, just south of the border with Scotland. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite hailing fr ...

became the second club to be relegated into the league from the

SPFL The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As we ...

, having lost the League Two play-off against

Cove Rangers Cove Rangers Football Club is a senior Scottish football club currently playing in the Scottish Championship. They are based in the Cove Bay area of Aberdeen and play their football at Balmoral Stadium, having left their former home at Allan ...

.

Impact of Covid

At the start of the 2019–20 season Edusport Academy rebranded the club as the Caledonian Braves following a vote online by members of the Our Football Club.com project. The 2019–20 league season was suspended on 13 March 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. A month later, the competition was ended with immediate effect with

Kelty Hearts Kelty Hearts Football Club is a football club based in the village of Kelty in Fife, Scotland. Formed in 1975 and nicknamed ''the Hearts'', ''the Maroon Machine'' and ''the Jambos'', they play their home games at New Central Park. Their home ...

being declared champions on a points per game average based on the current standings. Vale of Leithen who were bottom of the league were also spared relegation.

WOSFL

On 14 April 2020, the Lowland League announced it had approved 67 applications to join the new

West of Scotland Football League The West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) is a senior football league based in the west of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–10 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Founded in 202 ...

, which included all 63 clubs from the Scottish Junior Football Association's

West Region Western Region or West Region may refer to: Places *Al Gharbia, Abu Dhabi, the Western Region *Western Region, Bahrain *Western Region, Eastern Cape, South Africa *Western Region, Ghana *Western Region (Iceland) *Western Region, Nepal *Western Regi ...

, and four others. Bonnyton Thistle already a member of the South of Scotland League decided to move due to being based in Kilmarnock. The West of Scotland League acts as a feeder league on the same tier as the

East of Scotland Football League The East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) is a senior football league based in the east and south-east of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–9 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Fo ...

and South of Scotland Football League.

Kelty Hearts promotion

The league consisted of 17 teams for the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season with East of Scotland champions

Bo'ness United Bo'ness United Football Club is a Scottish football club, based in the town of Bo'ness. The team plays in the after winning the East of Scotland and gaining SFA membership in 2020. They presently play their home games at Newtown Park, which ...

being promoted after gaining their SFA membership in June 2020. The start of the league season was delayed until October 2020 because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and games were played behind closed doors due to Scottish Government restrictions. On 11 January 2021 the league was suspended by the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

due to the escalating pandemic situation. On 30 March the league announced that a majority of clubs had voted to curtail the season, with a points per game basis used to finalise standings and

Kelty Hearts Kelty Hearts Football Club is a football club based in the village of Kelty in Fife, Scotland. Formed in 1975 and nicknamed ''the Hearts'', ''the Maroon Machine'' and ''the Jambos'', they play their home games at New Central Park. Their home ...

were declared as the champions. Kelty became the second Lowland League club to gain promotion to the

SPFL The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As we ...

after beating

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...

3–1 on aggregate in the Pyramid play-off final.

B teams

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

and

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

were approached by the Lowland League for a proposal to admit "B" teams (also known as "Colt" teams) into the league for the 2021–22 season. The proposal was given provisional approval by the majority of member clubs with the vote being confirmed at the leagues AGM on 27 May 2021. This arrangement was renewed for the 2022–23 season, with Hearts also providing a B team. Celtic and Hearts continued for the 2023–24 season however Rangers withdrew their entry in June 2023.

Member clubs

;Notes All grounds are equipped with floodlights.

Former members

;Promoted to the SPFL * Edinburgh City, 2016; () *

Kelty Hearts Kelty Hearts Football Club is a football club based in the village of Kelty in Fife, Scotland. Formed in 1975 and nicknamed ''the Hearts'', ''the Maroon Machine'' and ''the Jambos'', they play their home games at New Central Park. Their home ...

, 2021; () *

Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club is a Scottish football club from the town of Bonnyrigg, Midlothian. Formed in 1881 and nicknamed ''the Rose'', the team plays in , having been promoted after winning the Lowland Football League in 2021–22. Their ...

, 2022; () * The Spartans, 2023; () ;Relegated * Preston Athletic, 2017; () * Hawick Royal Albert United, 2018; () * Whitehill Welfare, 2019; () * Vale of Leithen, 2022; () *

Dalbeattie Star Dalbeattie Star Football Club is a Scottish association football club based in Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway. It currently competes in the . The club had previously played in the South of Scotland Football League. Home matches are played a ...

, 2023; () * Edinburgh University, 2024; () ;Resigned * Threave Rovers, 2016; () * Selkirk, 2018; (Folded) *

Rangers B A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

, 2023; (Withdrew)

Seasons

:* Team promoted to

Scottish League Two The Scottish League Two, known as cinch League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League Two was ...

