Livingston Football Club is a Scottish professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Livingston, West Lothian Livingston (, ) is the largest town in West Lothian, Scotland. Designated in 1962, it is the fourth post-war New towns in the United Kingdom, new town to be built in Scotland. Taking its name from Livingston Village, a village of the same name ...

and currently plays in the . Livingston were founded in 1943 as Ferranti Thistle, a

works team A works team, sometimes also referred to as factory team and company team, is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business, institution, or organization in a broad sense. Works teams have very close ties with thei ...

. The club was admitted to the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

and renamed as Meadowbank Thistle in 1974, and played its matches at

Meadowbank Stadium Meadowbank Stadium (officially the Meadowbank Sports Centre) is a multi-purpose sports facility located in the Meadowbank, Edinburgh, Meadowbank area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Built on the site of the earlier New Meadowbank and Old Meadowbank spo ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. In 1995, the club was relocated to Livingston,

West Lothian West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...

and renamed after the town. Since then Livingston have played their home games at

Almondvale Stadium Almondvale Stadium, also known as The Home of the Set Fare Arena for sponsorship purposes, is a association football, football stadium, located in the Almondvale area of Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland. It has been the home ground of Scottish ...

. In the ten years following the move to Livingston the club enjoyed notable success, winning promotion to the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

in 2001, qualifying for the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

in its maiden season in the top flight (finishing third behind Celtic and Rangers) and winning the 2004 Scottish League Cup. However, the club hit financial problems in 2004, and was relegated to the Scottish First Division in 2006. In July 2009 the club faced further financial problems and were on the verge of suffering a

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a Company (law), company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as :wikt:wind up#Noun, w ...

event before a deal was struck. Livingston were subsequently demoted to the Scottish Third Division,Press Announcement
, Scottish Football League, 5 August 2009 but the club achieved consecutive promotions and went on to regain its place in the top tier after winning the 2017–18 Scottish Premiership play-offs.

History

Ferranti Thistle (1943–1974)

The club began life as Ferranti Amateurs in 1943. A

of the

Ferranti Ferranti International PLC or simply Ferranti was a UK-based electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century, from 1885 until its bankruptcy in 1993. At its peak, Ferranti was a significant player in power grid system ...

engineering company, they initially played in the Edinburgh FA's Amateur Second Division. In 1948 the club became known as Ferranti Thistle and began competing in the Edinburgh and District Welfare Association where they competed for five seasons, before moving to senior football in 1953 joining the East of Scotland League. During this period the club won the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup in 1963. In 1969 the club moved to the City Park ground in Edinburgh. In 1972 the club became members of SFA which allowed them to enter the Scottish Qualifying Cup which they won in 1973 which previously had not been open to them. The club's first match in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Duns. In 1974, as a result of the demise of Third Lanark seven years earlier, and the new three-tier format of the

, a place opened up in the second division of the competition. After beating off competition from four Highland League sides, Hawick Royal Albert and Gateshead United, Ferranti Thistle were accepted into the league by a vote of 21–16 over Inverness Thistle. The club faced a number of obstacles before they could join the Division as their name did not meet stringent SFL rules on overt sponsorship of teams at the time and the City Ground was not up to standard. The local council offered use of

, a modern stadium built in 1970. After an '' Edinburgh Evening News'' campaign to find a name for the club, the name Meadowbank Thistle was chosen. This was approved by the SFL in time for the new season.

Meadowbank Thistle (1974–1995)

Having had little time to form a squad from the existing Ferranti squad, the first Meadowbank Thistle manager John Bain faced an uphill task to produce a competitive squad in time for the new season. Meadowbank played their first competitive match in the League Cup, eventually losing 1–0 to Albion Rovers. In 1983 the club achieved promotion to the First Division but ultimately were relegated back to the Second Division at the end of the 1984–85 season. In the 1986–87 season, Meadowbank won the Second Division championship and won promotion to the First Division. They finished runners-up in the First Division in the following season, but were denied promotion to the Premier Division due to league reconstruction. The part-time club began to struggle, and it became a limited company in 1993 but was relegated a short time after at the end of the 1992–93 season to the Second Division. Meadowbank suffered a second relegation in 1994–95, finishing second from bottom in the Second Division and due to the creation of a Third Division were relegated. After this, Chairman Bill Hunter claimed Meadowbank had run into severe financial difficulties and were facing closure as a result. In the face of significant opposition from many Meadowbank fans who objected to the dropping of the club name and the team moving from Edinburgh, in 1995 Meadowbank Thistle relocated to a new stadium in the new town of Livingston and changed name again, to Livingston Football Club.Livingston return to Meadowbank '“ where it all began
, The Scotsman, 19 July 2016

