Vale of Leithen Football Club are a football club based in the town of Innerleithen, thirty miles south of Edinburgh, capital city of Scotland.
Currently the club are members of the East of Scotland Football League and play their football in the recently formed Second Division Conference South East, with home games taking place at Victoria Park.
The team's motto is "Keep Faith", and features on their club crest, along with the town's patron saint, St. Ronan.
The home strip features a navy blue shirt, shorts and socks with white trim; the away strip is a yellow shirt, with blue trim.
Vale of Leithen should not be confused with the slightly differently named West of Scotland team Vale of Leven.
Brief History
The club are one of the oldest in the Scottish Borders, having been formed in May 1891, they became full members of the Scottish Football Association in 1897.
The team began playing at Caddon Park under the name of Leithen Vale but after two games subsequently changed to Vale of Leithen Football Club.
The club played their first match in October 1891 against, Gala Harp and recorded a 2–1 victory.
The club’s first honour came in 1898-99 when winning the Border Cup, a competition the team would win on twelve occasions with the last being in the 1953–54 season.
In February 1920, Vale of Leithen took part in the, Scottish FA Cup proper for the first time, travelling to, Hampden Park to play Queen’s Park FC a game that ended in a 3–0 defeat.
In 1922, they moved to their current home, Victoria Park, which has a ground capacity of around 1,500 standing spectators with one covered stand.
The highest recorded attendance being 3,700 in January 1962 for a Second Round Scottish FA Cup tie against Heart of Midlothian.
The 1924–25 season saw Vale of Leithen win the, East of Scotland Football League for the first time, finishing two points ahead of runners-up, Civil Service Strollers, losing only one game in the process.
In August 1974, the ground’s pavilion and changing rooms were completely destroyed by fire causing the loss of the clubs playing equipment and all their historical records over many seasons.
In October 1976 Vale of Leithen beat, Eyemouth United FC 16–0 at Victoria Park in an East of Scotland Football League fixture, the biggest recorded victory in the club’s history.
Vale of Leithen won the East of Scotland Football League for the second time under the management of Finlay Watson in 1977–78, finishing two points ahead of, Spartans FC.
Also during the 1977–78 season Vale of Leithen recorded their best result in the Scottish FA Cup when defeating League Division Two side Forfar Athletic 4–1 in a Second Round Tie played at Victoria Park.
The 1978–79 season has to date been the club’s most successful with Vale of Leithen declared champions of the East of Scotland Football League ahead of Selkirk FC on goal difference, both sides finished the campaign with forty-two points, winning the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup beating Civil Service Strollers 2–1 in a final played at Tynecastle Park and contesting the final of the Scottish Qualifying Cup but losing 3–2 on aggregate to Gala Fairydean.
Former, Hibernian FC player, Mervyn Jones, assisted by John Smith, saw the club win the East of Scotland Football League for a fourth time in the 1986–87 season finishing four points ahead of, Kelso United, scoring 114 goals in the process.
The team have reached the Third Round of the Scottish FA Cup on five occasions with the most recent during the 2012–13 season when losing to Cowdenbeath FC at Central Park.
The club were founding members of the Lowland Football League in the 2013–14 season.
Their best finishing position was 6th place in their first campaign, spending nine seasons in the league before being relegated back to the East of Scotland Football League at the end of the 2021–22 season, with further relegations in the subsequent three seasons.
In September 2025 the club announced the appointment of former player and club captain Ger Rossi as Head Coach at Victoria Park.
Vale of Leithen announced in May 2026 former St Johnstone and Scotland international player Murray Davidson had joined the club in a role focused on supporting young player development.
The 2026-27 season will see a regional restructure of the Lowland Football League which results in a split creating an East and West League. These changes led to an increase in promotions throughout the Four East of Scotland Football League Division's at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, leaving only seven teams remaining in Division Three.
