The West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) is a senior football league based in the west of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. The league sits at levels 6–10 on the
Scottish football league system
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 'gr ...
, acting as a feeder to the
Lowland Football League
The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) is a senior football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the ...
.
Founded in 2020, it is currently composed of 79 member clubs competing in five divisions. Geographically, the league covers Argyll & Bute, Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire,
West Dunbartonshire
West Dunbartonshire ( sco, Wast Dunbairtonshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter to ...
,
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Inverclyde
Inverclyde ( sco, Inerclyde, gd, Inbhir Chluaidh, , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the hist ...
,
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland.
Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...
, and
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...
South of Scotland Football 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 ...
champions, subject to clubs meeting the required licensing criteria.
History
On 14 April 2020, the Lowland League announced it had approved 67 applications to join the new league, which included all 63 clubs from the
Scottish Junior Football Association
The Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA) is an affiliated national association of the Scottish Football Association and is the governing body for the junior grade of football in Scotland. The term "junior" refers to the level of football ...
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
Newton Mearns
Newton Mearns ( sco, The Mearns; gd, Baile Ùr na Maoirne ) is a suburban town and the largest settlement in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. It lies southwest of Glasgow City Centre on the main road to Ayrshire, above sea level. It has a popu ...
-based youth club St Cadoc's Youth Club from the Paisley, Johnstone & District League.
Initial plans for the inaugural season would have seen the league operate a conference format in order to facilitate all 67 clubs at the same level. However, following a video conference with the Scottish Football Association, the league was split into a top tier and lower divisions, similar to that utilised by the East of Scotland Football League.
On 1 May 2020, the League confirmed that a top division of 20 teams would contest the first season in 2020–21, comprising the 16 teams who had played in the 2019–20 West Region Premiership, the top three placed from the West Championship and one moving 'sideways' from the
South of Scotland Football 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 ...
. This ran contrary to some clubs' expectations that the inaugural campaign would not use a hierarchical system, but the league stated "that option was not on the table" due to legal issues. Teams below the top division would be distributed into three balanced conferences; the list for which was published three days later.
On 17 September 2020, the League announced that the Premier Division would be split into two groups based on the Points Per Game formula that was used to declare the league winners of the SJFA West Region. There would be two phases to the season. In Phase 1, teams would play other teams within their group twice, home and away. Phase 2 consisted of a further ten games, five home and five away, with teams being drawn against teams from the other group. However, the league reverted to a normal home and away format following a number of withdrawals from the initial season.
On 11 January 2021 the league was suspended by the Scottish Football Association due to the escalating
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 identi ...
situation.
On 12 May 2021, the league announced the formation of the Development League, with nine teams becoming initial members. The Development League will become Division 4 when the WOSFL changes to a linear structure for the 2022 –23 season. Teams in the Development League will only be promoted if they meet specified ground criteria.
Member clubs
After running with a Premier Division of 20 clubs and three Tier 7 Conferences of 15 or 16 clubs during its transitional 2021–22 season, the WoSFL has since switched to a linear structure with the Premier, First, and Second Divisions each containing 16 teams. The Third Division features 19 clubs and the Fourth Division, made up of new members and development league teams, has 12 clubs.
Listed below are the 79 clubs in the WoSFL for the 2022–23 season.
Kirkintilloch Rob Roy
Kirkintilloch Rob Roy Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire. Nicknamed ''The Rabs'' or ''The Roy'', they were formed in 1878. They wear red and black strips and currently compete in t ...
Pollok
Pollok ( gd, Pollag, lit=a pool, sco, Powk) is a large housing estate on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The estate was built either side of World War II to house families from the overcrowded inner city. Housing 30,0 ...
Johnstone Burgh
Johnstone Burgh Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, and play in .
History
The club were formed in 1956, in response to an article in the "Johnstone & Linwood Gazette" newspaper from a journalist that h ...
Neilston
Neilston ( sco, Neilstoun, gd, Baile Nèill, ) is a village and parish in East Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is in the Levern Valley, southwest of Barrhead, south of Paisley, and south-southwest of Renfrew, at t ...
Maryhill
Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road.
The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station.
History
Hew Hill, ...
Girvan
Girvan ( gd, Inbhir Gharbhain, "mouth of the River Girvan") is a burgh and harbour town in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Girvan is situated on the east coast of the Firth of Clyde, with a population of about 6,450. It lies south of Ay ...
Larkhall Thistle
Larkhall Thistle Football Club is a football club from Larkhall, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Formed in 1878, "the Jags" are Scotland's oldest continuous Junior football club and currently compete in the . The team plays in red and white str ...
* BSC Glasgow
* Campbeltown Pupils
* Easterhouse Academy
* Eglinton
* Glenvale
* Harmony Row
* Kilsyth Athletic
* Rossvale Academy
* St. Peter's
* Thorn Athletic
* Threave Rovers
* West Park United
Seasons
Cup competitions
*
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,SFA South Region Challenge Cup: This competition was introduced in 2007–08 as a replacement for the Scottish Qualifying Cup (South) which was abolished under the new Scottish Cup format. It is for all senior
non-league
Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to d ...
clubs in the south of Scotland and has 165 entrants for the 2022–23 season - 16 from the Lowland League, 58 from the EoSFL, 12 from the SoSFL, and 79 from the WoSFL. Reserve teams do not take part. The first and second rounds are regionalised, otherwise it is a straight knock-out tournament, without replays.
*Strathclyde Cup (sponsored by Strathclyde Demolition): Competition for the 18 WoSFL clubs who are neither SFA nor SJFA members, usually played on the same weekends as Junior Cup matches. Straight knock-out tournament, without replays. The winner goes on to play in the East, South and West of Scotland Cup-Winners Shield against the East's Alex Jack Cup winner and the Southern Counties FA's Alba Cup winners for a place in the following season's Scottish Cup.
*West of Scotland League Cup (sponsored by The Kilmarnock Pie): All 79 WoSFL sides compete in this straight knock-out tournament without replays.
*
Scottish Junior Cup
The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association. The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA in 1886 and, as of the 2022–23 edition, 108 teams compete ...
(sponsored by Macron): Competition for the 53 WoSFL clubs who remain members of the
SJFA
The Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA) is an affiliated national association of the Scottish Football Association and is the governing body for the junior grade of football (soccer), football in Scotland. The term "junior" refers to the ...
after moving from the Junior leagues. Knock-out tournament without replays, drawn matches go straight to a penalty shootout, two legged semi-finals.
Scot
The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...