The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013.

History

The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...

(SFL) from 1975. In 1994, as part of reconstruction to allow the admission of Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ross County to the league, the SFL was recalibrated to give four divisions of 10 teams. The fourth tier was named the Third Division. In 1998, the

Premier Division Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of gov ...

(top flight) clubs broke away to form the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

(SPL). The Third Division continued as the fourth tier of the league system, but was now the third tier of the SFL. In 2013, the SFL and SPL merged to form 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 ...

(SPFL). The SPFL named its fourth tier as Scottish League Two, which effectively replaced the Third Division.

Competition

The Third Division consisted of ten teams throughout its existence. From 1994 until 2005, each season the top two teams were promoted to the Second Division. From 2005 until 2013, only the champion was automatically promoted to the Second Division at the end of each season. The clubs that finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th entered a play-off with the 9th placed team of the Second Division. There was no relegation from the Third Division. The teams played each other four times with three points for a victory, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss.

Winners of the Third Division

b.Team failed to gain promotion via play-offs

Notes

* 1. Every competitor in the league is a member of the

and

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 ...

. However, one club – Berwick Rangers – is based in England.

References

External links

Official Site

Scottish Football League Third Division clubs' locations
{{UEFA fourth level leagues 4 1994 establishments in Scotland 2013 disestablishments in Scotland Defunct fourth level football leagues in Europe