The Midland Football League was an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

league tournament in

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 ...

that was contested in three different periods. The first incarnation of the tournament was founded in 1891 and ran until 1897 when most of the member clubs left to join the Central Football Combination. In 1903, it was reformed for a single season and again in 1908 for three seasons but was largely unfinished. All the teams that competed in the league were based in the Midlands of Scotland.

Original (1891–1897)

The original Midland Football League was established in 1891 and was contested by teams from the Midlands of Scotland.Midland Football League First version 1891-1897
, Scottish Football Historical Archive. Retrieved 13 May 2013. At a meeting in April 1891 in

Larbert Larbert (, ) is a town in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley above the River Carron (Forth), River Carron which flows from the west. Larbert is from the shoreline of the Firth of Fo ...

of representatives from eight football clubs there was a discussion about forming a new league. A month later an official meeting was held in

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 ...

and the Midland Football League was founded. There were ten clubs that competed in the inaugural season:

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. They compete in as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. According to the official club hist ...

, Alva,

Bridge of Allan Bridge of Allan (, ), also known colloquially as ''Bofa'', is a former spa town in the Stirling (council area), Stirling council area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. Overlooked by the National Wallace Monument, it lies on th ...

Camelon Camelon (; , ) is a large settlement within the Falkirk council area, Scotland. The village is in the Forth Valley, west of Falkirk, south of Larbert and east of Bonnybridge. The main road through Camelon is the A803 road which links th ...

Clackmannan Clackmannan ( ; , perhaps meaning "Stone of Manau"), is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is south-east of Alloa and south of Tillicoultry. The town is within ...

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 ...

Dunblane Dunblane (, ) is a town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links to much of the Central Be ...

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

Grangemouth Grangemouth (; , ) is a town in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area in the central belt of Scotland. Historically part of the Counties of Scotland, county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firt ...

and

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. The club has won f ...

. The original Midland Football League ran for seven seasons with membership frequently changing from season to season.

Reform attempts

1903–04

The Midland Football League was reformed in 1903, six years after the original competition folded in 1897. Ten clubs met in Glasgow and reformed the tournament but it lasted for only one season after six of the clubs left to reform the Eastern League. The competition was won by

Bo'ness Borrowstounness, commonly known as Bo'ness ( ), is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically part of the county of West Lothian (historic), ...

.Midland Football League Second version 1903-04
Scottish Football Historical Archive. Retrieved 13 May 2013.

1908–11

An attempt was made to reform the league for a second time in 1908 with seven clubs. It ran successfully for one season with Falkirk 'A' winning the league but three clubs left, Bo'ness, Broxburn Athletic and

Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir (; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in the west, where the nearest rail access is located ...

, to help form the

Central Football League There have been at least three competitions in Scotland known as the Central Football League. The first was originally formed in 1896 by five clubs – Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline Athletic, Fair City Athletic, Kirkcaldy and St Johnstone. In 1897 thi ...

in 1909. For the next two seasons the competition was largely unfinished with a backlog of outstanding fixtures and was eventually cancelled at the end of the 1910–11 season.Midland Football League Third version 1908-1911
Scottish Football Historical Archive. Retrieved 13 May 2013.

Winners

References

{{Defunct football competitions in Scotland Defunct football leagues in Scotland