This summer has seen mammoth changes to football at our level, as all parties continue to seek a workable model within the Scottish Football Pyramid system. With so many changes, here is a guide to how the forthcoming season will shape up.
SCOTTISH LOWLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE (WEST)
For season 2026-27, the Scottish Lowland Football League at tier 5 of Scottish football has expanded from 16 clubs to 32 clubs, split into two regionalised divisions; the West and the East. The West league consists of 16 member clubs, plus one guest club (Celtic B).
With season 2026-27 now on the horizon, the new Scottish Lowland Football League (West) will look like this:
| CLUB | HOME GROUND | 2025-26 LEAGUE | |
| 1 | Albion Rovers | Cliftonhill, Coatbridge | Lowland League |
| 2 | Auchinleck Talbot | Beechwood Park, Auchinleck | WOSFL |
| 3 | Beith Juniors | Bellsdale Park, Beith | WOSFL |
| 4 | Caledonian Braves | Strathclyde Country Park, Bothwell | Lowland League |
| 5 | Celtic B | Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie | Lowland League |
| 6 | Clydebank | Holm Park, Yoker | Lowland League |
| 7 | Cumbernauld Colts | Broadwood, Cumbernauld | Lowland League |
| 8 | Cumnock Juniors | Townhead Park, Cumnock | WOSFL |
| 9 | Dalbeattie Star | Islecroft Stadium, Dalbeattie | South of Scotland |
| 10 | Gretna 2008 | Raydale Park, Gretna | Lowland League |
| 11 | Johnstone Burgh | Keanie Park, Johnstone | WOSFL |
| 12 | Kilwinning Rangers | Buffs Park, Kilwinning | WOSFL |
| 13 | Largs Thistle | Barrfields, Largs | WOSFL |
| 14 | Newton Stewart | Blairmount Park, Newton Stewart | South of Scotland |
| 15 | Pollok | Newlandsfield, Shawlands | WOSFL |
| 16 | Renfrew | New Western Park, Renfrew | WOSFL |
| 17 | Troon F.C. | Portland Park, Troon | WOSFL |
PROMOTION
The Champion club in the Lowland League West will qualify for the SPFL Promotion Play-off, but only if they have an SFA Bronze Level License. As of the start of the season, only Clydebank & Cumbernauld Colts currently have a Bronze licence, but that may change for some clubs as this season progresses.
The Lowland League West Champion will enter the play-off against the Lowland League East Champion and the Highland League Champion (assuming they are in possession of the qualifying license) and the winning club in that round robin play-off will face “Club 42” in a two-legged play-off.
RELEGATION
The bottom two clubs from this season’s Lowland League West are at risk of relegation to either the West of Scotland Football League (WOSFL) or the South of Scotland Football League (SOSFL) depending on which league they originated from. Should a promotion candidate from either of these leagues below not meet the Scottish FA Club Licensing requirements, a club from the Lowland League West will be spared from relegation.
CUP COMPETITIONS
We will enter four major Cup competitions this season:
Scottish Gas Scottish Cup 2026-27
Following 3 Preliminary rounds, Troon will enter the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup at the 1st round stage with all other tier 5 clubs, which will take place on the weekend of Saturday 3rd October.
| 1st Preliminary Round | Saturday 1st August 2026 |
| 2nd Preliminary Round | Saturday 22nd August 2026 |
| 3rd Preliminary Round | Saturday 12th September 2026 |
| 1st Round | Saturday 3rd October 2026 |
| 2nd Round | Saturday 24th October 2026 |
| 3rd Round | Saturday 28th November 2026 |
| 4th Round | Saturday 16th January 2027 |
| 5th Round | Saturday 6th February 2027 |
| Quarter-Final | Saturday 6th March 2027 |
| Semi-Final | Saturday & Sunday 17th & 18th April 2027 |
| Final | Saturday 22nd May 2027 |
Scottish Communities Cup 2026-27
The Juniors have undergone something of a modernisation and a rebrand, and the new Scottish Community FA are looking to the future.
Scottish Community FA Chief Operating Officer Alex McDowall has breathed new life into the 139 year old competition, with some ambitious plans for the future, and in terms of prestige it is back up there as the one to win.
With a showpiece final screened live nationally on the BBC, and the biggest prize fund outside of the SPFL, there is just a special feel to “Scottish Junior Cup Day” which is yet to be replicated by any other.
Auchinleck Talbot are the defending Champions, after defeating Largs Thistle with a dramatic last-minute winner live on BBC in last year’s final at Broadwood in front of a bumper crowd of 3,481.
Troon will enter the Scottish Communities Cup at the second round stage, as an SFA Licensed Club.
South Region Challenge Cup 2026-27
Founded in 2007, the South Region Challenge Cup is the tournament for teams at tier 5 and below in the Scottish football pyramid (in the southern part of Scotland at least).
Cumnock are the holders, after defeating University of Stirling in last year’s final at Broadwood in front of a crowd of approx. 800.
| 1st Round | Saturday 15th August 2026 |
| 2nd Round | Saturday 5th September 2026 |
| 3rd Round | Saturday 10th October 2026 |
| 4th Round | Saturday 14th November 2026 |
| 5th Round | Saturday 19th December 2026 |
| Quarter-Final | Saturday 30th January 2027 |
| Semi-Final | Saturday 27th February 2027 |
| Final | Sunday 28th March 2027 |
The Lowland League Cup 2026-27
The Lowland League Cup will involve all 33 participating clubs in this season’s East and West divisions, and early stages will be seeded to ensure cross division matches.
Cumbernauld Colts are the holders, after defeating Gala Fairydean Rovers in last year’s final at Bo’ness.
| First Round | Saturday 21st November 2026 |
| Second Round | Saturday 30th January 2027 |
| Quarter-Finals | Wednesday 17th February 2027 |
| Semi-Finals | Saturday 27th February 2027 |
| Final | Sunday 21st March 2027 |
FIXTURES
This season’s fixture list from the Lowland League will be released on Thursday 2nd July at 12pm.
Our fixture list, which will be continually updated as the season progresses, has the outlined dates for each competition marked down for info. As always, any fixture dates are subject to change, although we anticipate far fewer changes this season. Just click the link below:
KICK-OFF TIMES
In the Lowland League, we will kick-off at 3pm on a Saturday and 7.45pm for midweek matches. Our home midweek matches will almost always be on a Wednesday, but some away midweek matches could be on a Tuesday if the home team have requested. The Lowland League Cup will be the same as the league.
Scottish Cup matches may be changeable, but will almost always be a 3pm kick-off on Saturdays.
The Scottish Communities Cup will almost always be a 2.30pm kick-off.
South Region Challenge Cup matches will be dependent on the home team, and will kick-off when the home team typically kick-off in their league matches.
All kick-offs and match details will be on the fixture list on our website, that is the best place to keep a close eye on where to watch your team.
It’s certainly been a summer of change so far, and some exciting firsts ahead of us. A season to look forward to!
Keep your eyes peeled for some exciting announcements, including new signings…