| Founded | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Country |  Scotland |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Divisions | 2 |
| Number of clubs | 20 |
| Level onpyramid | 6–7 |
| Promotion to | Lowland Football League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Scottish Cup (SFA licensed clubs and league winners) North and Tayside Inter-Regional Cup |
| League cup | Midlands League Cup |
| Current champions | Dundee North End (2nd title) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | Carnoustie Panmure andDundee North End (2 titles each) |
| Website | Midlands League |
| Current:2025–26 Midlands Football League | |
TheMidlands Football League is afootball league based in theTayside area of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6 and 7 on theScottish football league system, acting as a feeder to theLowland Football League. Until 2025, the league was run by theEast Region of theScottish Junior Football Association.
Founded in 2021, the inaugural season was contested by 19 clubs, largely from those who still remained in theSJFA East Region from the previous season. Geographically, the league coversAngus,Perth and Kinross,Dundee andFife (all East Region clubs based further south already having left the SJFA to join theEast of Scotland Football League over the previous five years). In the summer of 2025, the league broke away from the SJFA to be an independent league operated by theScottish Football Association and split into two divisions known as theMidlands Premier League and theMidlands First Division.
The winners previously took part in an end-of-season promotion play-off with theSJFA North Superleague andNorth Caledonian League champions for entry to the Highland League, subject to clubs meeting the required licensing criteria. However, due to the splitting of the Lowland League into the Lowland League East and Lowland League West for the season 2026–27, the Midlands League has now become a feeder for the Lowland League East rather than the Highland League.
TheTayside Junior Football League (originally named the Midlands League) had existed in the region since 1969. It was formed as one of the six new regions of the SJFA in part of a wider restructure of Scottish junior football, bringing several local junior leagues from the area together. It operated until 2002 when it merged with theFife League and theEast (Lothians) League to form a new larger East Region.[1]
From 2017, most of the East Region clubs departed the junior ranks to join the senior East of Scotland League which was part of the pyramid with promotion to theLowland League, including some former Tayside teams from Perthshire.[2] By 2020, there were only 30 teams left in the East Region, which was restructured into two regional leagues of North and South. At the end of the season, all of the South teams (mostly from West Lothian) departed to join the senior ranks, leaving only the North teams (former Tayside Junior members) remaining which went on to join the pyramid system underneath the Highland League.
On 1 April 2021, theScottish Junior Football Association stated their aim to establish a Midlands League for the 2021–22 season at Tier 6 of the Scottish football pyramid.[3]
Although there was no official announcement of the league's formation, theSJFA East Region announced the fixtures for the2021–22 season straight away on 21 June, with 19 clubs shown as league members, Dundee St James and Letham being new clubs in addition to all members of the2020–21 East Premiership North.[4]
On 5 July 2021, it was announced that subject toSFA approval, the Midlands league would be joined at Tier 6 by theSJFA North Superleague andNorth Caledonian League to form a fully-integrated level below the Highland League from 2021–22.[5]
In February 2025, theSJFA announced that theSJFA East Region andSJFA North Region would split and form their own independent leagues under theScottish Football Association, with the East Region maintaining the Midlands Football League and splitting it into two divisions, the Midlands Premier League and the Midlands First Division.[6]
| Club | Location | Home Ground | Capacity | Seats | Floodlit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broughty Athletic | Dundee | Whitton Park[7] | 2,500 | 0 | Yes |
| Carnoustie Panmure | Carnoustie | Laing Park[8] | 1,500 | 0 | No |
| Downfield | Dundee | Downfield Park[9] | 2,500 | 13 | Yes |
| Dundee North End | Dundee | North End Park[10] | 2,000 | 0 | Yes |
| East Craigie | Dundee | Craigie Park[11] | 3,300 | 0 | No |
| Kirriemuir Thistle | Kirriemuir | Westview Park[12] | 2,000 | 32 | Yes |
| Letham | Perth | Seven Acres Park | TBC | 0 | Yes |
| Lochee Harp | Dundee | Lochee Community Sports Hub | TBC | 0 | Yes |
| Lochee United | Dundee | Thomson Park[13] | 3,200 | 0 | Yes |
| Tayport | Tayport | Canniepairt[14] | 2,000 | 0 | Yes |
| Club | Location | Home Ground | Capacity | Seats | Floodlit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arbroath Victoria | Arbroath | Ogilvy Park[15] | 4,000 | 0 | Yes |
| Blairgowrie | Blairgowrie | Davie Park[16] | 2,500 | 0 | No |
| Brechin Victoria | Brechin | Victoria Park[17] | 600 | 100 | Yes |
| Coupar Angus | Coupar Angus | Foxhall Park[18] | 1,800 | 0 | Yes |
| Dundee St James | Dundee | Fairfield Park | TBC | 0 | No |
| Dundee Violet | Dundee | Glenesk Park[19] | 2,000 | 0 | No |
| Forfar United | Forfar | Guthrie Park[20] | 2,500 | 0 | No |
| Forfar West End | Forfar | Strathmore Park[21] | 2,500 | 0 | No |
| Montrose Roselea | Montrose | Links Park[22] | 4,936 | 1,338 | Yes |
| Scone Thistle | Scone | Farquharson Park[23] | 1,000 | 0 | No |
| Season | Champions | League Cup |
|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | Carnoustie Panmure | Lochee United |
| 2022–23 | Carnoustie Panmure (2) | Carnoustie Panmure |
| 2023–24 | Dundee North End | Not Played |
| 2024–25 | Dundee North End (2) | Downfield |