:^R Relegated team from previous season's Scottish League Two :^I Invited rather than promoted from lower tier in traditional manner :^PO Winner of previous season's promotion playoff :^E Team relegated to or promoted from the

East of Scotland Football League The East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) is a senior football league based in the east and south-east of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–9 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Fo ...

:^S Team relegated to or promoted from the South of Scotland Football League † Season curtailed due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

- Kelty were announced as champions for the 2019-20 and 2020–21 season. A points per game basis was used to finalise standings.

Top Scorers

Records

;Biggest home win: Hearts B 12-0 Edinburgh University, 5 January 2024 ;Biggest away win: Vale of Leithen 0–13 Bonnyrigg Rose, 6 October 2021 ;Most goals in a game: The Spartans 11–2 Selkirk, 7 December 2013 ;Most points in a season: 87; Bonnyrigg Rose, 2021-22 ;Fewest points in a season: 5; Selkirk, 2013-14 and Vale of Leithen, 2021-22 (0; Vale of Leithen,

2020-21 The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as such. ...

) ;Longest unbeaten run in a season: 21; Kelty Hearts, 2019–20 ;Most wins in a season: 28; Bonnyrigg Rose, 2021-22 ;Fewest wins in a season: 1; Hawick Royal Albert, 2017-18, Vale of Leithen, 2021-22, Dalbeattie Star, 2022-23 (0; Vale of Leithen,

2020-21 The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as such. ...

) ;Most draws in a season: 11; East Stirlingshire, 2021-22 ;Most defeats in a season: 31; Vale of Leithen, 2021-22 ;Fewest defeats in a season:1; Edinburgh City, 2014-15 and Kelty Hearts, 2019-20 ;Most goals scored in a season: 107; East Stirlingshire,

2016-17 16-17 is a band from Basel, Switzerland. Their music combines punk rock, hardcore punk, jazz and industrial music. Biography 16-17 was founded in 1983 by Alex Buess, Knut Remond and Markus Kneubühler. When the group played its first conc ...

;Fewest goals scored in a season: 10; Vale of Leithen, 2021-22 (5; Vale of Leithen,

2020-21 The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as such. ...

) ;Most goals conceded in a season: 166; Vale of Leithen, 2021-22 ;Fewest goals conceded in a season: 12; East Kilbride, 2018-19 (4;

Kelty Hearts Kelty Hearts Football Club is a football club based in the village of Kelty in Fife, Scotland. Formed in 1975 and nicknamed ''the Hearts'', ''the Maroon Machine'' and ''the Jambos'', they play their home games at New Central Park. Their home ...

,

2020-21 The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as such. ...

) ;Notes

Managers

Dougie Samuel is the most successful manager of the Lowland League having won three league titles with

Spartans Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...

. Spartans won the inaugural league title during the 2013-14 season, clinched their second title in 2018, and record third title in 2023, as well as winning promotion to the

SPFL The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As we ...

.

Gary Jardine Gary Jardine (born ca. 1977) is a Scottish former Association football, football player and current manager of Lowland Football League club Civil Service Strollers F.C., Civil Service Strollers. He was previously manager of Edinburgh City F.C. ...

, Barry Ferguson, and

Robbie Horn Robbie Horn (born 3 August 1977) is a Scottish former professional football player and is the current manager of Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic. Horn played for Heart of Midlothian, Cowdenbeath, Forfar Athletic and Berwick Rangers in the Scottish Fo ...

have also guided their clubs to promotion to the

SPFL The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As we ...

after winning the Lowland League.

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

have won the title three times with different managers,

Martin Lauchlan Martin Lauchlan (born 1 October 1980) is a Scottish football manager and former professional footballer who is currently manager of West of Scotland League club Petershill. He played for several clubs in the Scottish Premier League and Scotti ...

in 2017, Stuart Malcolm in 2019, and Mick Kennedy in 2024.

Youth competitions

The Lowlands Development League operates for the Under 20s youth teams of clubs in the Lowland, East of Scotland, South of Scotland and West of Scotland leagues, along with other invited SPFL clubs. Originally named the Lowland and East of Scotland Under 20 Development League when it began in 2014, this replaced an earlier Under 19 league run by the East of Scotland League. Matches are normally played on Friday nights. The Under 20s league expanded to 31 teams for the 2019–20 season, split into two conferences, having already increased in size from 13 to 23 teams thanks to the addition of new clubs to the East of Scotland League in 2018–19. A year later, the aborted 2020–21 season saw numbers increase to 68 along with the addition of three West Conferences due to the introduction of the West of Scotland League within the

Scottish football pyramid The Scottish football league system is a series of generally connected leagues for Scottish football clubs. The Scottish system is more complicated than many other national league systems, consisting of several completely separate systems or 'gra ...

