Caithness Amateur Football Association

www.caithnessafa.co.uk

Caithness Amateur Football Association was founded in 1927 when 6 clubs from the Wick & Thurso League’s played for a trophy donated by Captain A J Mackay. The first season was played as a knockout competition and was won by Thurso side Academicals or Acks as they are known locally, by beating fellow Thurso side Pentland 2-1. The other teams taking part were Swifts also from Thurso and the 3 Wick teams. Thistle, Academy and Groats. Thereafter the competition has usually been played on a League basis. Caithness is situated on the most north easterly tip of the Scottish mainland and is made up mostly of coastal fishing villages with 2 main Towns, Wick to the east of the county and once a prominent herring fishing port in the 1800’s, and Thurso to the north west of the county, which prospered and expanded when the Dounreay nuclear plant was built in the 1950’s. Competitive football has been played in Caithness since December 1894 when the Thurso League was started up and the teams taking part were Victoria, Thistle, St Clair & Rovers. All have long since disappeared from the scene and were replaced by Swifts, founded in 1897, Acks (1898) & Pentland (1918). The Wick and district Football League was set up in 1896 and consisted of Pultney Thistle who were formed in 1889 and now known as Wick Thistle, Academy (1893) & Groats also 1893. A fourth club Artillery joined the League at the turn of the century. The village teams of the county were not invited to join the county League setup so formed their own competition in 1930 and this was called The Caithness North East Rural Football League. Games were played in the summer months and the teams taking part were Mey, Castletown, Halkirk, Watten, Wick Boy Scouts and the first winners Keiss. The village teams eventually joined the County Association in 1975 and a first and second division league was formed. By now the league had switched from winter to summer having changed in 1960 due to the cold harsh winters. This format has remained since then up to the present day with 14 teams currently taking part. Caithness A.F.A also play representative games against its neighbouring counties, Sutherlandshire to the south have contested for the magnificent Portland Bowl (presented by the Duke of Portland) since 1914, and Orkney from across the Pentland Firth have battled it out for the prestigious Archer Shield annually since 1935. Many teams have come and gone since football came to the county but those that remain today are listed below and the year they were formed. Castletown (1900) Francis St Club (1980) Halkirk (1926) Lybster (1887) John O Groats (1982) Thurso Pentlands(1918) Keiss (1927) Top Joes (1983) Pentland United (1948) Wick Thistle (1889) Thurso Acks (1898) Wick Rovers (1960) Thurso Swifts (1897) Wick Groats (1893)

Chairman
Murray Mackay
4 Dunnet Place
Thurso
Caithness
Tel: 01847 893795

If you contact this Sport, please let them know, you found them in the Sport.Caithness.Org