Any fans of Football Manager might be interested in the following link:
http://nonleaguescotland.co.uk/SCOTLANDNONLEAGUE.zip
A few months of toil, and still a work in progress.
First, the bad news. What it doesn't have:
1. Evening Times Cup (editor cannot handle the concept of such a competition)
2. Perfect replicas of the current Scottish Junior FA East Region sectional cups, as the editor demands that any such cup has a number of entrants that can be divided by the groups cleanly. I could add in amateur teams to get around this but at present I've made a 64-strong 16 group competition between the three sub regions.
3. Again for issues over numbers, the North Region sectional cup will always omit the bottom two of the previous season's North Division 2.
4. The West Region structure cannot be modelled accurately as the Central divisions (24) are split into 1st and 2nd divisions while Ayrshire (12) is not. To compensate, I've made three regional leagues with the 36 teams.
5. The SFA South Challenge Cup does not work as it should (regionalised) because the editor cannot deal with that. Instead it functions as the 2008-09 competition did - all in straight knockout.
I think that's all the bad news. I've tried to recreate EVERY other competition as accurately as possible.
SENIOR NON LEAGUE FOOTBALL
Scottish Highland Football League – a background
The Highland League is unarguably the most famous division in Scotland out-with the four national leagues. For decades it was the only outlet for Senior football in the North of Scotland, Aberdeen excluded, though traditionally Aberdeen is not considered a part of the Highlands. The early days were dominated by the Inverness clubs, with Caledonian and Clachnacuddin particularly regular winners. Post WW1, the number of winners from the eastern side of the set-up increased as the power markedly shifted from Inverness to the small towns of Aberdeenshire.
In 1994, Ross County moved up the new 3rd Division along with the merged club of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, an uncomfortable marrying of two historic rivals, Inverness Thistle and Caledonian. Wick Academy were elected from the North Caledonian League to give the Highland League an even number of teams, though when Elgin City and Peterhead departed in 2000, only one new side, Junior outfit Inverurie Loco Works, could be recruited. The Highland League ran with 15 clubs for a few seasons, eventually expanding to 18 in 2009 with the introduction of three more teams from Junior football.
Competitions in FM10 competed for by clubs in Highland League
Highland League
Scottish Cup
Highland League Cup
Aberdeenshire Cup
Aberdeenshire Shield
North of Scotland Cup
Aberdeenshire & District League (under 21 teams)
Highland Youth League East/North (under 19 teams)
Additionally, Fort William’s reserve side play in the North Caledonian League and its respective competitions.
East of Scotland Football League – a background
A league based around Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders, like the South of Scotland League it is mainly populated by clubs that could be considered rural. Some of Scotland’s most romantic-sounding football club names lurk within it, from such as Vale of Leithen and Gala Fairydean. Unlike the other senior non-leagues, it currently operates a two-divisional structure though this is a comparatively recent convention. The top division has one less club than usual as Dalbeattie Star left in 2009 to re-join the South of Scotland League. I have not adjusted this so the league remains with 11 throughout.
Competitions in FM10 competed for by clubs in the East of Scotland League
East of Scotland League Premier Division
East of Scotland League First Division
Scottish Cup
SFA Southern Region Challenge Cup
East League Cup
Image Printers East of Scotland Cup
King Cup
Alex Jack Cup (for clubs that do not traditionally take part in the Scottish Cup)
East of Scotland Youth League
South of Scotland League – background
League football in Scotland’s South West proved difficult to establish, mainly because it is a rural part of the country with few large settlements. Initially small local leagues were tried, though cup football took precedence up until after WW2. The establishment of the South of Scotland League in 1946 led to consistent league football in the South West for the first time in history, with Stranraer Reserves, St. Cuthbert Wanderers, Dalbeattie Star and Threave Rovers among the more dominant sides. The main cup competition in the region is the Southern Counties Challenge Cup (also known as the South Challenge Cup), though some of the members are also able to take part in the Scottish Cup.
