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 ...

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

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 ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He currently manages Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic. During his playing career he represe ...

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1961 and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

under the management of

Jock Stein John Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He was the first manager of a club from a Northern European country to win the European Champio ...

and

George Farm George Neil Farm (13 July 1924 – 18 July 2004) was a Scottish professional football goalkeeper and manager. Born in Slateford, a suburb of Edinburgh, Farm represented his country on ten occasions, the last three of which occurred after a g ...

respectively. The club regularly played

European football UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. T ...

in this period, reaching the semi-finals of the

1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup was the ninth season of the European Cup Winners' Cup, a club football competition organised by UEFA for the cup winners from each of its member associations. The tournament was won by Czechoslovakian side ...

under Farm. The club have played at East End Park since their formation in 1885; however, the pitch they initially played at – also known as East End Park – was slightly west of the present stadium. After a period of relative success in the 2000s marked by appearances in three major finals (the 2004 Scottish Cup Final, the 2006 Scottish League Cup Final and the 2007 Scottish Cup Final), all of which were lost against

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 ...

, Dunfermline were relegated to the First Division in 2007. The club then encountered financial problems and, in April 2013, applied for and was granted full administration at 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 in October 2013, the fan group Pars United assumed control of the club.

History

Beginning (1885–1959)

Dunfermline Athletic FC League Performance

Dunfermline Football Club was formed in 1874, when members of Dunfermline Cricket Club decided to establish a football section, with the intention of maintaining fitness during the winter. A dispute over club membership caused some members to split away from Dunfermline Cricket Club, which resulted in the creation of Dunfermline Athletic Football Club on 2 June 1885. The club became the principal football club in

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

and their first twenty-five years saw them compete primarily as an amateur team, until they turned professional in 1899. The club first entered into 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 ...

in

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

where they took part in the Scottish Division Two. The fifty years following the club's admittance to the SFL saw little success, with the side most frequently playing in the second tier, with occasional appearances in the top flight.

Stein and Farm (1960–1970)

Dunfermline's finest period came during the sixties. After being appointed manager on 14 March 1960 and saving the club from relegation to Scottish Division Two,

Jock Stein John Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He was the first manager of a club from a Northern European country to win the European Champio ...

– in his first managerial appointment – guided the Pars to their first major piece of silverware, winning the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1961 after just thirteen months in charge. The years which followed saw Dunfermline consistently competing in European competitions, reaching the semi-finals of the

1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup was the ninth season of the European Cup Winners' Cup, a club football competition organised by UEFA for the cup winners from each of its member associations. The tournament was won by Czechoslovakian side ...

under

George Farm George Neil Farm (13 July 1924 – 18 July 2004) was a Scottish professional football goalkeeper and manager. Born in Slateford, a suburb of Edinburgh, Farm represented his country on ten occasions, the last three of which occurred after a g ...

. Although they lost by one goal on aggregate to eventual winners Slovan Bratislava, it remains the greatest achievement in Dunfermline's history. This followed Farm managing Dunfermline to their second Scottish Cup victory, winning the competition in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

.

Norrie and "The Masterton Era" (1971–2012)

After a period of decline during the 1970s and much of the 1980s, the club returned to the top tier in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

under club legend

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 ...

, although they were subsequently relegated after just one season. The following years saw a similar pattern, with a handful of promotions and relegations throughout the 1990s. It was during this period that the club were rocked by the loss of club captain Norrie McCathie, who died on 8 January 1996 by

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...

poisoning. The appointment of John Yorkston as chairman and the involvement of Gavin Masterton in 1999 saw the club enter a period of resurgence, with two

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,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 ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, a

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 ...

final in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, as well as two short-lived excursions in 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

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 ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. In 2012 it emerged that the club had a number of outstanding tax bills with

HMRC His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the UK government responsible for the tax collectio ...

following the financial mismanagement of the football club by Yorkston and Masterton. The club were put into administration on 11 April 2013 and after a points deduction, were relegated to the third tier for the first time since 1986.

