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| Founded | 1893 |
|---|---|
| Country |  Scotland |
| Number of clubs | 18 |
| Level onpyramid | 5 |
| Promotion to | Scottish League Two |
| Relegation to | Midlands League North Caledonian League North of Scotland League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Scottish Cup Scottish League Cup (champions) Scottish Challenge Cup (top 4) |
| League cup | Highland League Cup |
| Current champions | Brora Rangers (5th title) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | Clachnacuddin Caledonian (18 titles each) |
| Website | highlandfootballleague.com |
| Current:2025–26 Highland Football League | |
TheScottish Highland Football League (SHFL, commonly known as theHighland League) is a seniorfootball league based in the north ofScotland. The league sits at level 5 on theScottish football league system, acting as a feeder to theScottish Professional Football League.
Founded in 1893, it is currently composed of 18 member clubs in a single division. Geographically, the league covers Scotland north of theTay, including theHighland council region as well asMoray,Aberdeenshire, the cities ofAberdeen andDundee,Angus and parts of northernPerthshire.
Since 2014–15, it has featured in the seniorpyramid system. The winners take part in an end-of-season promotion play-off with theLowland Football League champions, with the winners then competing against the bottom club inScottish League Two for a place in the SPFL.[1] Promotion and relegation also exists between the two Highlands-based regional leagues at level 6 (TheNorth Caledonian League, and theNorth of Scotland Football League). Prior to the 2025–26 season, the Tayside basedMidlands Football League was also a feeder to the Highland League, before moving to become a feeder league to theLowland League East, when theLowland League restructured intoEast andWest.
The league's current sponsorship deal is with theBreedon Group.[2]
Each team in the league plays each other twice during a season – once at home, once away, for a total of 34 matches. The standard league scoring system of3 points for a win and 1 for a draw is applied, with ties in the league table broken bygoal difference. The champions are presented with the League trophy and a flag, either immediately after the match which secures the victory, or at the next match at which it is practical to do so.
With the introduction of the new pyramid structure in Scottish football, a new schedule was introduced in the 2014–15 season, in order to ensure that all matches affecting the title are completed in time for the promotion playoffs beginning in April. As the region is prone to severe weather in winter, postponements have sometimes caused the conclusion of the season to be delayed (e.g. in 2013, a prolonged spell of bad weather meant the final matches were not played until 25 May). Various proposals which would have reduced the number of matches a team would play (either by instituting a two-phase season like that used in theScottish Premiership, or by dividing the League into two smaller divisions), were considered but did not find favour with League members. Instead, clubs now play both a Saturday and a Wednesday fixture most weeks from August through October, taking advantage of milder weather at the start of the season. The new schedule builds in a four-week buffer near the end of the season during which no matches are initially scheduled, allowing any backlog of postponed matches to be cleared before the final fixtures.
All clubs are full members of theScottish Football Association, so qualify automatically for the following season's first round of theScottish Cup. The league champions and the runner-up team receive abye into the cup's second round. Since 2014 the champions have taken part in theScottish Challenge Cup; this was extended to the top four clubs from 2016. In 2016 the champions also gained a place in theScottish League Cup.
The Highland Football League was formed on 4 August 1893, at theInverness Workman's Club by employees of the Highland Railway Company who had their Company Headquarters, Locomotive and Carriage & Wagon Workshops (Loch Gorm Works), based in the Highland capital and where they employed circa 700 staff. The original league consisted of seven teams:Inverness Thistle,Caledonian,Clachnacuddin,Forres Mechanics,Inverness Union,Inverness Citadel andCameron Highlanders. Dingwall Victoria United (later renamedRoss County) were an eighth original member, but resigned membership in November 1893. The inaugural champions were Inverness Thistle. Of the original teams, two are still playing in the league today (Clachnacuddin and Forres Mechanics) while Caledonian and Thistle merged to become currentScottish League clubInverness Caledonian Thistle.
The league has been somewhat weakened by the departure of many former members who have subsequently joined the SFL. In1994,Caledonian,Inverness Thistle andRoss County left. Until then the HFL had operated with 18 clubs; this was reduced by the departure of the three mentioned clubs, butWick Academy from theNorth Caledonian Football League were elected, to create a league of 16 clubs. This was the state of affairs till2000 whenElgin City andPeterhead were elected into the SFL. In2002Inverurie Loco Works were elected into the HFL to give it a membership of 15 clubs. Inverurie Locos are another Highland League football club with its origins in the Scottish railways, having been formed by employees of the Great North of Scotland Railway who had their Locomotive and Carriage and Wagon Workshops in Inverurie, hence the football club's name.
In 2008, North Region Junior League sidesFormartine United andTurriff United both submitted bids to join the Highland League, following in the footsteps of past Junior League side Inverurie Locos.Banks O' Dee andStrathspey Thistle also applied. On 25 February 2009, Formartine United, Strathspey Thistle and Turriff United were accepted into the league for the following season, with Banks O' Dee being the unsuccessful club.
Until the reorganisation ofScottish football during the2012–13 season, the league was historically one of the senior leagues in Scottish football, along with theScottish Premier League andScottish Football League, as well as theEast of Scotland andSouth of Scotland Leagues.
Since the 2014–15 season, the league champions have had the chance to qualify for promotion to theScottish League Two via a play-off with the winners of theLowland Football League, the winners then playing off against the bottom team in League Two. Although the introduction of a route into theScottish Professional Football League was broadly welcomed, it also provoked some concern about the potential financial burden on smaller clubs who may need to significantly upgrade their grounds to meet the required standards. The logistics of travel to away games in a league dominated bycentral belt teams is also a concern, particularly for geographically remote clubs such asWick Academy andBrora Rangers.