Competitions in FM10 competed for by clubs in South of Scotland League
South of Scotland League
Scottish Cup
SFA Southern Region Challenge Cup
South League Cup
Haig Gordon Memorial Trophy
Tweedie Cup
Potts Cup
Cree Lodge Cup
Southern Counties Challenge Cup
North Caledonian League – a background
The North Caledonian League is an amateur league based in the North of Scotland, and in the past it was known as the Highland Reserve League. The Scottish FA administer its discipline because of its connection to the Highland League. Clubs compete amongst themselves for a number of cup competitions.
Competitions in FM10 competed for by clubs in the North Caledonian League
North Caledonian League
Scottish Cup (Golspie only)
North of Scotland Cup (Golspie only)
SWL Cup
Port Services Cup
Football Times Cup
Jock McKay Cup
JUNIOR NON LEAGUE FOOTBALL
Scotland's curious football past has created a distorted and at times unhappy football landscape for present times, and who knows what the future holds. Currently the Scottish Junior FA (established in 1886) oversees football across large areas of the country, though there has been a recent drive to cut down both leagues and competitions. As of 2002, the 6 regions that had existed from 1968 were trimmed to 3.
West Region SJFA - a background
Teams from Glasgow, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Stirlingshire, Inverclyde, the Dunbartonshires, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire all compete for honours in the West Region across 5 divisions. The region was formed when the Ayrshire and Central regions combined in 2002.
Competitions in FM10 competed for by clubs in the West Region
West Region Premier Division
West Region First Division
West Region Western Division
West Region Central Division
West Region Eastern Division
Scottish Junior Cup
West of Scotland Cup
Ayrshire Cup
Ayrshire Sectional Cup
Central League Cup
Central Sectional Cup
East Region SJFA - a background
Like the West Region, the East Region is a recently formed set-up, comprising the old East Region (Lothians), the old Fife Region and the old Tayside Region, now all known as South, Central and North respectively. With 64 members, it is the largest Junior region.
Competitions in FM10 competed for by clubs in the East Region
East Region Super Division
East Region Premier Division
East Region South Division
East Region Central Division
East Region North Division
Scottish Junior Cup
North & Tayside Cup
Fife & Lothians Cup
Fife & Tayside Cup
East of Scotland Junior Cup
East Region Sectional Cup
Currie Cup (North clubs)
Maloco Cup (Central clubs)
MJM Brown Cup (South clubs)
North Region SJFA - a background
Considered the poor relation of Junior football (a view borne out of consistently poor performance in the Junior Cup), the North Region is the one part of the country that Junior football undoubtedly sits below the senior set-up, though Banks O'Dee have recorded big wins against Highland opposition in the Scottish Cup.
Competitions in FM10 competed for by clubs in the North Region
North Region Premier Division
North Region First Division
North Region Second Division
Scottish Junior Cup
North Region Sectional Cup
North & Tayside Cup
North Regional Cup
Duthie Cup (Premier)
Morrison Trophy (1st Division)
Elginshire Cup (2nd Division)
The update also adds:
160 genuine officials, set to referee in the correct part of the country (though this is not working properly for the regional sub divisions)
All longitudes and latitudes doublechecked
All team colours updated
All crowd figures revised from original database
All pitch sizes added, in most cases accurately
A few of the Senior regional cups (Stirlingshire Cup, Fife Cup)
An ongoing process of revising squad details though the initial release relies on mostly the original data because of focus on other areas
FULL HONOURS for all leagues and cups - this is stuff not found online in many cases
http://nonleaguescotland.co.uk/SCOTLANDNONLEAGUE.zip
Current work in progress....
A. I am altering the Scottish Cup as the one released was a botch. It did work in testing but someting went wrong somewhere. A release with a Scottish Cup that adds back in the 3 Junior League winners every season will be online shortly. The downside is that at present I cannot get the Highland league, East of Scotland League and South of Scotland League winners to do so.
B. The addition of the few remaining Junior officials. All refs for Senior non-league are in already.
C. Transfers.
D. Ongoing checking of colours.
E. Player additions.
