East Junior Football League


The East Junior Football League, also known as the Edinburgh & District Junior League, the Midlothian Junior League and the Lothians Junior League, was a football league competition operated in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Falkirk under the Scottish Junior Football Association. It had fluctuations in membership and territory but had a continuous operation as the top league in the East of Scotland until a merger in 2002; it existed as the Lothians District for a further four years as a second-tier league before the name was discontinued in 2006.

History

football competitions had been organised in the Edinburgh area since the 1890s, with a Edinburgh & District League formed in 1892 followed by other small groups in each part of the Lothians region surrounding the city; by the 1910s, the Midlothian League emerged as the strongest of these, drawing membership from the many small mining communities which regularly produced skilled players and attracted a loyal local support. The East of Scotland league covering all parts was set up in a 1922 reorganisation, but this was at the same time as the formation of the East of Scotland Football League, an unrelated 'senior' organisation below, and more closely linked to, the professional Scottish Football League. The majority of emerging clubs within Edinburgh and those in the Scottish Borders joined the EoSFL rather than the East Juniors, who were unable to successfully agree on a new format in this lopsided geography, with the predominant Midlothian clubs and those in East Lothian breaking away to form a new Midlothian League in 1928. Those in West Lothian found themselves with little option but to apply for this 'rebel' setup, which retained the Midlothian name until its suspension during World War II. After the war, some teams from the defunct Scottish Junior Football League from further afield joined the setup, and the league was again re-named Edinburgh & District but operated with 'West' and 'Mid & East' divisions whose winners would play off for the championship.
Despite the true footballing strength of the area never being fully recognised due to the enduring split between the Juniors and the EoSFL, the Edinburgh league was considered sufficiently strong to form one of six 'regions' across Scotland in a re-organisation of Junior football in 1968, requiring little adjustment to its operations. The period following the change was successful for the territory in terms of East member clubs reaching the Scottish Junior Cup final, achieving this 9 times in 15 years, compared with 15 appearances in the previous 42 years. This was followed by another strong spell with 7 finals in the 14 years from 1989.
However, the small-town teams in the region had generally declined with the closure of local heavy industry, and the surviving clubs looked to boost their income by playing more matches against the leading teams in other areas. In 2002 the new East Region Superleague was created in the east of the country in combination with the Fife League and the Tayside League. The East setup was retained as a feeder division to the Superleague as the Lothians District along with the other historic areas until 2006, when they were fully integrated into the East Region; the Lothians section became the South Division below the Super League and a new Premier Division. The pattern of local appearances in the Scottish Cup final continued at a similar rate, with 3 of 8 finalists lifting the trophy over a 12-year period.

Later movement of East clubs

In 2018, a large group of East Junior clubs joined the East of Scotland association en masse, aspiring to gain entry to the senior Scottish Professional Football League in future years; This would mean the traditional EoSFL teams and East Juniors could finally be playing together, although with so many teams moving at once, there was not immediate parity, as the new members were placed in a multi-conference system with only one promotion place made available to the Lowland League and the majority facing some years of battling with their old rivals to make it to the next level. Back in the East Juniors, the remaining teams formed the majority of a new Super League South in 2019 along with those from Fife who had chosen not to switch.

Champions

1922–1968 era

Key:
Club also won the Scottish Junior Cup.
Club were also runners-up in the Scottish Junior Cup.

Notes

1968–2002 era

SeasonWinnerRunner-upOther member in Scottish Cup final
1968–69Bo'ness UnitedNewtongrange Star
1969–70Arniston RangersPumpherstonPenicuik Athletic
1970–71Musselburgh AthleticNewtongrange Star
1971–72Arniston RangersWhitburn JuniorsBonnyrigg Rose Athletic
1972–73Broxburn AthleticMusselburgh Athletic
1973–74Broxburn AthleticMusselburgh AthleticLinlithgow Rose
1974–75Linlithgow Rose
1975–76Bonnyrigg Rose AthleticArniston RangersBo'ness United
1976–77Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic
1977–78Linlithgow RoseBonnyrigg Rose Athletic
1978–79Penicuik AthleticCamelon JuniorsBo'ness United
1979–80Camelon JuniorsLinlithgow Rose
1980–81Penicuik AthleticArniston Rangers
1981–82Linlithgow RoseBonnyrigg Rose Athletic
1982–83Fauldhouse UnitedTranent JuniorsBo'ness United
1983–84Linlithgow RoseBroxburn AthleticBo'ness United
1984–85Bonnyrigg Rose AthleticWhitburn Juniors
1985–86Whitburn JuniorsLinlithgow Rose
1986–87Whitburn JuniorsNewtongrange Star
1987–88Linlithgow RoseWhitburn Juniors
1988–89Whitburn JuniorsLinlithgow RoseOrmiston Primrose
1989–90Whitburn JuniorsBo'ness United
1990–91Newtongrange StarFauldhouse United
1991–92Newtongrange StarBo'ness United
1992–93Fauldhouse UnitedWhitburn Juniors
1993–94Camelon JuniorsNewtongrange Star
1994–95Camelon JuniorsWhitburn Juniors
1995–96Whitburn JuniorsArniston RangersCamelon Juniors
1996–97Linlithgow RoseBonnyrigg Rose Athletic
1997–98Whitburn JuniorsLinlithgow Rose
1998–99Linlithgow RoseWhitburn Juniors
1999–2000Linlithgow RoseNewtongrange StarWhitburn Juniors
2000–01Whitburn JuniorsLinlithgow Rose
2001–02Linlithgow RoseWhitburn Juniors

Notes

List of winners