As a consequence, the East of Scotland Football League made the decision to amalgamate Division's Two and Three which in turn created two Conference Leagues, Second Division North West and Second Division South East with Vale of Leithen being placed in the Second Division Conference South East ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Club Officials
Position NameHonorary President Keith BrownHonorary Vice President Stanley CliffordChairman Stuart RobertsonVice Chairman Michael HogarthGeneral Manager Bobby CraigieSecretary - Club Chaplain Rob WilsonTreasurer Jim Rainey
Coaching Staff
Position Name First Team Head Coach Ger Rossi First Team Assistant Head Coach Scott Brown First Team Coach Tam McFayden Under 20’s Manager Scott McArthur Under 20’s Coach Martin Simpson Physiotherapist John Masson
Current Squad
Season-by-Season SeasonLeagueDivisionPositionPlayedWinsDrawsLossesGDPointsScottish Cup2000/01East of Scotland Football LeaguePremier Division8th227312-824Did not Compete2001/02East of Scotland Football LeaguePremier Division5th22967-133Did not Compete2002/03East of Scotland Football LeaguePremier Division10th225413−1919Did not Compete2003/04East of Scotland Football LeaguePremier Division11th224711−2119Second Round, losing to Greenock Morton2004/05East of Scotland Football LeagueFirst Division5th221156+2138Did not Compete2005/06East of Scotland Football LeagueFirst Division4th20785+629Did not Compete2006/07 East of Scotland Football LeaguenFirst Division3rd201046+3634Did not Compete2007/08East of Scotland Football LeagueFirst Division6th221048+534Second Round, losing to Culter2008/09East of Scotland Football LeagueFirst Division7th22949+431Third Round, losing to Inverurie Loco Works2009/10East of Scotland Football LeagueFirst Division2nd 221921+4559Second Round, losing to Keith2010/11East of Scotland Football LeaguePremier Division7th22796+130First Round, losing to Keith2011/12East of Scotland Football LeaguePremier Division8th229112+228Third Round, losing to Auchinleck Talbot2012/13East of Scotland Football LeaguePremier Division9th 22589−823Third Round, losing to Cowdenbeath2013/14Lowland Football League6th221138−236First Round, losing to Brora Rangers2014/15Lowland Football League9th269611−1433Preliminary Round, losing to Gala Fairydean Rovers2015/16Lowland Football League13th287516−2926Preliminary Round One, losing to Wigtown & Bladnoch2016/17Lowland Football League13th3011415−1437First Round, losing to East Kilbride2017/18Lowland Football League15th308517−3229First Round, losing to The Spartans2018/19Lowland Football League13th288515−3129First Round, losing to Gretna 20082019/20Lowland Football League16th232219−718First Round, losing to Fort William†2020/21Lowland Football League17th120012−530Preliminary Round Two, losing to Banks O' Dee†2021/22Lowland Football League18th 341231−1565First Round, losing to Brechin City2022/23East of Scotland Football LeaguePremier Division 16th 302028−115-6Preliminary Round, losing to Dunbar United††2023/24East of Scotland Football LeagueFirst Division15th 280028-109-3Preliminary Round Two, losing to Dunbar United†††2024/25East of Scotland Football LeagueSecond Division14th289118-2528First Round, losing to Threave Rovers2025/26East of Scotland Football LeagueThird Division8th3012612+942Preliminary Round Two, losing to Musselburgh Athletic2026/27East of Scotland Football LeagueSecond Division Conference South-East Preliminary Round Two, losing to Drumchapel United
† Season curtailed due to coronavirus pandemic.
†† Vale of Leithen FC were given four three-point deductions.
††† Vale of Leithen FC were deducted three points.
Notable Former Players John Collins - Former Celtic FC, Monaco FC, Everton FC and Scottish International midfielder, although never a Vale of Leithen player, he trained with the club during his youth.
Garry O'Connor - Former Hibernian FC and Scotland forward was briefly registered as a Vale of Leithen player in 2015 after finishing his professional career.
Jock Robson - Former Arsenal FC goalkeeper who made 97 appearances during his time at the Highbury Stadium in spite of being the clubs smallest ever goalkeeper at 5’8’, also played for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.
Darren Smith - Former Motherwell FC midfielder played at Vale of Leithen during the latter stages of his career.
Club Honours East of Scotland Football League Winners (4) : 1924–25, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1986–87 East of Scotland Qualifying Cup Winners (7) : 1919–20, 1920–21, 1924–25, 1948–49, 1978–79, 1981–82, 1985–86 Scottish Qualifying Cup (South) Winners (5) : 1957–58, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1990–91, 1992–93 East of Scotland (City Cup) Winners (1) : 1991–92 King Cup Winners (7) : 1921–22, 1936–37, 1955–56, 1959–60, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1991–92 East of Scotland Consolation Cup Winners (2) : 1911–12, 1922–23 Border Senior League Winners (3) : 1903–04, 1907–07,1910-11 Border Senior League (Paul Shield) Winners (1) : 1921–22 Border Cup Winners (11) : 1898–99,1999-00,1901-02,1902-03, 1909–10, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1925–26, 1932–33,1933-24,1953-54 Border Junior League Winners (1) : 1908–09 Centenary Cup Winners (1) : 2026-27
Club Records Best League Performance: Scottish Lowland Football League 6th position, 2013–14 Best Scottish FA Cup Performance Third Round, 1956–57, 1977–78, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2012–13 Record Attendance 3,700 vs Heart of Midlothian, Scottish FA Cup Second Round, January 1962 Record Goalscorer George Hogarth
References
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