The West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) is a senior

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 ...

league based in the west of

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 ...

. The league sits at levels 6–10 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Founded in 2020, it is currently composed of 80 member clubs competing in five divisions. Geographically, the league covers

Argyll & Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020). ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire ( sco, Aest Dunbartanshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Bhreatainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north of Glasgow and contains many of the affluent areas to the north of the city, including Bear ...

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 town ...

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 histo ...

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 Scotlan ...

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire ( sco, Aest Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù an Ear) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975, it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of ...

and Renfrewshire. Two clubs are also based in

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

. Since its formation, it has featured in the senior pyramid system. The winners take part in an end of season promotion play-off with 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 champions, subject to clubs meeting the required licensing criteria.

History

Formation

Talks to integrate all of the Scottish Junior Football Association clubs into the senior pyramid structure below 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 ...

had been taking place for a number of years, however discussions at 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 ...

's pyramid working group had broken down in early 2020. In February 2020 the Lowland and East of Scotland leagues invited clubs to express their interest in the formation of a new West of Scotland league at tier 6, with a majority of

SJFA West Region The Scottish Junior Football Association, West Region was one of three regions of the SJFA which organised its own distinct league and cup competitions. The SJFA used to be split into six regions, but in 2002 they took the decision to reform into t ...

clubs submitting emails. The next month, clubs were invited to information meetings and applications were opened to join the league. On 14 April 2020, the

Lowland League The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) is a senior association football, football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, actin ...

announced it had approved 67 applications for the new league, 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:

amateurs Drumchapel United and Glasgow University,

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

side Bonnyton Thistle moving sideways 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 ...

and Newton Mearns-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

, the league was split into a top tier and lower divisions, similar to that utilised by the

. On 1 May 2020, the League confirmed that a top division of 20 teams would contest the first season in

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 ...

, comprising the 16 teams who had played in the 2019–20 West Region Premiership, the top three places from the West Championship and one moving 'sideways' from the South of Scotland Football League. 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.

Impact of Covid

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

. 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

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 identif ...

situation.

Expansion

On 12 May 2021, the league announced the formation of the Development League, with nine teams becoming initial members. The Development League became Division 4 when the WOSFL changed to a linear structure for the

2022–23 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. Teams in the Development League will only be promoted if they meet specified ground criteria. Since formation, a number of clubs have successfully applied to join the league, or have taken over existing clubs, and currently the league runs at its maximum capacity of 80 clubs in 5 divisions. Examples include Harthill Royal joining in 2021–22 (though left the following season), and Threave Rovers joining in

. Annbank United remain in abeyance.

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, Second, Third, and Fourth Divisions now each containing 16 teams. Listed below are the 80 clubs in the WoSFL for the 2024–25 season. Three clubs are promoted and relegated between each division.

Premier Division

Auchinleck Talbot Auchinleck Talbot Football Club is a Scottish football club based in Auchinleck, East Ayrshire. They currently play in the . The club is also a member of the Scottish Junior Football Association, and have won the Scottish Junior Cup on a reco ...

* Beith Juniors *

Benburb Benburb ()) is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies 7.5 miles from Armagh and 8 miles from Dungannon. The River Blackwater runs alongside the village as does the Ulster Canal. History It is best known, in his ...

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

Cumnock Juniors Cumnock Juniors Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Cumnock, Ayrshire. The Nock play their home games at Townhead Park and compete in the West of Scotland Football League. History Birthed in 1912, they have a history of local ...

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 ...

* Drumchapel United * Gartcairn *

Glenafton Athletic Glenafton Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club, based in New Cumnock, Ayrshire. Members of the Scottish Junior Football Association, they play in the West of Scotland Football League. The club has won the Scottish Junior Cup twice ...

Hurlford United Hurlford United Football Club are a Scottish Association football, football club based in Hurlford, near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Nicknamed ''The Ford'', they were formed in 1912 and play at Blair Park, wearing red and white. They currently play i ...

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 ...

* Largs Thistle *

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 ...

* Shotts Bon Accord * St Cadoc's *

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O Ferrie ...

First Division

* Ardrossan Winton Rovers *

Arthurlie Arthurlie is an area of the town of Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. History of Arthurlie The lands of Arthurlie were held in medieval times by the Stewart family, a branch of the noble Stewarts of Darnley. Later the lands became the prop ...

Ashfield Ashfield may refer to: People * Ashfield (surname) Places Australia * Ashfield, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Municipality of Ashfield, a former local government area in Sydney ** Electoral district of Ashfield, a former electoral dist ...

* Blantyre Victoria *

Cumbernauld United Cumbernauld United Football Club are a football club based in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They play at Guy's Meadow in the Cumbernauld Village area of the town. Formed in 1964, they currently compete in the , having previously pla ...

