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Edinburgh City F.C.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the 1928−1955 club, see Edinburgh City F.C. (1928).

Edinburgh City
Full nameEdinburgh City Football Club
Nickname(s)The Citizens, City
Founded1966; 59 years ago (1966) as Postal United F.C.
1986; 39 years ago (1986) as Edinburgh City F.C.
GroundMeadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh
Capacity1,280 (500 seated)
ChairmanJohn Dickson
ManagerMichael McIndoe
LeagueScottish League Two
2023–24Scottish League One, 10th of 10 (relegated)
Websitehttps://edinburghcityfc.com

Edinburgh City Football Club is a semi-professional senior Scottish football club which plays in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. The club play at Meadowbank Stadium, returning to the rebuilt stadium in 2022 after five years at Ainslie Park.

A club known as Edinburgh City was first formed in 1928. It participated in the Scottish Football League in the 1930s and 1940s, but unfortunately went out of business in the 1950s. The present club adopted the Edinburgh City name in 1986. It applied to join the Scottish Football League in 2002 and 2008, but failed to win election on both occasions with Gretna and Annan Athletic being favoured at time. Edinburgh City became members of the new Lowland League in 2013 and went on to win the Lowland League championship in 2015 and 2016, and won promotion to Scottish Professional Football League in 2016.

In 2022, Edinburgh City were promoted to reach Scottish League One for the first time in club's history after winning 3–2 in the play-off final against Annan Athletic. Following this promotion, on 16 June 2022 the club controversially rebranded, changing its name from Edinburgh City Football Club to Football Club of Edinburgh and unveiling a new badge without any supporter consultation. Following the sale of the football club to John Dickson in 2023, the club successfully applied to the Scottish Football Association to return to the Edinburgh City name.

History

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Foundation and history (1928–2016)

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The original Edinburgh City was founded in 1928. The club adopted amateur status, with the aim of becoming the Edinburgh equivalent of Glasgow club Queen's Park. Edinburgh City joined the Scottish Football League in 1931.[1] The club played in the Lothian Amateur League during the Second World War and were only admitted to the C Division in 1946; by then the club had adopted professional status.[2][3] After three more years of struggle, the club left the Scottish Football League in 1949.[2][3] It switched to junior status and played in the Edinburgh & District Junior League.[2][3] The club ceased activity completely in 1955[2] when the local council refused to renew its lease on its home ground, City Park.[3]

A club called Postal United F.C. was founded in 1966 and joined the East of Scotland League. Their best league finish was third in 1985–86, having won the Qualifying Cup in 1982–83 and King Cup in 1984–85.

The Edinburgh City Football Club Ltd.,[4] which had continued trading as a social club since the football club stopped playing, gave their approval in 1986 for Postal United to use the Edinburgh City F.C. name.[3] The club has participated in the Scottish Cup since the mid-1990s, when it became a full member of the Scottish Football Association.[3] In the 1997–98 Scottish Cup they defeated SFL club East Stirlingshire, before losing 7–2 to Dunfermline Athletic, then of the Premier Division.

The club applied to join the Scottish Football League in 2002[5] after Airdrieonians had gone bankrupt, but Gretna won the vote instead. Edinburgh City applied again following Gretna's liquidation in 2008,[6] but this time lost out to Annan Athletic.[7]

Edinburgh City won the East of Scotland Football League Premier Division title for the first time in the 2005–06 season and became members of the new Lowland League in 2013.[8] They went on to win the Lowland League title in 2014–15 and 2015–16 under the management of Gary Jardine. They then gained promotion to the Scottish Professional Football League by defeating East Stirlingshire in the play-offs with a penalty four minutes from time, converted by Dougie Gair.[9]

Promotion to the SPFL (2016–2022)

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The victory over East Stirling meant it was the first time a non-league club had been promoted to the professional league using the newly established 'pyramid' system below the SPFL.[10] The club finished in seventh place during their first Scottish League Two season, 2016–17.[11] Under James McDonaugh they avoided the relegation play-offs in 2018, finishing eight points ahead of bottom placed Cowdenbeath,[12] and fared better in 2018–19, finishing third and qualifying for the League One promotion play-offs;[13] however, they were knocked out by Clyde in the play-off semi-finals, losing 4–0 over two legs.[14] Edinburgh City sat second in the table after 27 games when the truncated 2019–20 season was brought to an early finish in April 2020.[15]

In the 2020–21 season, a limited number of fixtures were played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. City again found themselves in the play-offs after a second place league finish on goal difference. In the play-off final against League One opponents, Dumbarton, City would experience play-off heartbreak again losing 3–2 on aggregate.

