 | |||
| Full name | East Kilbride Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | The Kilby,EK | ||
| Founded | May 2010; 15 years ago (2010-05) | ||
| Ground | K-Park Training Academy, East Kilbride[1] | ||
| Capacity | 700 (400 seated) | ||
| Chairman | David Clayton[1] | ||
| Manager | Mick Kennedy | ||
| League | Scottish League Two | ||
| 2024–25 | Lowland League, 1st of 18 (promoted via play-offs) | ||
| Website | http://eastkilbridefootballclub.co.uk | ||
East Kilbride Football Club is a semi-professionalfootball club based inEast Kilbride,South Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members ofScottish League Two, the fourth tier of theScottish football league system.
Formed in 2010 with the intention of bringing senior football to one of Scotland's largest towns,[2] the club initially competed in amateur football before becoming one of the founder members of theLowland League in 2013. The club became a full member of theScottish Football Association (SFA) in 2014, entitling them to automatic entry to theScottish Cup. East Kilbride became a member of theScottish Professional Football League in 2025 after winning the Pyramid play-offs.
The club was launched officially by two former Old Firm players,John Hartson andJohn Brown, once ofCeltic andRangers respectively.[3] The club was resurrected after folding in the 19th century, having been initially founded in 1871.
The original club was formed in 1871, making it one of the earliest formed clubs in Scotland.[4] The first office bearers included the quaintly titled Croupier, which today would be recognised as Treasurer.[4] The first recorded match was a 1–0 defeat by aQueen's Park second eleven in April 1872.[4] They drew 0–0 with the same team later that year.[4] During the 1870s the club folded and resurrected several times, which was a regular occurrence at that time for football clubs.[4] The original club colours were navy and gold according to evidence from the SFA Museum of Football.[4] The original club did not have a badge, which was customary at the time too.[4] The team played at Kirktonholme in 1876, winning three, losing nine and drawing three games.[4] The team played at Show Park in 1877 and had a better season, winning six, losing six and drawing six.[4] They participated in some of the earliest editions of theScottish Cup in seasons1878–79 and1879–80, going out in the first round in both seasons.[4]
The club as it exists today was formed in May 2010 after the merger of Jackton Boys Club and Stewartfield FC.[5] Later, local clubs EK Diamonds and EK Wanderers were incorporated into the structure.[6] As yet they have no permanent home so they use the facilities at the training base,K-Park, until a site is found for a new stadium.[1] They played in the inauguralseason of theLowland League,[7] although they had previously been elected to theSouth of Scotland League at the end of the2012–13 season.[8]Two men, tycoon James Kean and Iain King, who is a sports journalist, spent many years in the hope thatEast Kilbride Thistle (the town's former highest ranked football team) would become a senior sports team so much that they officially launched their youth development programme from under-21s right down to the under-5s. The dream never materialised and they had to admit defeat, and so their vision was to form a new club. John Hartson, the former Celticstriker, was appointed honorary president of the new club.[5][9] On 10 September 2010, the club held their inaugural fundraising dinner which was attended by around 250 people and raised about £9500.[10]
The team played in theScottish Amateur Football League until their election into the senior leagues in June 2013. They won the Division 2 title in 2011–12 and were crowned Division 1 champions in 2012–13.[11] On 31 May 2013, East Kilbride were given a place in theSouth of Scotland League for season2013–14.[8] On 17 June 2013, East Kilbride were elected to play in the newly formedLowland League, without playing a game in the South of Scotland League.[7] Their first league fixtures were a 2–1 defeat atStirling University (10th) and a 1–0 home win overWhitehill Welfare (13th) in August 2013.[12] The Kilby completed a debut season as a senior team with aLowland League mid-table finish, winning the South Region Challenge Cup[13] and reaching the Lowland League Cup semi finals.[14] They claimed their maiden trophy as a senior team with a 2–0 Final victory overDalbeattie Star atPalmerston on 24 May 2014.[15] They were granted fullSFA membership in April 2014 and therefore could enter theScottish Cup from season2014–15.[16] Their firstScottish Cup tie was a 1–0 first round win atLothian Thistle on 13 September 2014.[17] After a draw atSpartans in the next round, East Kilbride suffered a heavy home defeat in the replay.[18] In only their second season in theLowland League, East Kilbride secured a second-place finish with two games left, with a defeat ofEdinburgh University in their final home game.[19] A 3–1 defeat ofGretna 2008 in the Lowland League Cup final on 17 May 2015, delivered a second cup success in as many seasons.[20]
On 5 November 2016, East Kilbride defeatedBSC Glasgow 3–1 for a 27th consecutive victory and surpassedAjax's record of 26 consecutive wins. On 19 November 2016, East Kilbride lost 0–1 toSpartans to end their winning streak at 30 games. East Kilbride won the2016–17 Lowland League, and progressed to a promotion/relegation playoff withScottish League Two clubCowdenbeath. They missed out on promotion to the SPFL after losing apenalty shootout.[21] In that period, defender Craig Howie became the first player to make 100 appearances for the club, having made his debut aged 17 in 2013.[22]
East Kilbride won their secondLowland League title during the2018–19 season, beating defending champions Spartans at K Park to clinch the trophy.[23] They lost toCove Rangers in the SPFL promotion playoffs.[24]
The badge for the new club features theoystercatcher bird and also the colour red, symbols ofSt Bridgit, after whom East Kilbride is named, cill being the Gaelic word for a religious cell, which was the common form of ancient Celtic religious organisation, thus Kilbride being the religious cell associated with St Bridgit/St Bride; East to distinguish fromWest Kilbride in Ayrshire.[4]
TheJohn Hartson Foundation Trophy is annual pre-season match at theK-Park between East Kilbride and another side, with all proceeds going towards Hartson's testicular cancer charity.[25] The first match between East Kilbride andFort William was supposed to take place on 20 July 2013, but Fort William cancelled the day before due to a shortage of players.[25] The match did take place for the first time on 19 July 2014, with a strongCeltic under-20 team defeating East Kilbride 5–1.[26]
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 | Mick Kennedy |
| Assistant manager | Simon Ferry |
| First team coaches | Scott Allan |
| Scott Duncan | |
| Blair Munn | |
| Goalkeeping coach | Zander Cowie |
† Season curtailed due to coronavirus pandemic.
League
Cup
