TheScottish War Emergency League was afootball league competition set up in the1939–40 season ofScottish football, after the usual official competitions were suspended due to the outbreak ofWorld War II.^[1]

TheScottish Football League officially suspended its competition on 13 September 1939 and set up a committee to investigate the possibility of regional league competitions. These were rubber-stamped on 26 September after theHome Secretary had granted permission, they commenced a month later. There were two divisions; eastern and western; each consisting of 16 clubs. This left out six of the previous league clubs;Montrose,Brechin City,Forfar Athletic,Leith Athletic,Edinburgh City andEast Stirlingshire.

Cowdenbeath resigned halfway through the season, they had played all the other clubs once and so their record was allowed to stand. The competition was completed by a play-off between the two divisional winners, who wereRangers andFalkirk; Rangers won 2–1 atHampden Park.^[2]

For the following season, competitions were organised separately in different parts of the country: theSouthern Football League and theNorth Eastern Football League, which lasted until the resumption of official competitions in 1946 (although the Southern League 'absorbed' the North Eastern League in the1945–46 season).

1 June 1940^[2]

Rangers	2–1	Falkirk
Venters 25' Little 84'		Napier 60'

Ibrox Park,Glasgow

Attendance: 15,000^[4]

Referee:P. Craigmyle^[3]

• Wartime football in Scotland
• 1939–40 in Scottish football
• Defunct football leagues in Scotland
• Sports leagues established in 1939
• Sports leagues disestablished in 1940
• 1939 establishments in Scotland
• 1940 disestablishments in Scotland

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