Livingston (1995–)

Rise to prominence

In their first season as Livingston they were crowned champions of the Third Division for the 1995–96 season. Three years later, in 1998–99, they won promotion again as Second Division champions. Another promotion followed in 2000–01 when the club finished champions of First Division and gained promotion to the

(SPL), just six seasons after the relocation to Livingston. Livingston's first SPL campaign, 2001–02, brought more success as they finished third in the league (behind the

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

) and qualified for the

for the first time.

Jim Leishman Jim Leishman MBE (born 15 November 1953) is a Scottish Labour Party politician and former professional football player and manager. He is currently Provost of Fife and an honorary director of Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic ...

's side gave a competent showing in the

. After disposing of FC Vaduz of Liechtenstein on the away goal rule after a 1–1 draw, they came up against

SK Sturm Graz Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian professional association football club, based in Graz, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white. In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austr ...

of Austria, and after a 14-goal, two-leg affair they missed out on the second round, going out on the wrong side of an 8–6 aggregate scoreline. The club avoided relegation the following season finishing 9th. After this season, manager

became the club's director of football and was replaced by Brazilian manager

Márcio Máximo Márcio Máximo Barcellos (born 29 April 1962) is a Brazilian football manager. Career Born in Rio de Janeiro, Máximo was a member of Brazil's under-17 and under-20 sides coach staff from 1992 until 1993. The teams included the future stars li ...

, who resigned only a few months into the following campaign and was in turn replaced by Leishman's former assistant, Davie Hay. Under Hay's management, Livingston won their first national trophy in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

by winning the 2003–04 League Cup after a 2–0 win over Hibernian at

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

. The goals in the final were scored by Derek Lilley and Jamie McAllister.

Administration and SPL relegation

The club's rise was short-lived as they were plunged into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

on 3 February 2004. It was 13 May 2005 before Livingston emerged from administration, following a period of financial turmoil in which the previous boardroom occupants were ousted to make way for Pearse Flynn's Lionheart Consortium. Flynn's first decision was to sack Davie Hay, stating that he wanted a younger man in charge, and to that end appointed Allan Preston as the club's new manager. While Preston's term as Livingston manager started brightly with a 3–0 win over newly promoted Inverness Caledonian Thistle, the club failed to win another league game under his management, resulting in his dismissal in November with the club rooted to the bottom of the SPL. Richard Gough succeeded Preston and steered the club to survival on the last day of the season with a 1–1 draw with

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

that relegated Dundee in their place, but Gough refused to stay as manager past the end of that season due to family problems and returned to the US, and former Celtic player Paul Lambert succeeded him. On 11 February 2006, Lambert resigned as Livingston manager after seven straight defeats leaving Livingston bottom of the Scottish Premier League. He was replaced by former player and coach John Robertson. Despite his best efforts, Livingston were relegated for the first time in May 2006 after only picking up 18 points that season. It was the worst record since the SPL began and was only beaten during the 2007–08 season by Gretna, after they were deducted 10 points for going into administration. Livi2007

First Division and second administration

A poor showing in the 2006–07 First Division saw John Robertson removed as Livingston manager on 15 April 2007. His successor was announced on 22 May 2007 as former Hibernian assistant coach Mark Proctor. Proctor appointed Curtis Fleming as his assistant on 26 June 2007, but both were sacked in June 2008 after a disappointing season in which they finished seventh. Livingston were taken over that summer by Italian majority shareholders Angelo Massone, Tommaso Bruno, Alessandro Di Mattia, and Tommaso Angelini after Pearse Flynn sold his shares in June 2008. The Italians were thought to be close to appointing fellow

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Roberto Landi as head coach in June and he was made manager of the First Division side on 11 June 2008. He and assistant Valter Berlini were then fired on 1 December 2008 after just five months in charge. Paul Hegarty was linked with the job on 3 December 2008, and formally appointed two days later. Hegarty was subsequently suspended as manager on 26 April 2009 and his contract allowed to expire. John Murphy was appointed head coach on 30 June 2009, the same day the club faced a deadline to pay debt to

West Lothian Council West Lothian Council is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for West Lothian, West Lothian council area. History West Lothian District Council Local government across Scotland was reorganised in 1975 under the Local ...