Finally, after finishing 4th in the 2021–22 season following the appointment of Alan Maybury, Edinburgh City navigated the League One play-offs and earned promotion to Scottish League One against Annan Athletic to the 3rd tier in Scottish football for the first time in their history. City won the tie on aggregate 3–2, and Innes Murray's long range strike at Galabank Stadium sparked scenes of joy on the pitch at full time.[16]

'FC Edinburgh' rebrand and SPFL League One (2022–2024)

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Within weeks of Edinburgh City's successful promotion, club owner Tom Tracy and the board changed their name to FC Edinburgh in June 2022. They no longer felt the 1986 permission from the Edinburgh City social club to use the name was sufficient, and wished to own the club name outright. When the social club refused to surrender the name, Edinburgh City became "Football Club of Edinburgh". The change was made with no prior consultation with the Edinburgh City fanbase and was deeply unpopular with supporters.[17][18] The club clarified in October 2022 that it should be known as Edinburgh, rather than the full name of 'FC Edinburgh', in an attempt to appease frustrated supporters.[19] Edinburgh would go on to finish a respectable 6th place in League One, despite the off pitch turmoil.

In June 2023 it was announced that ownership would be transferred from Tom Tracy to a fan based consortium led by John Dickson. It was also announced the club would revert to being called Edinburgh City pending SFA approval. This proved universally popular with the supporters who played their part in influencing the SFA decision.[20][21][22] Later in June 2023 SFA approval was confirmed.[23]

Due to limited time and resources available following the takeover, Edinburgh City would endure a challenging campaign and encounter financial difficulties midway through the season. Michael McIndoe was appointed head coach following the departure of Maybury, but shortly after, the club were penalised six points for failing to pay their players on time and many moved on as a consequence. This left a squad made up of youth players and loan signings to play out the remainder of the season.[24] City were relegated back to League Two after a 5–2 defeat to Alloa Athletic on 16 March 2024.

'Back to the City' (2024–present)

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After a struggle to obtain a newly required 'Bronze Licence' to remain in the SPFL and being tipped as favourites to finish bottom of League Two, Edinburgh City enjoyed several high points and took many by surprise with their quick and attacking brand of football under McIndoe. Back to back home victories over local rivals and former landlords, Spartans, stood out. In the first meeting between the sides in many years, and the first ever in the SPFL era, a Connor Young brace gave City a 2–0 win at Meadowbank Stadium. This was followed up with a 5–0 win in one of the most memorable results in Edinburgh City's recent history.

Colours

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The club colours are white shirts and black shorts, although there have been variations.[3]

Postal United F.C. played in all-red, but switched to the traditional colours when it adopted the Edinburgh City identity in 1986.[3]

In recent seasons, the club has adopted all black as an alternative and launched an all black limited addition strip trimmed with gold.

Stadium

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Ainslie Park, where the club groundshared with Spartans from 2017 to 2022

Edinburgh City have called several locations home throughout their history.

The original club played its home matches at Powderhall Stadium and City Park during its time in the Scottish Football League.

The present club initially played their home fixtures at the Saughton Enclosure, which is now home to Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale, before switching to Paties Road, where Edinburgh United currently play.

Edinburgh City then moved to City Park and then Fernieside. They then moved to Meadowbank Stadium, which had been vacated by the move of Meadowbank Thistle to Livingston in 1996. The club gained some additional supporters due to many Meadowbank Thistle fans opting to support a local team instead of the relocated club.[3][10]

In February 2013, the City of Edinburgh Council started a new consultation process about the future of Meadowbank Stadium.[25] Three options for redeveloping Meadowbank were put forward for consideration by Edinburgh Council in December 2013.[26] A planned design was made public in November 2016[27] and work began after the 2016–17 season ended.[28]

Edinburgh City reached an agreement with Spartans to use their Ainslie Park ground for three seasons while Meadowbank was redeveloped.[29] The club announced in March 2021 that they would return to Meadowbank for the 2021–22 season, with the ground now having a 4G artificial playing surface and a 500-seat stand.[30] Due to construction delays because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the club remained at Ainslie Park for the 2021–22 season.[31]

City eventually returned to the re-developed Meadowbank Stadium in July 2022 in a League Cup match against Arbroath.[32]

Rivalry

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In the 1990's Edinburgh City supporters regarded Whitehill Welfare as their closest rivals. The games were always competitive and not without incident, however, the sides have been far apart in the pyramid for quite some time.

More recently Edinburgh City's main rivals are north Edinburgh club, Spartans. The two sides compete in the 'Edinburgh Derby' which became closely contested following the formation of the Lowland League. When City won the 2015–16 Lowland Football League and gained promotion, Spartans finished runner's up.

With Edinburgh City becoming tenants of Spartans Ainslie Park home for several years, following the re-development of Meadowbank Stadium, some tension began to surface between the clubs during this period. Furthermore, Edinburgh City's previous owner, Tom Tracy, claimed a proposed merger was close to being agreed between the clubs when he looked to sell it in 2023 which would see the merged entity play at Ainslie Park.[33]

With Spartans gaining promotion that same year, and Edinburgh City being relegated to League Two a year later, the derby would be revived. City won the first ever SPFL meeting between the sides 2-0 at Meadowbank in October 2024.

