Glenrothes (Scotland)

Glenrothes FC is a Scottish football club from the new town of the same name in Fife, who were formed in 1964 with assistance from the Glenrothes Development Corporation, starting out life playing at Dovecot Park.

The club made an immediate impression in the Fife Junior League, becoming champions in 1965-66, 1966-67 and 1967-68. The third of those successes crowned a superb season in which the Scottish Junior Cup final was also reached.

A crowd of 5,400 saw the quarter-final home win against Shotts Bon Accord. Defeat in the final came against Johnstone Burgh at Hampden Park after a replay, with the two matches attracting crowds of 28,800 and 21,720.

Further Fife Junior League titles were added in 1969-70 and 1970-71 before the club moved into a new purpose-built ground, Warout Stadium, which accommodated 5,600 fans against Cambuslang Rangers in a Junior Cup tie in 1974.

A sixth league crown was added in 1974-75. ‘The Glens’ also won the Junior Cup as 17,776 fans saw Rutherglen Glencairn beaten by a solitary goal at Hampden. More league titles arrived at the club in 1975-76, 1977-78, 1983-84 and 1984-85.

The club became a member of the East Region of the Junior set up, along with all other Fife Junior clubs, from the start of the 2002-03 season. Glenrothes continued to pick up many regional cup victories throughout the period.

The Glens played in the highest level East Region Super League before being relegated in 2005-06, before recouping their position at the first attempt in 2006-07 after winning the Premier League title.

The club continued to perform at the same level and continued to enjoy cup triumphs, with Benny Andrew as manager between November 2014 and September 2016, until they successfully applied to become members of the East of Scotland Football League for the 2019-20 season, when John Martin and Kevin Smith became co-managers.

Glenrothes were given a place in Conference B of the First Division, the seventh tier of the Scottish football pyramid. The club dropped ‘Junior’ from their title at the same time. A runners-up place in 2021-22 saw the Glens placed in the First Division for the following season, before promotion followed to the Premier Division in the 2022-23 campaign.

The side just about consolidated their position twelve months later, before Stuart Cargill was given the managers job in March 2025.

Glenrothes FC will play in the East of Scotland League Premier Division in the 2025-26 season.

My visit

Friday 24th January 2020

My travels sometimes offer me surprises along the way after I’ve, for some reason, got an impression of somewhere into my head. My mind told me that Glenrothes should be associated with history and scenery. With respect, the reality was different.

My trip around the football grounds of Fife had gone more or less to plan, covering the eastern side of the Kingdom the day after a most sociable evening around the pubs of Edinburgh.

However, my latest bus from Methill, where I’d been to the Bayview Stadium home of East Fife, to Glenrothes was around fifteen minutes late. Fortunately, regular services ran to Warout from the bus station.

I was soon alighting outside what was quite a sizeable venue. A couple of learner drivers were being put through their paces by instructors in the car park behind the stand. They must have wondered what I was up to, trying to find access and take photos.

It was no good. The ground was securely locked, but I still got some decent shots of three sides of the stadium, which now had its track grown over. Grass banking enclosed the pitch from the rest of the area around those sides.

It looked like I was only going to get photos of the outside of the covered stand until I used a bit of intuition and my selfie stick. I’d given in to purchasing one until realising its worth on such ventures.

It was utilised to take shots over walls rather than of myself. I found a gate near the bus stop, and using a bit of geometry, I took some images by using the stick on its side and around the corner of the hedge. It wasn’t perfect, but it was certainly my best option.

Again, I’m not sure what any locals or passersby would have thought. I don’t suppose they came across many groundhoppers using selfie sticks? I wasn’t too concerned. My job was done, and I boarded the bus to Thornton pleased with my work.