Everything about The Highland Football League totally explained
The
Highland Football League (HFL) is a league of
football clubs operating not in just the
Scottish highlands as the name may suggest, but also the north east
lowlands (
Moray and
Aberdeenshire). It is one of the three 'senior' non-leagues (that is a league that isn't the
Scottish Football League (SFL),
Scottish Premier League or one of the
Scottish Junior Football Association's leagues) in
Scotland. The HFL is a full member of the
Scottish Football Association.
History
Formation
The HFL was formed on
August 4,
1893, at the
Inverness Workman's Club. The original league consisted of seven teams:
Inverness Thistle,
Caledonian,
Clachnacuddin,
Forres Mechanics,
Inverness Union,
Inverness Citadel and
Cameron Highlanders.
Ross County were an eighth original member, but resigned membership in
November, 1893. Of the original teams, two are still playing in the league today (Clachnacuddin and Forres Mechanics), and two merged to become current
SPL outfit
Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Recent History
Many of the member clubs have performed well when competing against SFL clubs in the
Scottish Cup. However, from the
1990s onwards, it has been a victim of its own success, with various teams defecting to other leagues. Furthermore it has also had to contend with overexposure of large teams in the area such as
Aberdeen and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, as well as the Old Firm to the South, and to an extent, English football. However, the lack of Premier League teams in the area, and to a lesser extent First Division, has/had worked in its favour, with some football fans being less willing to travel long distances to games in southern Scotland.
The league has been somewhat weakened in recent years by the departure of many former members who have subsequently joined the SFL. This happened in
1994 when Caledonian,
Inverness Thistle and
Ross County left. Until then the HFL operated with 18 clubs, which was reduced by the departure of the three mentioned clubs who were replaced by the election of
Wick Academy from the
North Caledonian Football League to create a league of 16 clubs. This was the state of affairs till
2000 when
Elgin City and
Peterhead were elected into the SFL. In
2002 Inverurie Loco Works were elected into the HFL to give it a membership of 15 clubs, with which it continues to operate.
HFL Members
Current members
Linked Competitions
The HFL also administer several other competitions contested by some or all of the clubs. These competitions are:
Highland League Cup
North of Scotland Challenge Cup
Inverness Cup
Aberdeenshire Shield
List of HFL championship winners
1893–94 Inverness Thistle
1894–95 Clachnacuddin
1895–96 Inverness Caledonian (won after a play-off)
1896–97 Clachnacuddin
1897–98 Clachnacuddin
1898–99 Inverness Caledonian
1899–00 Inverness Caledonian
1900–01 Clachnacuddin
1901–02 Inverness Caledonian
1902–03 Clachnacuddin
1903–04 Clachnacuddin
1904–05 Clachnacuddin (won after a play-off)
1905–06 Clachnacuddin
1906–07 Inverness Thistle
1907–08 Clachnacuddin
1908–09 Inverness Citadel
1909–10 Inverness Thistle
1910–11 Inverness Caledonian
1911–12 Clachnacuddin
1912–13 Aberdeen 'A'
1913–14 Inverness Caledonian
1914–15 unfinished
1915–16 - 1918–19 No HFL championship competed for during the First World War
1919–20 Buckie Thistle
1920–21 Clachnacuddin
1921–22 Clachnacuddin
1922–23 Clachnacuddin
1923–24 Clachnacuddin
1924–25 Aberdeen 'A'
1925–26 Inverness Caledonian
1926–27 Buckie Thistle
1927–28 Buckie Thistle
1928–29 Inverness Thistle
1929–30 Huntly
1930–31 Inverness Caledonian
1931–32 Elgin City
1932–33 Fraserburgh
1933–34 Buckie Thistle
1934–35 Elgin City
1935–36 Inverness Thistle
1936–37 Buckie Thistle
1937–38 Fraserburgh
1938–39 Clachnacuddin
1939–40 - 1945–46 No HFL championship competed for during the Second World War
1946–47 Peterhead
1947–48 Clachnacuddin
1948–49 Peterhead
1949–50 Peterhead
1950–51 Inverness Caledonian
1951–52 Inverness Caledonian
1952–53 Elgin City
1953–54 Buckie Thistle
1954–55 Winner undecided.
1955–56 Elgin City (won after a play-off)
1956–57 Buckie Thistle
1957–58 Buckie Thistle
1958–59 Rothes (won after a play-off)
1959–60 Elgin City
1960–61 Elgin City (won after a play-off)
1961–62 Keith
1962–63 Elgin City
1963–64 Inverness Caledonian
1964–65 Elgin City
1965–66 Elgin City
1966–67 Ross County
1967–68 Elgin City
1968–69 Elgin City
1969–70 Elgin City
1970–71 Inverness Caledonian
1971–72 Inverness Thistle
1972–73 Inverness Thistle (won after a play-off)
1973–74 Elgin City
1974–75 Clachnacuddin
1975–76 Nairn County (won after a play-off)
1976–77 Inverness Caledonian
1977–78 Inverness Caledonian
1978–79 Keith
1979–80 Keith
1980–81 Keith
1981–82 Inverness Caledonian
1982–83 Inverness Caledonian
1983–84 Inverness Caledonian
1984–85 Keith
1985–86 Forres Mechanics
1986–87 Inverness Thistle
1987–88 Inverness Caledonian
1988–89 Peterhead
1989–90 Elgin City
1990–91 Ross County
1991–92 Ross County
1992–93 Championship withheld (Elgin City had won the league, but had the title removed from them)
1993–94 Huntly
1994–95 Huntly
1995–96 Huntly
1996–97 Huntly
1997–98 Huntly
1998–99 Peterhead
1999–00 Keith
2000–01 Cove Rangers
2001–02 Fraserburgh
2002–03 Deveronvale
2003–04 Clachnacuddin
2004–05 Huntly
2005–06 Deveronvale
2006–07 Keith
2007–08 Cove RangersFurther Information
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