The Fife derby is a football rivalry that is based in Fife, Scotland. Matches are contested between any two SPFL clubs from Dunfermline Athletic, Raith Rovers (based in Kirkcaldy), East Fife (representing the Levenmouth area) and Cowdenbeath. As of 2021, a fifth Fife side, Kelty Hearts, entered the SPFL.
Overview The two best-supported clubs in the region are Dunfermline and Raith Rovers, and in general their meetings attract the most interest, however any match between the five clubs is referred to as a 'Fife derby'. A sixth local club, Lochgelly United, competed in the Scottish Football League for five seasons (1921 to 1926).
None of the clubs have won the Scottish League title or finished runners-up. Aside from Kelty Hearts, all have played in the top division at one point in their history (although never all at the same time). East Fife were Scottish League Cup winners three times in six years between 1947 and 1953, while Dunfermline won the Scottish Cup twice in the 1960s; The only occasion when two clubs from the region met in a major cup final was in October 1949, when East Fife defeated Dunfermline 3–0 at Hampden Park to win the 1949–50 League Cup; the crowd of 39,744 is a record for a Fife derby match.
Raith Rovers are the only Fife team to have won the Scottish Challenge Cup, achieving this in both 2022 and most notably 2014 with a win over Rangers. Perhaps the most important Fife derby meeting of the early 21st century came a month after the Raith cup win, when Cowdenbeath overcame Dunfermline 4–1 on aggregate in the 2013–14 Championship play-off final to preserve their status in Scotland's second tier at their neighbours' expense.
Dunfermline Athletic had their first sellout crowd in 15 years for a Fife derby played against First Division title rivals Raith Rovers in April 2011. East Fife's record attendance at their old Bayview Park ground was also against Raith, attracting a 22,515 crowd in 1950.
Senior non-league and Juniors Prior to 2017, most of the Fife clubs outwith the SPFL played in the Junior setup's East Region, with both Kelty Hearts and Tayport having won the East Superleague on two occasions. Burntisland Shipyard were the sole senior team, playing in the East of Scotland Football League.
In 2017 Kelty left the Juniors and joined the East of Scotland League (which is part of the senior pyramid) with the aim of rising through the divisions and becoming an SPFL club. A year later several other teams from Fife followed suit, including Kelty's local rivals Hill of Beath Hawthorn,Rivals Kelty Hearts and Hill of Beath Hawthorn ready for Junior Cup showdown, Dunfermline Press, 19 January 2017 plus Crossgates Primrose, Dundonald Bluebell, Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts, Oakley United, and St Andrews United, with Glenrothes following a year later.
Meanwhile, Kelty were successful in achieving their ambition. In 2018 they were promoted to the Lowland Football League, and were subsequently promoted to the SPFL in 2021, becoming the fifth Fife club in the league.
With the exception of Tayport who compete against teams in the Tayside area due to their proximity to Dundee via the Tay Road Bridge, the remainder of the Fife Junior clubs—Kennoway Star Hearts, Kirkcaldy & Dysart, Lochgelly Albert, Lochore Welfare, Newburgh, Rosyth, and Thornton Hibs—moved across to the East of Scotland League for the 2020–21 season.
Results tables Dunfermline v Raith Rovers
First meeting: 7 September 1889, 1889–90 Scottish Cup Next meeting: 18 October 2025, 2025–26 Scottish Championship
As of: 22 August 2025. Competition League 116 45 29 42 168 168 Scottish Cup 7 3 0 4 6 12 League Cup 9 3 3 3 13 15 Challenge Cup 2 1 0 1 1 2 Total 134 52 32 50 188 197
Dunfermline v East Fife
First meeting: 24 September 1921, 1921–22 Scottish Division Two Next meeting: To be confirmed.
As of: 7 September 2024. Competition League 52 17 12 23 91 105 Scottish Cup 4 1 1 2 5 9 League Cup 11 3 2 6 16 27Challenge Cup110020 Total 68 22 15 31 114 141
East Fife v Raith Rovers
First meeting: 21 August 1926, 1926–27 Scottish Division Two Next meeting: To be confirmed.
As of: 9 October 2021. Competition League 74 29 14 31 126 133 Scottish Cup 4 3 1 0 9 4 League Cup 21 7 4 10 40 41 Challenge Cup 2 0 0 2 3 6 Total 101 39 19 43 178 184
Cowdenbeath v Dunfermline
First meeting: 22 August 1888, 1888–89 Scottish Cup Next meeting: To be confirmed.
As of: end of 2017–18 season. Competition League 80 28 16 36 118 137 Scottish Cup 6 1 1 4 11 16 League Cup 8 0 1 7 7 23 Challenge Cup 2 0 0 2 2 6 Total 96 29 18 49 138 182
Cowdenbeath v East Fife
First meeting: 16 November 1921, 1921–22 Scottish Division Two Next meeting: To be confirmed.
As of: 10 October 2020. Competition League 105 36 29 40 170 175 Scottish Cup 1 0 0 1 1 2 League Cup 6 4 0 2 13 8 Challenge Cup 4 2 1 1 7 3 Total 116 42 30 44 191 188
Cowdenbeath v Raith Rovers
First meeting: 14 October 1905, 1905–06 Scottish Division Two Next meeting: To be confirmed.
As of: 10 July 2021. Competition League 94 29 23 42 137 171 Scottish Cup 1 0 0 1 0 2 League Cup 12 6 1 5 16 21 Challenge Cup 3 1 0 2 2 3 Total 110 36 24 50 155 197
Totals for four clubs As of: 22 August 2025. Competition League 521 94 98 93 115 123 428 396 409 475 Scottish Cup 23 1 8 6 5 3 12 27 20 18 League Cup 67 10 13 15 18 11 36 52 75 77 Challenge Cup 14 3 4 1 5 1 11 9 6 11 Total 625 107 123 114 143 138 487 484 510 581Total goals: 2,062
Notes
Kelty Hearts Upon being promoted to the SPFL in 2021, Kelty Hearts became the fifth member from the Kingdom of Fife. Playing in the 2021–22 Scottish League Two, they will play against Cowdenbeath, with the two teams separated by just 2.7 miles.
Achievements by Fife clubs Up to and including season 2022–23. Club Top tierseasons Scottish League (level 1) Scottish League (level 2) Scottish League (level 3) Scottish League (level 4) Scottish Cup League Cup Challenge Cup Cowdenbeath 11 0 0 0 3 3 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dunfermline Athletic 38 0 0 2 4 9 3 2 0 0 2 3 0 3 0 1 East Fife 14 0 0 2 1 2 0 2 2 1 1 2 3 0 0 0 Raith Rovers 37 0 0 1 6 4 2 4 0 0 0 1 1 1 3 1
References
External links 1949 League Cup Final Video highlights from official Pathé News archive