Fan ownership and German Investment (2013–2024)

Following 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 ...

and with a depleted squad, Jim Jefferies remained as manager and achieved a comfortable second place finish behind a Rangers team climbing the divisions following their own administration and multiple relegations two years prior. The club were officially taken over by fans owned group Pars United in October 2013, including the full ownership of the club's East End Park. Pars United's Bob Garmory was appointed the club's interim chairman and was joined on the board by Jim Leishman, Ian Hunter, Kip McBay, Craig McWhirter and Margaret Ross. Eventually Ross McArthur would become the club's new long standing Chairman. Jefferies’ side eventually failed to win promotion through the playoffs and he resigned in December of the following season. The club stumbled to a 7th place finish under John Potter but the squad was in a much stronger position and Allan Johnston lead the Pars to the League One title by an 18-point margin in 2015. This period in the club's history saw the arrival of fan favourites such as Faissal El Bakhtaoui, Andy Geggan and a returning Joe Cardle. Club legend and former striker Stevie Crawford was appointed head coach in January 2019 following a restructure that introduced other former players

Jackie McNamara Jackie McNamara (born 24 October 1973) is a Scottish professional Association football, football Sports agent, agent, and former football player, player, Manager (association football), manager and executive. He won 33 international caps playin ...

as technical consultant and Greg Shields as assistant head coach. Crawford resigned after two and a half seasons and was replaced by Peter Grant, who would become the manager with the lowest win percentage in the club's long history. John “Yogi” Hughes replaced Grant after five months and with the club bottom of the Scottish Championship he failed to turn around the team's fortunes, with the Pars once again relegated to League One. In September 2020 and at the height of the COVID 19 pandemic, Dunfermline announced that a group of four German investors had agreed to purchase a minority share in the club with the intention to eventually be the majority owners. The investors, led by former St. Pauli manager Thomas Meggle joined the club's board with Meggle also naming himself

Director of Football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

. Ross McArthur retired as Chairman and the German outfit brought in former

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

and

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

executive David Cook to serve as CEO and eventual Chairman. Work started on re-establishing the club's own in-house youth academy and the purchase of the former

Rosyth Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city cen ...

Civil Service Club was made to develop state-of-the-art training facilities. Work stalled due to pandemic related construction cost increases and a fading interest from the German investors who had still not taken up the commitment to purchase the majority shares they had previously agreed to buy. Relations between the club and the fans began to sour due to a perceived lack of investment in the squad and the manager and in August 2024 the Germans announced their intention to sell their shares in the club after four years in charge. Dunfermline appointed former Dundee boss

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 ...

as manager on a two-year deal following relegation to League One, with Dave Mackay joining as assistant. McPake brought instant success with the Pars winning the league by 14 points and losing only one league game all season. After struggling to compete in the Championship amid the ongoing sale of the club, McPake was dismissed at Christmas 2024.

American takeover and a "New Era" (2025–Present)

January 2025 saw a deal finalised for American based outfit Park Bench SFC LLC to buy the club, with former poker star James Bord & business partner Evan Sofer named co-owners. The

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

based duo cited their desire to utilise their backgrounds in data analytics and artificial intelligence to realise the club's "immense potential". Already owning a minority stake in Spanish

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

side Córdoba CF and Bulgarian outfit PFC Septemvri Sofia, Park Bench LLC acquired 99.84% of Dunfermline. The club's social media profiles quickly replaced the "Living True Sportsmanship" motto of the previous German owners with tag lines of "A new era". The new owners first act was to fill the head coach vacancy by appointing Fife neighbours Kelty Hearts manager Michael Tidser on a two and a half year deal. With the team failing to score in eight out of eleven games and stuck in ninth place in the Championship, Tidser was sacked on 17 March after only two months in charge. On 21 March 2025, the club appointed former

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 Hibernian manager

Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He currently manages Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic. During his playing career he represe ...

on a short-term deal until the end of the season. Lennon signed former

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

finalist and Kenyan international Victor Wanyama until the end of the season. Wanyama made his debut from the bench against Ayr United on 29 March 2025 and was sent off after 20 minutes following a deliberate handball. After confirming the club's

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

status with a 7th place finish, Lennon signed a two year deal to remain as manager.