. For the 2021–22 season, a record number of 88 clubs are taking part, split across six Conferences. Petershill, Kilwinning Rangers, and

Darvel Darvel ( sco, Dairvel, gd, Darbhail) is a small town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is at the eastern end of the Loudoun, Irvine Valley and is sometimes referred to as "The Lang Toon" ( en, the Long Town). The town's Latin motto, , means "No ...

later withdrew their team from the Development League. Ahead of the 2023-24 season - the development leagues were separated and are now governed by their own respective leagues. The Scottish Lowlands Development Football League currently consists of 13 clubs ( Edinburgh City withdrew) in only one division with a mixture of

SPFL The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As we ...

and Lowland League clubs. ;Scottish Lowlands Development Football League *

Bo'ness United Bo'ness United Football Club is a Scottish football club, based in the town of Bo'ness. The team plays in the after winning the East of Scotland and gaining SFA membership in 2020. They presently play their home games at Newtown Park, which ...

*

Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club is a Scottish football club from the town of Bonnyrigg, Midlothian. Formed in 1881 and nicknamed ''the Rose'', the team plays in , having been promoted after winning the Lowland Football League in 2021–22. Their ...

*

Caledonian Braves Caledonian Braves Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football club based in North Lanarkshire. They are members of the Lowland Football League, in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club originated from Edus ...

* Cumbernauld Colts * East Fife *

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

* Edinburgh University *

Kelty Hearts Kelty Hearts Football Club is a football club based in the village of Kelty in Fife, Scotland. Formed in 1975 and nicknamed ''the Hearts'', ''the Maroon Machine'' and ''the Jambos'', they play their home games at New Central Park. Their home ...

* Linlithgow Rose * The Spartans *

Stirling Albion Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in Scottish League Two as a member of the ...

*

Tranent Tranent is a town in East Lothian (formerly Haddingtonshire), in the south-east of Scotland. The town lies 6 miles from the boundary of Edinburgh, and 9.1 miles from the city centre. It lies beside the A1 road, the A1 runs through the parish ...

* University of Stirling These clubs also take part in two cup competitions for both the Eastern and Western conferences, as well as a combined challenge cup. Prior to it becoming a competition for Under 18 teams in 2018 many also competed in the annual SFA Scottish Youth Cup.

Seasons

The Spartans won the first Lowlands Development League title in 2015. The title was then won by Preston Athletic in 2016,

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

in 2017, and

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

in 2018. From the 2018–19 season, the league was split into two conferences. Conference B winners Spartans won their second title after beating Conference A winners

Kelty Hearts Kelty Hearts Football Club is a football club based in the village of Kelty in Fife, Scotland. Formed in 1975 and nicknamed ''the Hearts'', ''the Maroon Machine'' and ''the Jambos'', they play their home games at New Central Park. Their home ...

in a play-off match which determined the overall league champions. Edinburgh City were declared champions of Conference A and University of Stirling champions of Conference B after the 2019–20 season was cut short due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. There was no league champion for 2020–21 as the season did not start due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

.

Lowland League Cup

The competition is a 16 team straight knock-out tournament between member clubs, excluding B teams. The league champion previously had the right to withdraw from the competition to concentrate on the

Scottish League Two The Scottish League Two, known as cinch League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League Two was ...

play-offs, however, the competition is now played out earlier in the season rather than over four weekends at the end of the league campaign.

Sponsorship

On 24 September 2013, the ''

Scottish Sun ''The Sun'' is a British Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper, published by the News UK#News Group Newspapers Ltd, News Group Newspapers division of News UK, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. It was found ...

'' newspaper announced it was sponsoring the league. The league was then sponsored by Ferrari Packaging on a two-year agreement, which was extended to cover the 2017–18 season. In August 2018, GeoSonic, the Alloa-based sonic drilling contractor, concluded a one-year deal to become the new title sponsor of the Scottish Lowland Football League for the 2018-19 season. On 4 March 2022, Clarke ePOS was announced as the league's title sponsor until the end of the 2022–23 season, however, the partnership was ended in August 2022. The league announced a two year official naming partnership with Park's Motor Group in December 2022.

Media coverage

The league has its own podcast known as ''The Lowland League Catchup.'' As well as weekly previews to games, and reviews known as the Roundup. On 19 September 2018, the SLFL agreed a comprehensive media partnership with RockSport Radio but this has since ended.

References

External links

Official website

Facebook

Twitter
{{UEFA fifth level leagues 5 2013 establishments in Scotland Sports leagues established in 2013 Football in the Scottish Borders Football in Edinburgh Football in Glasgow Football in Stirling (council area) Football in Dumfries and Galloway Football in East Lothian Football in South Lanarkshire Football in Midlothian Sco Professional sports leagues in the United Kingdom Scottish Lowlands

Format

Promotion and relegation

Scottish Cup

History

Formation

Expansion

Pyramid movement

Decline of Selkirk

Impact of Covid

WOSFL

Kelty Hearts promotion

B teams

Member clubs

Former members

Seasons

Top Scorers

Records

Managers

Youth competitions

Seasons

Lowland League Cup

Sponsorship

Media coverage

References

External links