At the end of the 2018–19 season,Cove Rangers became the first Highland League club to gain promotion to theSPFL via the pyramid play-off, after beatingBerwick Rangers 7–0 on aggregate in theLeague Two play-off final.[3] Two years later,Brechin City became the first SPFL club to be relegated into the Highland League after losing 3–1 on aggregate toKelty Hearts in theLeague Two play-off final.[4]
At the end of the 2020–21 season the threat of relegation was introduced to the league, as theNorth Caledonian League, a newly formed Midlands League, and North Superleague were all brought into the pyramid as feeder leagues. At the end of the following season,Fort William became the first victim of the drop as they failed to play their games against North Superleague sideBanks O' Dee in the playoff final, giving the Aberdeen side a bye into the Highland League as Fort William fell into the North Caledonian League.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Seats | Joined | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banks O' Dee | Aberdeen | Spain Park | 876 | 100 | 2022 | |
| Brechin City | Brechin | Glebe Park | 4,083 | 1,519 | 2021 | 1 |
| Brora Rangers | Brora | Dudgeon Park | 4,000 | 200 | 1962 | 3 |
| Buckie Thistle | Buckie | Victoria Park | 3,000 | 400 | 1909 | 12 |
| Clachnacuddin | Inverness | Grant Street Park | 2,074 | 154 | 1893 | 18 |
| Deveronvale | Banff | Princess Royal Park | 2,600 | 360 | 1938 | 2 |
| Formartine United | Pitmedden | North Lodge Park | 2,500 | 300 | 2009 | |
| Forres Mechanics | Forres | Mosset Park | 2,700 | 502 | 1893[note 1] | 2 |
| Fraserburgh | Fraserburgh | Bellslea Park | 3,000 | 480 | 1922[note 2] | 4 |
| Huntly | Huntly | Christie Park | 3,500 | 270 | 1928 | 7 |
| Inverurie Loco Works | Inverurie | Harlaw Park | 1,400 | 250 | 2001 | |
| Keith | Keith | Kynoch Park | 2,362 | 370 | 1924 | 7 |
| Lossiemouth | Lossiemouth | Grant Park | 2,050 | 250 | 1946 | |
| Nairn County | Nairn | Station Park | 2,250 | 250 | 1914 | 1 |
| Rothes | Rothes | Mackessack Park | 2,700 | 184 | 1938 | 1 |
| Strathspey Thistle | Grantown-on-Spey | Seafield Park | 1,600 | 150 | 2009 | |
| Turriff United | Turriff | The Haughs | 2,135 | 135 | 2009 | |
| Wick Academy | Wick | Harmsworth Park | 2,412 | 102 | 1994 |
*Caledonian and Inverness Thistle combined to formInverness Caledonian Thistle upon joining theScottish Football League in 1994. ICT now play in theScottish League One.
Relegated to the North Caledonian League/Midlands League/North Region League/North of Scotland League
The main competitions are:
TheNorth of Scotland FA Clubs compete in the:
TheAberdeenshire FA clubs compete in the:
Source:Scottish Football Historical Archive – Highland League Final Tables
Clubs currently playing in the league are shown inbold. Clubs no longer active are shown initalics.
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caledonian | 18 | 21 | 1895–96, 1898–99, 1899–1900, 1901–02, 1910–11, 1913–14, 1925–26, 1930–31, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1963–64, 1970–71, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84,1987–88 |
| Clachnacuddin | 18 | 8 | 1894–95, 1896–97, 1897–98, 1900–01, 1902–03, 1903–04, 1904–05, 1905–06, 1907–08, 1911–12, 1920–21, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1938–39, 1947–48, 1974–75,2003–04 |
| Elgin City | 14 | 12 | 1931–32, 1934–35, 1952–53, 1955–56, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1973–74,1989–90 |
| Buckie Thistle | 12 | 13 | 1919–20, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1933–34, 1936–37, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1957–58,2009–10,2010–11,2016–17,2023–24 |
| Inverness Thistle | 8 | 9 | 1893–94, 1906–07, 1909–10, 1928–29, 1935–36, 1971–72, 1972–73,1986–87 |
| Keith | 7 | 7 | 1961–62, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1984–85,1999–2000,2006–07 |
| Cove Rangers | 7 | 6 | 2000–01,2007–08,2008–09,2012–13,2015–16,2017–18,2018–19 |
| Huntly | 7 | 5 | 1929–30,1993–94,1994–95,1995–96,1996–97,1997–98,2004–05 |
| Peterhead | 5 | 6 | 1946–47, 1948–49, 1949–50,1988–89,1998–99 |
| Brora Rangers | 5 | 2 | 2013–14,2014–15,2019–20,2020–21,2024–25 |
| Fraserburgh | 4 | 7 | 1932–33, 1937–38,2001–02,2021–22 |
| Ross County | 3 | 2 | 1966–67,1990–91,1991–92 |
| Deveronvale | 2 | 3 | 2002–03,2005–06 |
| Aberdeen 'A' | 2 | 1 | 1912–13, 1924–25 |
| Forres Mechanics | 2 | 1 | 1985–86,2011–12 |
| Brechin City | 1 | 2 | 2022–23 |
| Nairn County | 1 | 2 | 1975–76 |
| Inverness Citadel | 1 | 1 | 1908–09 |
| Rothes | 1 | 0 | 1958–59 |
| Inverurie Loco Works | 0 | 4 | |
| Formartine United | 0 | 3 | |
| Black Watch | 0 | 1 | |
| Highland Light Infantry | 0 | 1 | |
| Turriff United | 0 | 1 |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| National teams | |
| League system | |
| Cup competitions | |
| Junior football | |
| Amateur football | |
| Welfare football | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