who owned

. After that was not met, legal proceedings were carried out against the club to come to an arrangement over the debt within fourteen days or potentially face again going into administration. Livingston were placed into administration on 24 July 2009 by the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

in Edinburgh, and faced relegation to the Third Division, a points deduction or being removed from the

entirely. On 27 July 2009, it was revealed that the club were likely to go into liquidation after owner Angelo Massone said he would refuse a £25,000 offer for the club from their administrator. On 28 July 2009, Massone yet again refused the offer and the administrator subsequently started the liquidation process. While Livingston seemed doomed, a meeting with the Scottish Football League on 30 July 2009 secured their future, as they agreed to allow prospective new owners Gordon McDougall and Neil Rankine (part of the Livingston 5 Consortium) to run the club for the following season. The next day, Massone sold his shares to the new owners and left the club, and it was also announced that John Murphy had been appointed back to his previous role as goalkeeping coach, with ex-player Gary Bollan becoming the club's new manager. In the first game after the new owners took over, Livingston were on the wrong end of a cup shock in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

first round, losing 3–0 to Albion Rovers, a team two divisions below them.

Demotion to the Third Division

Despite the prospective new owners ensuring that Livingston's future as a professional football club would be secure for the next year at least by paying a £720,000 bond to the SFL, on 5 August 2009 the Scottish Football League took the unprecedented move to demote Livingston to the Third Division. A breach of rules on insolvency was the main reason behind the decision. The administrator of the club, Donald McGruther, admitted his concern after the decision, saying that "In my view, this represents the death knell of Livingston Football Club". Gordon McDougall, a member of the Livingston 5 Consortium stated that "We've got to consider all the options that are open to us – it makes it very, very difficult". It was feared that the club could not survive in the Third Division due to a significant loss of revenue. However, despite the decision and the likely financial impacts, the consortium continued with their bid to take over the club. An appeal was lodged and as a result the club refused to play their opening Division Three fixture against East Stirlingshire on 8 August 2009. Because of this, the club were threatened with a points deduction, but in the event they were given a £3,000 fine for their actions. This was later overturned on appeal, meaning that the club ultimately escaped any punishment for their boycott of the match. On 7 September 2009 a further appeal to the SFA was dismissed, and the club finally accepted their Third Division fate.

Title wins and First Division return

On 15 August 2009, Livingston opened their Third Division campaign against Montrose at home and ran out comfortable 2–0 winners. On 17 April 2010, Livingston won the Scottish Third Division title after drawing 0–0 at home to Berwick Rangers. Goalkeeper Roddy McKenzie saved a last minute penalty to ensure the title was on its way to Almondvale. The Lions ended the season on 78 points, 15 points ahead of second placed Forfar Athletic. The following season on 9 April 2011, Livingston secured the Second Division title with a second consecutive title win to earn promotion back to the Scottish First Division with a 3–0 victory over Stenhousemuir at Ochilview Park. On 9 February 2012, Bollan was sacked as manager after two and a half years in charge. Nine days later on 14 February 2012, John Hughes and John Collins were appointed as manager and director of football respectively. However, on 13 November 2012, it was announced that Hughes had left the club to take charge of Hartlepool United. Gareth Evans became manager after being promoted from his position as assistant manager but he was sacked on 28 February 2013 due to ‘concerns over his stewardship’. Collins subsequently resigned from his position as director of football. On 25 March 2013, Richie Burke was appointed as manager along with Mark Burchill as assistant manager. Livingston ended season 2012–13 with a 4th-place finish in the First Division, their highest league finish since they were relegated from the SPL in 2006. On 12 September 2013, Burke resigned from his post as manager and was subsequently replaced by John McGlynn. When McGlynn took over Livingston were bottom of the

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...

with only 1 point. Improved performances under his leadership took the club into contention for the promotion play-offs. As a result, he was awarded an extended contract in January 2014. Livingston eventually finished in 6th place in 2013–14. However Livingston struggled the following season and were in severe danger of relegation. McGlynn left Livingston by mutual consent in December 2014, following a 1–0 home defeat by

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

, which left the club bottom of the league, four points behind second bottom

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...

. Mark Burchill replaced McGlynn as the club's manager. Off the field problems also once again plagued the club during this season. The club were deducted 5 points by the

SPFL The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As well ...

for failing to pay tax on bonuses paid during the 2010–11 season. Former club director Ged Nixon tried to get the courts to freeze the clubs bank accounts as he claimed the club owed him £300,000. This sparked fears that the club would go into administration for a third time. Nixon lost his court case in April 2015, saving the club from this fate. Livingston won the 2014–15 Scottish Challenge Cup, defeating

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to ...

