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TheNorth Junior Football League, also known as theNorth-East Junior League, was afootball league competition operated in northern Scotland (but anchored around the city ofAberdeen) under theScottish Junior Football Association which operated as the top league in the territory from 1968 until 2001 when a new regional setup was established – although this was very similar to the previous system.[1]
In 1968, theScottish Junior Football Association restructured its leagues into six 'regions', with those local leagues merging in the northern area including theAberdeen & District League which had been competed for since 1901[2] and had provided two winners of theScottish Junior Cup in the 1950s,[3] and theMorayshire Junior League established in 1906.[4] However, outwith the city ofAberdeen (where the only local professional club,Aberdeen F.C. were also based) football in the territory was dominated by theHighland Football League which had member clubs in most of the towns across theMoray Firth and inland. Junior teams that operated in the same towns were invariably run on a smaller scale than their Highland League neighbours, and though technically competing for the same support base and players, had fraternal relationships akin to afarm team model, although formal agreements between them were rare. Even after the 1968 merger, a separate local 'North Section' was established for these landward clubs due to difficulties in travelling regularly to the Aberdeen area where most of the other teams were based.[4] As a consequence of these dynamics, the North League was seen as the weakest of the six regions despite having a larger population than theFife andAyrshire regions, and none of its members reached the Scottish Junior Cup final during its 33-year existence.[5]
In 2001 (one year earlier than other parts of the country) a newSJFA North Region was set up, now one of three across Scotland, but with its scope almost unchanged owing to the geography of the area - the existing East and North (re-named West) sections fed the Super League for its first two seasons before a region-wide three-tier model was adopted in 2003. With three stronger district leagues merging to create theEast Region and two combining in theWest Region, this change further reduced the North's comparative strength, hampered yet more by the defection of four clubs to the Highland League in the 2000s,[6] prompted by some Highland clubs joining the seniorScottish Football League (in turn, the North Juniors also drew new members from amateur football such as theAberdeenshire AFA). In its first 20 years of operation, the North Region also never produced a Scottish Junior Cup finalist,[5] although its league champions have entered the 'senior'Scottish Cup since 2007 with some credible results.[7][8]
Notes
| Club | Winner[1] | Runner-up | First win | Last win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banks O' Dee | 11[a] | 6 | 1968–69 | 1986–87 |
| Sunnybank | 6 | 8 | 1971–72 | 1998–99 |
| FC Stoneywood | 4 | 5 | 1984–85 | 1994–95 |
| Deveronside | 4[b][c] | 0 | 1985–86 | 1999–2000 |
| Inverurie Loco Works | 3[a] | 2 | 1992–93 | 1997–98 |
| Stonehaven | 2[a] | 3 | 1989–90 | 1993–94 |
| Longside | 2[a] | 0 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 |
| Parkvale | 1[a] | 0 | 1973–74 | |
| Aberdeen East End | 1 | 1 | 1977–78 | |
| Fraserburgh United | 1 | 0 | 1979–80 | |
| Buckie Rovers | 1[d][e] | 0 | 1992–93 | |
| Burghead Thistle | 1[d][e] | 0 | 1973–74 | |
| Rosslyn Sport | 1[a] | 0 | 1979–80 | |
| Bon Accord | 1 | 0 | 1988–89 | |
| Turriff United | 0 | 4 | N/A | |
| Lewis United | 0 | 3 | N/A | |
| Mugiemoss | 0 | 1 | N/A | |
| Islavale | 0[e] | 0 | N/A | |
| Nairn St Ninian | 0[e] | 0 | N/A | |
| Forres Thistle | 0[f] | 0 | N/A | |
| Lossiemouth United | 0[f] | 0 | N/A | |
| Bishopmill United | 0[g] | 0 | N/A | |
| Caberfeidh Juniors | 0[g] | 0 | N/A | |
| Fochabers | 0[g] | 0 | N/A | |
Notes