Colours and badge

For much of Dunfermline's history their home colours have been black and white striped shirts, with black shorts and black socks, though recently they have worn white shorts and white socks. From the club's formation in 1885 until 1901, the club's home colours were a plain maroon shirt with either navy or white shorts and either maroon, white or grey socks. The club then went through a period between 1901 and 1909 when their kits were blue. The club first wore their now well-known black-and-white-striped shirts in 1909 and have worn these colours every year apart from the 1971–72 season, when they wore all white, the 2004–05 season, when they wore a white shirt with a single black stripe running down the left side of the shirt and during the 2007–08 season, in which they wore an all-white shirt with black shorts and white socks. For the 2008–09 season, the Pars reverted to their well-known black-and-white stripes resembling the kit they wore for the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons. Conversely, there has been no consistent colour or design of the club's away strips. Since the start of the new

millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

, the club have most regularly had red kits of varying design; for example, the 2004–2005 away strip consisted of vertical red and black lines, whereas the 2016–17 kit was mostly red, with four horizontal lines of red, white and black across the chest. However, away kit designs have not been exclusively red, with the club having also had kits of purple, blue and yellow, as well as black, as was the case during the 2005–06 season. The current Dunfermline Athletic club badge design was created in 1957 by Colin Dymock, an art teacher at Dunfermline High School. It was allegedly inspired by one of Dymock's mysterious nightmares. The "DAFC" represents the initials of the club, Dunfermline Athletic Football Club, whilst the tower is a representation of Malcolm Canmore's Tower. The tower was adopted by the town of

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

to be used for the Burgh Arms and old seals. Malcolm Canmore was

King of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...

from 1057 to 1093, and made his residence in Dunfermline within what is now Pittencrieff Park. The park is represented by the stormy, ghostly blue and black night scene behind the tower, including the park's infamous hanging tree. The green area at the bottom of the crest is meant to represent the club's stadium, East End Park. Whilst the badge has been in use since the 1950s, it has undergone a number of alterations since its original incarnation, with the most recent adjustments in 2011 altering the outlines, font and colours of the logo.

Nickname

According to ''Black and White Magic'', a 1984 book about the club by Jim Paterson and Douglas Scott, there are numerous theories as to the origin of the club's nickname, the Pars. The authors wrote: "''Most tend to confirm the more common belief that the name arose from the team's parallel striped shirts, their drinking habits or their style of play. The latter were both described as "paralytic". The earliest theory claims that in the early days when the Football Club was closely connected with the Cricket Club, the footballers were renowned for their performances at the bar and so were called the "Paralytics".'' ''However, in the early 1900s it is known that Athletic's nickname was the "Dumps" – shortened from Dunfermline – and this is said to have been coined by English sailors visiting East End Park when their ship docked at

Rosyth Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city cen ...

. After World War I they were known as the Pars and some believe the parallel black and white stripes to be the reason.'' ''Another school of thought involves English workers who came to work at the armaments depot at Crombie and at Rosyth Dockyard; they kept their association with their local team by forming the Plymouth Argyle (Rosyth) Supporters Club and it is said that the Dunfermline nickname comes from the banners in evidence around the ground.''" Another view, which holds water with the older supporters is that the name derives from the word 'Parr' which is a juvenile salmon with dark vertical markings.

Club culture

Songs

Like other football clubs, Dunfermline has a number of songs and anthems. A popular song, and the anthem to which the team runs out is "Into The Valley" by local band the Skids. Since the 1950s the crowd have left the ground after the game to the tune of "The Bluebell Polka" by Jimmy Shand and his band. After Dunfermline score a goal at East End Park, the chorus of

the Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark was the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964, they had their first UK top-ten single, ...

's Glad All Over is played.

Rivalries

Dunfermline Athletic have traditional rivalries with local sides

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 ...

and Raith Rovers as well as contesting the Kincardine Derby with near neighbours,

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 ...

. They have also participated regularly in the

Fife Cup The Fife Cup is a Scottish regional football competition for clubs in the historic county of Fife. The competition was founded by the Fifeshire Football Association in 1882. The competition was originally known as the "Fifeshire Cup" from 1882� ...

since their formation in 1885, winning the competition more than thirty times, most recently during the 2018–19 season.

In popular culture

In the STV television detective drama

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...

, the writer and Dunfermline fan, Stuart Hepburn used the names of the 1968 Scottish cup winning side for the characters in a 2003 episode.