Notable players

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Former Scotland Internationalists, Craig Beattie and Derek Riordan both played up front for Edinburgh City in the twilight of their respective careers.

Current Scotland International centre-back, Ryan Porteous, was loaned to the club as a youngster from Hibernian for the 2016-17 season.

First-team squad

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As of 3 February 2025[34]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Scotland SCO Mark Weir
2 DF Scotland SCO Sam Gormley
3 DF Scotland SCO Quinn Mitchell
4 MF Scotland SCO Jon Robertson (captain)
5 DF Scotland SCO Lewis McArthur
6 DF Scotland SCO Edin Lynch (vice-captain)
7 MF Scotland SCO James Stokes
8 MF Scotland SCO Sam Jones
10 MF Scotland SCO Jason Jarvis
11 MF Scotland SCO Innes Lawson
No. Pos. Nation Player
12 GK Scotland SCO Dean Beveridge
15 MF Scotland SCO Shea Scally
19 DF Scotland SCO Callum Pitt
20 MF Scotland SCO Robbie Hamilton
21 MF Scotland SCO Dylan Wells (on loan from Motherwell)
23 DF Scotland SCO Josh Grigor
24 MF Libya LBY Malik Zaid (on loan from Hibernian)
25 FW Scotland SCO Tiwi Daramola
33 FW Scotland SCO Ouzy See

Coaching staff

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Position[35] Name
Manager Michael McIndoe
Assistant manager Kirk Crichton
Goalkeeping coach Sean Coyle
Head of youth development Adam Cairnie

Managers

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Honours

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References

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  1. ^ (Bob Crampsey 1990, p. 294)
  2. ^ a b c d (Bob Crampsey 1990, p. 295)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Edinburgh City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  4. ^ "THE EDINBURGH CITY FOOTBALL CLUB LIMITED". Archived from the original on 10 December 2018.
  5. ^ Lindsay, Clive (17 June 2002). "Airdrie may edge out Gretna". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  6. ^ "Edinburgh City will apply to SFL". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 June 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Annan voted into Scottish league". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 July 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Scottish Lowland Football League clubs selected". Scottish FA. SFA. 17 June 2013.
  9. ^ McLauchlin, Brian (14 May 2016). "East Stirlingshire 0–1 Edinburgh City". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  10. ^ a b Livingston return to Meadowbank '“ where it all began, The Scotsman, 19 July 2016
  11. ^ "Scottish League 2, 2016/2017 Season". skysports.com. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  12. ^ "2017/2018 LEAGUE TWO". spfl.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Scottish League Two table 2018/19". skysports.com. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  14. ^ "SCOTTISH LEAGUE ONE - PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL - 2ND LEG 3 0". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Scottish League 2 2019/20 Season". skysports.com. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Edinburgh City promoted | SPFL". spfl.co.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  17. ^ "SPFL side forced to change name due to social club rights dispute". HeraldScotland.
  18. ^ "Edinburgh City change name to FC Edinburgh" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  19. ^ "Club Statement". fcedinburgh.com. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  20. ^ "Club Statement". F.C. Edinburgh. 19 May 2023. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  21. ^ McGlade, Neil (2 June 2023). ""We've all heard the rumours and this would have the full backing of the support"". Edinburgh News. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  22. ^ "Chairman's Statement". F.C. Edinburgh. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  23. ^ @FC_Edinburgh (29 June 2023). "Edinburgh City FC change" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Edinburgh City will not appeal against six-point deduction over late payments, Brian McLauchlin, BBC Sport, 29 January 2024
  25. ^ "Future of Meadowbank Stadium unclear as council opens negotiations". www.news.stv.tv. STV. 8 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  26. ^ "Three options considered for Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh". BBC News. BBC. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  27. ^ "New Meadowbank Stadium design plans unveiled". BBC News. BBC. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  28. ^ Temple, Alan (28 April 2017). "Pitch invasions, Manchester United & DIY: Emotional Edinburgh City prepare for Meadowbank farewell". Deadline News. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  29. ^ Pilcher, Ross (29 March 2017). "Edinburgh City and Spartans confirm three-season groundshare". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  30. ^ McGlade, Neil (31 March 2021). "Edinburgh City set for Meadowbank return in 'major step' for club". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  31. ^ Delaney, James (3 May 2022). "Meadowbank Stadium 'finishing line in sight' as delayed arena to open". STV News. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  32. ^ McGlade, Neil (16 July 2022). "FC Edinburgh return home to Meadowbank as boss Alan Maybury looks for the positives as Arbroath seal victory". Edinburgh Evening News.
  33. ^ "Edinburgh City's future remains in limbo after merger revelations - Spartans 'uneasy on joining forces'". The Scotsman. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  34. ^ "Edinburgh City squad". Edinburgh City FC. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  35. ^ "Management Team". Edinburgh City FC. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  36. ^ "Previous East of Scotland League Cup finals". Retrieved 12 May 2019.
Sources
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