4–0 in the final at

McDiarmid Park McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an All-seat ...

. With two games of the season remaining Livingston were still adrift at the bottom of the league, three points behind relegation rivals

and four behind Cowdenbeath. A 4–0 win away at Raith Rovers moved the club into 9th place on goal difference going into the final game of the season. Livingston won their final game of the season 1–0 at home to Queen of the South to pull off the great escape and finish in 8th place, avoiding both automatic relegation and the relegation play-off. Livingston were struggling against relegation again in season 2015–16. Burchill was sacked in December 2015 following a 1–1 draw with

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

as Livingston sat second bottom of the league. David Hopkin replaced him as manager. However, there was to be no great escape this season. Livingston finished in 9th place in the Championship, which meant they had to contest the Championship Play-Off to avoid relegation to

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foot ...

. They faced

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

in the play-off semi-final. Livingston lost the first leg 5–2 away at Stranraer, giving themselves a very difficult task for the second leg. In the second leg Livingston won 4–1 in 90 minutes to take the tie to extra time. However two extra time Stranraer goals took the score to 4–3 on the day and 6–8 on aggregate, confirming Livingston's relegation to League One, ending a five-year stint in the second tier.

League One and consecutive promotions

Despite relegation, Livingston decided to stay as a full-time football club, and David Hopkin was retained as manager for the 2016–17 season, as Livingston aimed to bounce back to the Championship. Livingston went on to win the league comfortably and secured the title in April 2017 following a 2–1 win at home to Alloa Athletic. Livingston finished 19 points clear at the top of the league. Livingston continued this impressive form into the Championship in 2017–18 and sat in the play-off places in joint 3rd in the league after 20 games. The club also reached the quarter-finals of the

, where they were unlucky to go down 3–2 at Hibernian. It was the first time they reached this stage of the league cup since 2005–06. On 21 April 2018 Livingston secured second place in the Championship after a 3–0 win over already relegated Brechin City. Qualifying for the Premiership play-off final, they faced Partick Thistle, who escaped automatic relegation in their final game. Despite this, Livingston won 3–1 on aggregate, 2–1 at home and 1–0 away, earning the final place in the Scottish Premiership and their first season of top-flight football since 2006, relegating Partick Thistle to the Championship in the process, ending Thistle's five-year stint in the Premiership.

Return to the Top Flight

Livingston retained their status as a top flight club in season 2018–19 with a 9th-place finish. This was bettered the following season with the club sitting in 5th before the season was curtailed as a result of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. The points per game ruling confirmed this placing as Livi's first top 6 finish since 2001–02. In 2020–21, the feat was repeated with a sixth-place finish. The season was also notable for the club reaching the Scottish League Cup final for the first time since 2004.

Colours and badge

The predominant club colours are amber and black, which have been used since the formation of the club in 1943. The

strip Strip, Strips or Stripping may refer to: Places * Aouzou Strip, a strip of land following the northern border of Chad that had been claimed and occupied by Libya * Caprivi Strip, narrow strip of land extending from the Okavango Region of Nami ...

typically has an amber top, with the shorts normally black and the socks amber, usually with some black detail. The original strip for the club during the first couple of season in the Ferranti Thistle era was amber and black hoops. After this, solid amber shirts, black shorts and amber socks (occasionally black) became established as the club's home kit. During the recent Livingston era the club have also used all black home strips, and a white and orange kit was used during 2002–03 season. The colours of white, black, purple, blue and red have been mainly used in the away strips. The badge used to identify the club has changed four times in the club's history. The Ferranti Thistle badge featured a black circular base. Three symbols were incorporated into the badge; a football, a thistle and a lion rampant in the centre holding aloft a Scottish flag. A new badge was then formed as the club changed their name to Meadowbank Thistle. The badge was based on a traditional shield shape with a black being the predominant colour and amber on the outer-trim. The badge features a thistle as the centre piece, with the flower part of the plant being replaced with a football. As the club moved to Livingston, the badge was changed again. The design of the thistle and the football is altered slightly; with the one major change being the addition of a Latin club motto "Fortitier omnia vincit" with the English translation meaning "Bravely conquers all". The current badge is modernised from the original Livingston badge but most of the features remain. The present badge also reintroduced the lion rampant in the centre of the laurel.

