The North Junior Football League, also known as the North-East Junior League, was a football league competition operated in northern Scotland (but anchored around the city of Aberdeen) under the Scottish Junior Football Association which operated as the top league in the territory from 1968 until 2001 when a new regional setup was established – although this was very similar to the previous system.
History In 1968, the Scottish Junior Football Association restructured its leagues into six 'regions', with those local leagues merging in the northern area including the Aberdeen & District League which had been competed for since 1901Aberdeen & District Junior League, Scottish Football Historical Archive, 4 January 2021 and had provided two winners of the Scottish Junior Cup in the 1950s, and the Morayshire Junior League established in 1906.North of Scotland Junior Competitions, Scottish Football Historical Archive, 6 January 2021 However, outwith the city of Aberdeen (where the only local professional club, Aberdeen F.C. were also based) football in the territory was dominated by the Highland Football League which had member clubs in most of the towns across the Moray Firth and inland. Junior teams that operated in the same towns were invariably run on a smaller scale than their Highland League neighbours, and though technically competing for the same support base and players, had fraternal relationships akin to a farm team model, although formal agreements between them were rare. Even after the 1968 merger, a separate local 'North Section' was established for these landward clubs due to difficulties in travelling regularly to the Aberdeen area where most of the other teams were based. As a consequence of these dynamics, the North League was seen as the weakest of the six regions despite having a larger population than the Fife and Ayrshire regions, and none of its members reached the Scottish Junior Cup final during its 33-year existence.
In 2001 (one year earlier than other parts of the country) a new SJFA North Region was set up, now one of three across Scotland, but with its scope almost unchanged owing to the geography of the area - the existing East and North (re-named West) sections fed the Super League for its first two seasons before a region-wide three-tier model was adopted in 2003. With three stronger district leagues merging to create the East Region and two combining in the West Region, this change further reduced the North's comparative strength, hampered yet more by the defection of four clubs to the Highland League in the 2000s, prompted by some Highland clubs joining the senior Scottish Football League (in turn, the North Juniors also drew new members from amateur football such as the Aberdeenshire AFA). In its first 20 years of operation, the North Region also never produced a Scottish Junior Cup finalist, although its league champions have entered the 'senior' Scottish Cup since 2007 with some credible results.Scottish Cup wins for Sunnybank and Bo'ness, BBC Sport, 23 October 2010Culter hold Partick Thistle in Scottish Cup, BBC Sport, 19 November 2011
Champions SeasonNon-League Scotland (archive version), with club progression by season 1990 to 2007)Timeline Junior North, Scottish Football Historical Archive (archived version, 2017)North Region Junior League, Scottish Football Historical Archive, 4 May 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021WinnerRunner-upNorth section 1968–69 Banks O' Dee Stonehaven Burghead Thistle 1969–70 Banks O' Dee Stonehaven Buckie Rovers 1970–71 Banks O' Dee Lewis United Islavale 1971–72 Sunnybank Banks O' Dee Forres Thistle 1972–73 Banks O' Dee Sunnybank Burghead Thistle 1973–74 Parkvale Banks O' Dee Burghead Thistle' 1974–75 Sunnybank Banks O' Dee Buckie Rovers 1975–76 Sunnybank Aberdeen East End Nairn St Ninian 1976–77 Banks O' Dee Lewis United Burghead Thistle 1977–78 Aberdeen East End Banks O' Dee Nairn St Ninian 1978–79 Banks O' Dee Sunnybank Nairn St Ninian 1979–80 Fraserburgh United Banks O' Dee Forres Thistle 1980–81 Banks O' Dee Lewis United Bishopmill United 1981–82 Banks O' Dee Sunnybank Nairn St Ninian 1982–83 Sunnybank Inverurie Loco Works Buckie Rovers 1983–84 Banks O' Dee Sunnybank Deveronside 1984–85 FC Stoneywood Mugiemoss Fochabers 1985–86 Banks O' Dee Turriff United Deveronside 1986–87 Banks O' Dee Turriff United Caberfeidh Juniors 1987–88 Rosslyn Sport Banks O' Dee Deveronside 1988–89Non League Tables for 1988-1989, NonLeague Matters Bon Accord FC Stoneywood Deveronside 1989–90 Stonehaven FC Stoneywood Deveronside 1990–91 FC Stoneywood Inverurie Loco Works Deveronside 1991–92 FC Stoneywood Stonehaven Lossiemouth United 1992–93 Inverurie Loco Works FC Stoneywood Buckie Rovers 1993–94 Stonehaven Sunnybank Deveronside 1994–95 FC Stoneywood Turriff United Lossiemouth United 1995–96 Inverurie Loco Works Turriff United Deveronside 1996–97 Sunnybank FC Stoneywood Islavale 1997–98 Inverurie Loco Works Sunnybank Islavale 1998–99 Sunnybank FC Stoneywood Islavale 1999–2000 Longside Sunnybank Deveronside 2000–01 Longside Sunnybank Deveronside Notes
List of winners Club Winner Runner-up First win Last win Banks O' Dee 11 6 1968–69 1986–87 Sunnybank 6 8 1971–72 1998–99 FC Stoneywood 4 51984–851994–95 Deveronside 4 0 1985–86 1999–2000 Inverurie Loco Works 3 2 1992–93 1997–98 Stonehaven 2 3 1989–90 1993–94 Longside 2 0 1999–2000 2000–01 Parkvale 1 01973–74 Aberdeen East End 1 11977–78 Fraserburgh United 1 01979–80 Buckie Rovers 1 01992–93 Burghead Thistle 1 01973–74 Rosslyn Sport 1 01979–80 Bon Accord 1 01988–89 Turriff United 0 4N/A Lewis United 0 3N/A Mugiemoss 0 1N/A Islavale 0 0N/A Nairn St Ninian 0 0N/A Forres Thistle 0 0N/A Lossiemouth United 0 0N/A Bishopmill United 0 0N/A Caberfeidh Juniors 0 0N/A Fochabers 0 0N/A Notes
References
Non-League Scotland (archive version), with club progression by season 1990 to 2007) Scottish Junior FA Structure, Scottish Junior Football Association