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| Full name | Brora Rangers Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Cattachs | ||
| Founded | 1879; 146 years ago (1879) | ||
| Ground | Dudgeon Park,Brora | ||
| Capacity | 4,000 (200 seated) | ||
| Chairman | Scott Mackay | ||
| Manager | Steven Mackay | ||
| League | Highland League | ||
| 2024–25 | Highland League, 1st of 18 (champions) | ||
| Website | https://brorarangers.football/ | ||
Brora Rangers Football Club are a Scottish football club from the village ofBrora,Sutherland, in theHighland council area of Scotland. They play in theHighland League, of which they have been champions five times, having won their first title in2013–14 and successfully defended it in the2014–15 season. They were awarded the title in the2019–20 and2020–21 seasons which were incomplete due to thecoronavirus pandemic and would win it again on goal difference in2024–25.
They have won theNorth of Scotland Cup nine times and theHighland League Cup on three occasions.
Nicknamedthe Cattachs, Brora Rangers play at Dudgeon Park, Brora, and hold a rivalry with neighboursWick Academy, in the Northern Derby.
Brora Rangers were founded in 1879. In 1933 they gained access to membership of theScottish Football Association and entered the draw for theScottish Qualifying Cup competition. They were accepted into membership of theHighland Football League in 1962.
They won the North of Scotland Qualifying Cup competition in their centenary year, 1979, when they defeatedPeterhead 5–0 on 17 November after a replay atGrant Street Park,Inverness, the teams having played a goal-less draw the previous week.
The club won their first everHighland Football League title in the2013–14 season after a 3–0 win againstKeith on 5 March atKynoch Park. They are the most northerly club to win the League title to date. They set several postwar Highland League records over the season: most points (95), greatest margin of victory in the league (20 points), highest win rate (31 out of 34), fewest goals conceded (16) and highest positive goal difference (+107). They ended the season with a 19-game unbeaten run which subsequently carried on into the 2014–15 season. With a draw againstFraserburgh in their 38th and final match of the year (across two seasons), Brora achieved the distinction of being unbeaten in league matches for the whole of 2014. Their unbeaten run in the Highland League eventually extended to 57 matches across three seasons, ending with a 3–0 defeat byCove Rangers on 22 August 2015.
For the 2014–15 season, they started in the second round of the2014–15 Scottish Cup, and they played for the first time in the2014–15 Scottish Challenge Cup but lost in the second round toEast Fife 3–2.[1] The club retained its Highland League title in the 2014–15 season, scoring a postwar record of 125 goals in a Highland League season, beatingInverness Thistle's previous postwar record of 124 in the 1969–70 season. With a record of 30 wins and 4 draws Brora ended the season as unbeaten champions, and were only the second club to complete an unbeaten season in the postwar era (followingCaledonian in 1982–83). As Highland League champions, Brora entered the newly introducedpromotion playoffs againstLowland League championsEdinburgh City. They won 4–2 in apenalty shootout after a 2–2 aggregate draw, withStuart Kettlewell scoring the winner on 2 May.[2] Brora played off againstMontrose, the bottom-placed club inScottish League Two, for a place in League Two for the 2015–16 season. After winning their home leg 1–0, Brora suffered a 3–1 defeat in the away game, thereby losing 3–2 on aggregate to remain in the Highland League.[3]
The prospect of a future promotion to the national leagues has proven controversial due to the distances that players and supporters would be expected to travel to many of the away games.[4] Before the 2014–15 season began, it had been suggested that supporters would be allowed to vote on whether the club should join theScottish Professional Football League were it to qualify for promotion.[5] However following Brora's successful defence of their Highland League title, chairman John Young said that the club had "looked at all options and there's no way we can avoid competing. We meet SPFL criteria for entry level so we can’t opt out, we’ve got to go for it."[6] Besides the impact on the club, it has been suggested that Brora itself would benefit economically from players and supporters of Southern clubs visiting the town.[7]
The2019–20 season was curtailed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, and Brora were declared Highland League champions.[8] They were due to progress to the playoffs with the Lowland League winner and the bottom club in League Two, but they were never held.[8]
On 23 March 2021, in the2020–21 Scottish Cup, Brora upset runawayChampionship leaders and theprevious season's Scottish Cup finalists,Heart of Midlothian, 2–1 at Dudgeon Park,[9][10] described as one of Scotland's biggest cup shocks of all time.[11]
For the second consecutive season, Brora were declared champions of the2020–21 Highland Football League on a points per game formula due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was announced by theHighland Football League on 30 March 2021.[12]
Brora originally played at Inverbrora Park, which is now the site of theHunters of Brora woollen mills, before moving to Dudgeon Park in 1932. The ground's capacity is 4,000, including 200 seats. The record attendance was set in 2013 when over 2,000 people watched Brora playRangers in a friendly match.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Steven Mackay |
| Assistant Manager | David Hind |
| First Team Coach | Michael MacKenzie |
*Awarded following a vote of the league's member clubs. Seasons2019–20 and2020–21 were incomplete due to thecoronavirus pandemic.
58°00′29″N3°51′29″W / 58.00813°N 3.858143°W /58.00813; -3.858143