* Irvine Meadow XI * Kilbirnie Ladeside * Kilwinning Rangers *

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 ...

* Maybole Juniors * Petershill *

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former ...

Rutherglen Glencairn Rutherglen Glencairn Football Club is a Scottish football (soccer), football club based in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, near Glasgow. Nicknamed ''The Glens'' and formed in 1896, they play at The Hamish B Allan Stadium (New Southcroft Park). G ...

* St Roch's * Thorniewood United * Vale of Clyde

Second Division

Bellshill Athletic Bellshill Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the town of Bellshill, North Lanarkshire. It plays in the . History The history of the club can be traced back as far as 1897 when Bellshill Athletic were founded as a Ju ...

* Bonnyton Thistle * Caledonian Locomotives *

Cambuslang Rangers Cambuslang Rangers Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire. Nicknamed ''The Lang'', ''Camby'' or ''The Wee Gers'', were formed in 1899, they play at Somervell Park and wear blue strips (uniforms). They ...

* Craigmark Burntonians * Forth Wanderers *

Kilsyth Rangers Kilsyth Rangers Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire. Nicknamed ''The Wee Gers'', they were formed in 1913 and play at Duncansfield Park, which used to be one of the bigger ''non-league'' f ...

* Lanark United * Larkhall Thistle * Lesmahagow Juniors * Maryhill * Muirkirk Juniors *

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 ...

St Anthony's ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

* Whitletts Victoria *

Yoker Athletic Yoker Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Clydebank near Glasgow. Yoker is an area of Glasgow adjacent to Clydebank, however Yoker's stadium lies just outside the Glasgow boundary. Nicknamed the ''Whe Ho'', the club wer ...

Third Division

* Ardeer Thistle * Dalry Thistle *Finnart * Girvan *

Glasgow Perthshire Glasgow Perthshire Football Club is a Scottish football club based in Possilpark, in the north of Glasgow. History The Glasgow Perthshire Athletic Club, within which the football club operated, was formed on 7 November 1890 at the Waterloo R ...

* Glasgow United * Glasgow University * Glenvale * Greenock Juniors * Irvine Victoria *Kilsyth Athletic * Lugar Boswell Thistle *Thorn Athletic * Threave Rovers *

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven (Scottish Gaelic: ''Magh Leamhna'') is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning '' ...

Wishaw Wishaw ( sco, Wishae or Wisha ; gd, Camas Neachdain) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within Lanarkshire. it formed ...

Fourth Division

* BSC Glasgow * Campbeltown Pupils * Carluke Rovers * Easterhouse * East Kilbride Thistle * Eglinton * Giffnock SC *

Kello Rovers Kello Rovers Football Club are a Scottish football club, based in the town of Kirkconnel, Dumfries and Galloway. Nicknamed ''Super K'', they were formed in 1903, and they play at Nithside Park. Currently playing in the , they wear black and whi ...

* Knightswood * Newmains United * Port Glasgow Juniors *Rossvale * Royal Albert * Saltcoats Victoria * St. Peter's *West Park United

Seasons

Cup competitions

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish Gas British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Serving ...

): For clubs with an SFA licence and the Premier Division winners, who all enter at the preliminary round stage. Knock-out tournament without no replays. * SFA South Region Challenge Cup: 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 clubs in the south of Scotland and has 163 entrants for the 2023–24 season – 16 from the Lowland League, 56 from the EoSFL, 11 from the SoSFL, and 80 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, with drawn matches going to extra time. *Strathclyde Cup (sponsored by Strathclyde Demolition): Competition for the 17 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 Indigo Unified Communications): All 80 WoSFL sides compete in this knock-out tournament without replays, drawn matches go straight to a penalty shootout. Similar to the

West of Scotland Junior Cup The West of Scotland Junior Challenge Cup was an annual Scottish football competition played in a one-leg knockout format (played at 'home' team grounds as drawn, until the final at a neutral venue), organised by the West Region of the Scottish ...

, which was for all clubs in the former

. * Scottish Junior Cup (sponsored by Clydebuilt Home Improvements): 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.

Holders

''2023–24 winners unless stated'' *South Region Challenge Cup:

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 ...

(non-WoSFL club) *Scottish Junior Cup:

*West of Scotland League Cup:

*Strathclyde Cup: Drumchapel United *Cup Winners Shield: Bo'ness Athletic (non-WoSFL club)

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{UEFA sixth level leagues 6 Scot Sports leagues established in 2020 2020 establishments in Scotland Football in Dumfries and Galloway Football in East Ayrshire Football in East Dunbartonshire Football in East Renfrewshire Football in Glasgow Football in Inverclyde Football in North Ayrshire Football in North Lanarkshire Football in Renfrewshire Football in South Ayrshire Football in South Lanarkshire Football in West Dunbartonshire