Scottish Junior Football Association, North Region Explained

The Scottish Junior Football Association, North Region is one of the two regions of the Scottish Junior Football Association. Its area covers Grampian and Moray as well as part of the Highland and Angus council areas – from Montrose in the south to Nairn in the west. The North Region features three region-wide divisions, having reverted from the previous setup of two regional divisions below the North Superleague used for five seasons prior to 2018.^[1] It replaced the North Junior Football League (1968 to 2001) which had a similar territory and structure.^[2] On 5 July 2021, it was announced that the North Region leagues are joined from tier 6 by the North Caledonian League and Midlands League to form a fully-integrated lower tiers below the Highland League from 2021-22.^[3]

Member clubs

There are 33 member clubs of North Region. Buckie Rovers and Spey Valley United are in abeyance for 2021-22.

North Superleague

See main article: Scottish Junior Football North Super League.

Club	Location	Ground
East End	Aberdeen	New Advocates Park
Banchory St Ternan	Banchory	Milton Park
Banks O' Dee	Aberdeen	Spain Park
Bridge of Don Thistle	Newburgh	Gallowshill Park
Colony Park	Inverurie	Colony Park
Culter	Peterculter	Crombie Park
Deveronside	Macduff	Myrus Centre
Dyce Juniors	Dyce	Ian Mair Park
Ellon United	Ellon	The Meadows
Hall Russell United	Bridge of Don	Denmore Park
Hermes	Bridge of Don	Lochside Park
Maud	Maud	Maud Pleasure Park
Montrose Roselea	Montrose	Links Park
Nairn St Ninian	Nairn	Showfield Park

North First Division

See main article: Scottish Junior Football North First Division.

Club	Location	Home Ground
Aberdeen University	Aberdeen	Hillhead Centre
Buchanhaven Hearts	Peterhead	Raemoss Park
Dufftown	Dufftown	Westburn Park
Fraserburgh United	Fraserburgh	College Park
Longside	Longside	Davidson Park
Stonehaven	Stonehaven	Glenury Park
Stoneywood Parkvale	Aberdeen	Clark Commercial Park
Sunnybank	Aberdeen	Heathryfold Park

North Second Division

See main article: Scottish Junior Football North Second Division.

Club	Location	Home Ground
Burghead Thistle	Burghead	Forest Park
Cruden Bay	Cruden Bay	Watson Park
Forres Thistle	Forres	Logie Park
Glentanar	Aberdeen	Woodside Sports Complex
Islavale	Keith	Simpson Park
New Elgin Juniors	Elgin	Nicol-Togneri Park
Newmachar United	Newmachar	Charles Gordon Park
Rothie Rovers	Rothienorman
Whitehills	Whitehills	School Park

Cup competitions

There are seven cup competitions in the North Region:

• The Jim McPherson Trophy This is a pre-season charity match, similar to the FA Community Shield, played between the previous seasons North Superleague champions and North Regional Cup winners. First played for in 2015, it is named after the late Assistant Secretary and Treasurer of the North Region.^[4]
• The North Regional Cup. Known as the Domino's Pizza North Regional Cup under a sponsorship arrangement, this is a knockout tournament for all North Region clubs.
• Grill League Cup. This is the opening tournament of the season. Clubs are drawn in eight groups with the group winners advancing to a knockout competition.
• McLeman Cup. Known as the PMAC Group McLeman Cup under a sponsorship arrangement, this is a knockout tournament for clubs in the North Superleague.
• Morrison Cup. Known as the AM Property Maintenance Morrison Cup under a sponsorship arrangement, this is a knockout tournament for clubs in the North First Division (East).
• Elginshire Cup. This is a tournament for clubs in the North First Division (West). Clubs are drawn in two groups with winners and runners-up advancing to the semi-final stage.
• North and Tayside Inter-Regional Cup. Known as the Signature Signs Cup for sponsorship purposes, this is a knockout tournament involving North Region clubs and Midlands League clubs. First played for in 1988, the cup is administered by a joint committee and clubs play early rounds in their own region with eight sides from each area progressing to the last sixteen.

Inactive

• The Archibald Cup This was added for North First Division (West) clubs in 2015–16 to bolster their fixture programme after the withdrawal of clubs from the league. The tournament is played in two groups with winners and runners-up progressing to the semi-finals.^[5]

Holders

• Jim McPherson Trophy - Banks O' Dee (2017–18 competition)
• North Regional Cup - Culter (2022–23 competition)
• Grill League Cup - Culter (2022-23 competition)
• McLeman Cup - Culter (2022-23 competition)
• Morrison Cup - Banchory St Ternan (2018-19 competition)
• Elginshire Cup - Dufftown (2021-22 competition)
• Inter-Regional Cup - East Craigie (2021-22 competition)

Roll of Honour

width=60	Season	width=190	North Premier Division	width=190	North Division One (East)	width=190	North Division One (West)
			Strathspey Thistle
			Forres Thistle

width=60	Season	width=190	North Premier Division	width=190	North Division One	width=190	North Division Two
			Islavale
			New Elgin
			New Elgin
			Fochabers
			Bishopmill United
			Inverness City
			Burghead Thistle

width=60	Season	width=190	North Superleague	width=190	North Division One	width=190	North Division Two
			Parkvale
			Portgordon Victoria
			Colony Park

width=60	Season	width=190	North Superleague	width=190	North First Division (West)	width=190	North First Division (East)
			Cruden Bay
			Bridge of Don Thistle
			Colony Park
		Spey Valley United	Ellon United
			Aberdeen East End

width=60	Season	width=190	North Super League	width=190	North First Division	width=190	North Second Division
			Buchanhaven Hearts
	All leagues null & void due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[6]
	All leagues null & void due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021–22

External links

• The North Region Scottish Junior Football Association
• Stewart Davidson, Scottish Non-League Review, issues 15 - 24.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Easton. Richard. Clubs agree to league reconstruction. SJFA, North Region. 10 June 2013. 9 June 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714214648/http://northregionjfa.pitchero.com/clubs-agree-to-league-reconstruction-14777/. 14 July 2014. dmy-all.
2. http://sfha.org.uk/northregionjrs.htm North Region Junior League
3. Web site: SCOTTISH FOOTBALL PYRAMID UPDATE.
4. Web site: Crossan. Derek. Jim McPherson Trophy. North Region JFA. The Juniors.Info. 28 July 2016.
5. News: Junior tourney kicks off. 7 June 2016. Northern Scot. 19 February 2016.
6. Web site: North junior football season is declared null and void as season over for Nairn St Ninian. Clark. Will. 2020-05-02. Inverness Courier. en. 2020-05-04.