The Ayrshire Junior Football League, known as the Western Junior League from 1919 until 1968, was a football league competition operated in Ayrshire under the Scottish Junior Football Association which operated until a merger in 2002.
The league was formed in the aftermath of World War I, primarily from clubs in the territory which today is North Ayrshire that had participated in smaller leagues such as the Irvine & District competition.[1] After only a few years of operation, the Western clubs became embroiled in the Intermediate dispute relating to compensation payments due to clubs joining Scottish Football League teams, and along with the larger and more powerful Glasgow Junior Football League, broke away from the SJFA and its flagship tournament, the Scottish Junior Cup in 1927 to form a rival Intermediate Association, although still playing in a separate division from the Glasgow clubs.
The dispute was resolved in 1931 and the Western League resumed alongside a new Central League for the Glasgow clubs, with the former Scottish Intermediate Cup which had been contested between them now named the West of Scotland Junior Cup as an additional trophy to the Scottish Cup, with clubs from the Lanarkshire Junior Football League also taking part. The membership was soon expanded in 1934 with a group of clubs from the mining villages of south-east Ayrshire whose local league, founded in 1920 had folded[2][3] (clubs in the north had been reluctant to admit them previously due to travel difficulties involved, a factor which had also prevented local clubs joining other leagues such as the Scottish Junior Football League in the past).
In 1968 the Junior football system across Scotland was reorganised, with Lanarkshire's league merging with the Central setup. The league in Ayrshire remained largely unchanged as one of six across the country, although the name was changed from the Western League to the Ayrshire Regional League and the few clubs which had been playing in it which were not based in the region moved to the Central leagues. From 1946 to 1976 the league was divided into North and South sections with the winners in a playoff to decide the overall champion, and thereafter two merit divisions were formed with a dozen clubs in each and promotion/relegation between them. It was at this point that Auchinleck Talbot, Scottish Cup winners in the 1940s but never a consistent force and without a major trophy in several years, rose to dominate the Junior grade at both regional and national levels, which generally continued into the 21st century.[4]
The divisional setup remained until 2002, when the largest clubs in Ayrshire and Central merged under a two-tier Super League within a new Scottish Junior Football Association, West Region to increase the number of lucrative matches to be played between them (the three regions in the east of the country did likewise). A lower division of the West Region was designated specifically for legacy Ayrshire clubs in parallel with two for Central clubs, until 2018 when it was decided to organise all divisions on a regional basis. Some local cups still retained the link to Ayrshire.
Champions
edit1919–1968 era
editKey:
Club also won the Scottish Junior Cup[5][6] (doubles in bold). |
Club were also runners-up in the Scottish Junior Cup.[5][6] |
1968–2002 era
editKey:
Club also won the Scottish Junior Cup[6] (doubles in bold). |
Club were also runners-up in the Scottish Junior Cup.[6] |
Notes
List of winners
editNotes
- ^ a b Records from the 1919–1968 era are incomplete as per cited sources; not all runners-up are accounted for (missing South section finalist when winner was from North section).
- ^ Also won the Western Intermediate League on 1 occasion.
- ^ a b Also runners-up in the Western Intermediate League on 1 occasion.
- ^ Also won the Western Intermediate League on 2 occasions.
References
edit- ^ Irvine & District Junior Football League 1892-1920; Including the Ayrshire Junior League (1892-93 & 1900-1905), North Ayrshire Junior League (1903-04) and Northern District Junior League (1904-1907), Scottish Football Historical Archive
- ^ South Ayrshire Junior Football League 1920-1932 (Known as Ayrshire Southern League (1926-27) and Ayrshire Junior League (1928-1931), Scottish Football Historical Archive
- ^ The South Ayrshire Junior League 1920-1932, James McAuley, via Scottish Football Historical Archive
- ^ Club History, Auchinleck Talbot F.C.
- ^ a b c "Scottish Junior Cup > Finals 1886 to 1956". Scottish Football Association (archive version, 2018). Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Scottish Junior Cup > Finals 1957 - Present [2009]". Scottish Football Association (archive version, 2018). Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ Ayrshire Junior League & Cup Competitions, Scottish Football Historical Archive
- ^ a b c d North Ayrshire League - 1940s, Beith Juniors F.C.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j North Ayrshire League - 1950s, Beith Juniors F.C.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j North Ayrshire League - 1960s, Beith Juniors F.C.
- ^ Ayrshire Junior Region Football League 1968-2002, Scottish Football Historical Archive (archive version, 2014)
- ^ a b c d e f g North Ayrshire League - 1970s, Beith Juniors F.C.
- ^ a b c d e f Ayrshire Division 1 1976 to 1982, Beith Juniors F.C.
- ^ a b c d e Ayrshire Division 1 1982 to 1987, Beith Juniors F.C.
- ^ a b c d e Ayrshire Division 1 1987 to 1992, Beith Juniors F.C.
- ^ a b c d e Ayrshire Division 1 1992 to 1997, Beith Juniors F.C.
- ^ a b c d e Ayrshire Division 1 1997 to 2002, Beith Juniors F.C.
- McGlone, David; McLure, Bill (1987). The Juniors - 100 Years. A Centenary History of Scottish Junior Football. Mainstream. ISBN 1-85158-060-3.
- Scottish Junior FA Structure, Scottish Junior Football Association
- Non-League Scotland (archive version), with club progression by season 1990 to 2007)