Sponsorship

In the Meadowbank Thistle era between 1973 and 1995, the club sourced various shirt sponsorship deals largely from small business such as Ferranti, Sports Conscious, Park & Milton, Raj Restaurant, ACA and PAR Scaffolding.

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

became the first major shirt sponsor of the club for the first three seasons of the Livingston era.

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...

then sponsored the club for the next four years. However, Motorola withdrew their shirt sponsorship at the end of the 2001–02 season, after the company's decline in the area. In 2002, Intelligent Finance, one of the largest employers in the

area, agreed an initial two-year sponsorship deal with the club worth an undisclosed six-figure sum. The company extended their shirt sponsorship for three more years, making their total sponsorship span over a five-year period. Smarter Loans became the club's main sponsor during the 2007–08 season, before the IT company, RDF, signed a two-year deal to become main sponsors for seasons 2008–09 and 2009–10. However they withdrew their sponsorship after only one year, as a result of the ongoing financial crisis at the club that summer. Local company Fasteq became the new main sponsor for season 2009–10 after the arrival of the new club owners. After four successful years as sponsors, Fasteq withdrew their sponsorship and Livingston announced that they were looking for new shirt sponsors for season 2013–14. Local business Energy Assets were confirmed as new main sponsors on a three-year deal in June 2013.

Stadiums

The club have had three main grounds in their history; as Ferranti Thistle, the club initially played in local parks before finding a home at City Park in Edinburgh in 1969, then moving to

in 1974 which was built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games. Livingston currently play their home games at the

in Livingston. It is currently known as The Home of the Set Fare Arena due to a sponsorship deal. The 9,512 capacity stadium was constructed in 1995 as a joint venture between Meadowbank Thistle and the Livingston Development Corporation (LDC). Part of the deal involved the relocation of Meadowbank Thistle to the town and a name change to Livingston. When the LDC was wound up, ownership of the Stadium was transferred to West Lothian Council and the council have since rented the stadium to the club. The ground has hosted Scotland under-21, under-19, under-17s and Ladies matches, as well as one home game for Gretna due to problems with their ground share at Fir Park. In April 2011 it was revealed that it was possible Livingston would relocate to a new stadium around one mile from the current site due to West Lothian Council looking to sell the current site to a supermarket chain.

Players

First-team squad

Notable players

''For a complete list of former and current Livingston F.C. players with a Wikipedia article, see here.'' Players who reached full international status: * Neil Alexander * Efe Ambrose * Guillermo Amor *

Marvin Andrews Marvin Andrews CM (born 22 December 1975) is a Trinidadian former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Andrews's career includes spells at Livingston, with whom he won the Scottish League Cup in 2004, and Rangers, where he ...

* Dylan Bahamboula * Scott Bitsindou * Ciaron Brown * Mark Burchill * Eugène Dadi * Murray Davidson * Graham Dorrans * Rab Douglas * Lyndon Dykes * Declan Gallagher * Esmaël Gonçalves * Danny Griffin *

Leigh Griffiths Leigh Griffiths (born 20 August 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Australian club Mandurah City, as well as being part of the coaching staff. Griffiths started his career at Livingston where he made his d ...

* Wes Hoolahan * Darren Jackson * Hassan Kachloul * Brian Kerr * Paul Lambert * Steve Lawson * Mariusz Liberda * Stuart Lovell * Luiyi de Lucas * Chérif Touré Mamam * Stevie May * Jamie McAllister * Grant McCann * Ryan McGowan * David McNamee * Marc McNulty *

James McPake James McPake (born 24 June 1984) is a professional association football, football coach and former player, who was most recently the manager of Dunfermline Athletic F.C., Dunfermline Athletic. McPake played for Livingston F.C., Livingston, Gree ...

* Dolly Menga * Kenny Miller * Lee Miller * Michael Nottingham * Harry Panayiotou * Marko Rajamäki * John Robertson * Maurice Ross * Mohammed Sangare *

Matija Sarkic Matija Sarkic ( cnr-Cyrl-Latn, Матија Шаркић, Matija Šarkić; 23 July 1997 – 15 June 2024) was a professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Born in England to a Br ...

* Steven Saunders * Robert Snodgrass * Goran Stanić * Anthony Stokes * Gábor Vincze * Theodore Whitmore * Danny Wilson * Robbie Winters * Davide Xausa

Club staff

Coaching staff

Source

Former non-playing staff

''For a complete list of former and current Livingston F.C. non-playing staff with a Wikipedia article, see here.