Hall of Fame

The club launched its Hall of Fame in 2004, initially with nine inductees. 50 individuals (ranging from players and managers to kit managers and the club historian) and two team groups (the 1960s cup winners) were members as of 2019.

Notable managers and players

Managers

*

George Farm George Neil Farm (13 July 1924 – 18 July 2004) was a Scottish professional football goalkeeper and manager. Born in Slateford, a suburb of Edinburgh, Farm represented his country on ten occasions, the last three of which occurred after a g ...

;

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

winner in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

with

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

;

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

international goalkeeper who managed Dunfermline to their highest achievement, the semi-finals of the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

during the 1968–69 season. *

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 ...

; former player and manager for the club, currently Provost of Fife. *

Jock Stein John Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He was the first manager of a club from a Northern European country to win the European Champio ...

; former manager of the club and former manager of

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 the Scotland national team.

Players

* Owen Coyle; former player, former manager of

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

,

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

,

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

and Blackburn Rovers. *

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...

; former player and former manager of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. * Norrie McCathie; club captain who had played for Dunfermline Athletic for 15 years. Died whilst with the club and has a stand at East End Park stadium named after him. * David Moyes; former player, former manager of Everton,

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

,

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. * Sol Bamba; former player and Ivory Coast international with 46 caps.

Players

First-team squad

Club captains since 1985

: Fordyce was initially appointed club captain for the 2015–16 season, however, after suffering a severe leg-break in September 2015, Andy Geggan was given the captain's armband for the remainder of the season. The two are considered co-captains for the season, with both having lifted the Scottish League One trophy together at the end of the season.

Management

Club officials

Backroom staff

Board of directors

Managers

Honours

Major honours

*

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1960–61, 1967–68 **Runners-up (3): 1964–65, 2003–04, 2006–07 *

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 ...

: **Runners-up (3): 1949–50, 1991–92, 2005–06

Minor honours

*

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 ...

, second tier: **Champions (4): 1925–26, 1988–89, 1995–96, 2010–11 **Runners-up (9): 1912–13, 1933–34, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1972–73, 1986–87, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1999–2000 *

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 ...

, third tier: **Champions (3): 1985–86, 2015–16, 2022–23 **Runners-up (2): 1978–79, 2013–14 *

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,2007–08

Club records

*Highest home

attendance Attendance is the concept of people, individually or as a group, appearing at a location for a previously scheduled event. Measuring attendance is a significant concern for many organizations, which can use such information to gauge the effective ...

: 27,816 vs

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 ...

, 30 April 1968 *Highest home European attendance: 26,000 vs

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

, European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals, 15 January 1969 *Biggest league win: 11–2 vs. Stenhousemuir, 1930 *Biggest league defeat: 10–0 vs.

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 ...

, 22 March 1947 *Biggest all-time defeat: 17–2 vs. Clackmannan, Midland League, 1891 *Most capped player: Andrius Skerla, 84 for

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

2000–2005 *Most appearances: Norrie McCathie, 576 (497 league), 1981–1996 *Most career goals: Charlie Dickson, 212 (154 league), 1955–1964 *Record transfer fee paid: £540,000 to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

for Istvan Kozma, 9 August 1989 *Record transfer fee received: £650,000 from

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 ...

for

Jackie McNamara Jackie McNamara (born 24 October 1973) is a Scottish professional Association football, football Sports agent, agent, and former football player, player, Manager (association football), manager and executive. He won 33 international caps playin ...

, 4 October 1995

European record

References

External links

*
Dunfermline Athletic BBC My Club page
{{Football in Fife Football clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1885 Scottish Premier League teams 1885 establishments in Scotland Scottish Football League teams Scottish Cup winners Scottish Professional Football League teams Football clubs in Fife Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom

History

Beginning (1885–1959)

Stein and Farm (1960–1970)

Norrie and "The Masterton Era" (1971–2012)

Fan ownership and German Investment (2013–2024)

American takeover and a "New Era" (2025–Present)

Colours and badge

Nickname

Club culture

Songs

Rivalries

In popular culture

Hall of Fame

Notable managers and players

Managers

Players

Players

First-team squad

Club captains since 1985

Management

Club officials

Backroom staff

Board of directors

Managers

Honours

Major honours

Minor honours

Club records

European record

See also

References

External links