Executive

Dave Black

Dave Black (born c. 1988) has been the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Livingston since 2023. Black began volunteering at Livingston as a ball boy and went on to hold various positions within the club from selling match day programmes to running the club's social media accounts. He was appointed as Business Development Manager in 2019, then CEO in 2023. When John McIlvogue became the new owner of Livingston in September 2023, it was announced that Black would continue in his role as CEO.

Managerial history

¹ Managers between 1974 and 1995, when the club were known as Meadowbank Thistle. ^c Caretaker managers. ^p Player managers.

Honours

From major national honours to reserve league wins, Livingston have been successful in recent history, and were the first club in Scotland to win all three divisions (Third Division 1995–96, Second Division 1998–99 and First Division 2000–01) in their rise to the

in 2001. Their most notable trophy win being the

, where they triumphed in a 2–0 victory over Hibernian at

just six weeks after entering administration. Their most recent honour was the

title in season 2016–17. In 2015 Livingston lifted the

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Alloa Athletic at

Senior

: 2003–04 **''Runners-up'': 2020–21 *

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

(2nd tier): 2000–01 * Scottish Second Division/ League One (3rd tier): 1986–87¹, 1998–99, 2010–11, 2016–17 * Scottish Third Division (4th tier): 1995–96, 2009–10 *

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,2014–15, 2024–25 **''Runners-up'': 2000–01 *

Scottish Qualifying Cup The Scottish Qualifying Cup was a football competition played in Scotland between 1895 and 2007. During that time, apart from a brief spell in the 1950s, it was the only way for non-league teams to qualify for the Scottish Cup. The Qualifying Cu ...

(South): 1973–74²

Reserve

*Reserve League Cup: 1998–99, 2000–01 *Reserve League West: 2000–01 * SPFL Reserve League 2: 2018–19, 2019–20Hamilton Academical and Livingston Named Reserve League Champions
, Scottish Professional Football League, 16 June 2020

Youth

*SFL Under 19 Youth Division: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11 *SFL Under 19 Youth League Cup: 2008–09 *SFL Under 17 Division: 2011–12 *SFL Under 17 Youth League Cup: 2010–11 ¹ This includes honours won between 1974 and 1995, when the club were known as Meadowbank Thistle. ² This includes honours won between 1943 and 1974, when the club were known as Ferranti Thistle.

Club records

*Record victory: 8–0 v

, 4 August 2012 *Record home victory: 7–1 v Clyde, 14 December 2009 *Record defeat: 0–8 v Hamilton Academical, 14 December 1974 *Record defeat as Livingston: 0–7 v Hibernian, 8 February 2006 *Most consecutive wins (Livingston era): 9 – 2016–17 *Most appearances (Meadowbank era): Walter Boyd, 523 *Most consecutive appearances (Meadowbank era): Walter Boyd, 255 *Most appearances (Livingston era): Scott Pittman (372) *Most goals in a season (player): 27 – Liam Buchanan (2016–17) *Most goals in a season (team): 80 – (2016–17) *Most points in a season: 82 – (2010–11) *Record home attendance: 10,112 v Rangers, 27 October 2001 *Record transfer fee paid: £200,000 for Lyndon Dykes ( Queen of the South, 2019) *Record transfer fee received: £2,000,000 for Lyndon Dykes (

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

, 2020)

European record

Livingston are undefeated at home in European competitions. They have qualified for a

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

club competition on one occasion. The club finished third in the

(behind

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

and Rangers) in season 2001–02 and hence qualified for a place in the

for the following season. They entered at the qualifying round stage and were drawn against FC Vaduz of Liechtenstein. Livingston narrowly overcame their opponents after drawing 1–1 on aggregate, going through to the next round on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

. After drawing the home leg 0–0 Óscar Rubio scored the decisive away goal. In the following round they were drawn against Austrian side

. They were defeated 8–6 on aggregate, losing the first leg 5–2 in Austria at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium before winning the return leg 4–3 at Almondvale. Barry Wilson scored two goals against Sturm Graz, making him Livingston's highest goalscorer in European competitions to date.

References

External links

*
Livi for Life Supporters Trust
{{Scottish Football League Association football clubs established in 1943 Football clubs in Scotland Football in West Lothian Scottish Premier League teams Scottish Football League teams 1943 establishments in Scotland Scottish Professional Football League teams Scottish League Cup winners Scottish Challenge Cup winners Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom Sports team and club relocations Livingston, West Lothian Works association football teams in Scotland