Brora Rangers F.C.

Brora Rangers were founded in 1879. In 1933 they gained access to membership of the Scottish Football Association and entered the draw for the Scottish Qualifying Cup competition. They were accepted into membership of the Highland Football League in 1962.

They won the North of Scotland Qualifying Cup competition in their centenary year, 1979, when they defeated Peterhead 5–0 on 17 November after a replay at Grant Street Park, Inverness, the teams having played a goal-less draw the previous week.

The club won their first ever Highland Football League title in the 2013–14 season after a 3–0 win against Keith on 5 March at Kynoch Park. They are the most northerly club to win the League title to date. They set several postwar Highland League records over the season: most points (95), greatest margin of victory in the league (20 points), highest win rate (31 out of 34), fewest goals conceded (16) and highest positive goal difference (+107). They ended the season with a 19-game unbeaten run which subsequently carried on into the 2014–15 season. With a draw against Fraserburgh in their 38th and final match of the year (across two seasons), Brora achieved the distinction of being unbeaten in league matches for the whole of 2014. Their unbeaten run in the Highland League eventually extended to 57 matches across three seasons, ending with a 3–0 defeat by Cove Rangers on 22 August 2015.

For the 2014–15 season, they started in the second round of the 2014–15 Scottish Cup, and they played for the first time in the 2014–15 Scottish Challenge Cup but lost in the second round to East Fife 3–2.[1] The club retained its Highland League title in the 2014–15 season, scoring a postwar record of 125 goals in a Highland League season, beating Inverness Thistle's previous postwar record of 124 in the 1969–70 season. With a record of 30 wins and 4 draws Brora ended the season as unbeaten champions, and were only the second club to complete an unbeaten season in the postwar era (following Caledonian in 1982–83). As Highland League champions, Brora entered the newly introduced promotion playoffs against Lowland League champions Edinburgh City. They won 4–2 in a penalty shootout after a 2–2 aggregate draw, with Stuart Kettlewell scoring the winner on 2 May.[2] Brora played off against Montrose, the bottom-placed club in Scottish League Two, for a place in League Two for the 2015–16 season. After winning their home leg 1–0, Brora suffered a 3–1 defeat in the away game, thereby losing 3–2 on aggregate to remain in the Highland League.[3]

The prospect of a future promotion to the national leagues has proven controversial due to the distances that players and supporters would be expected to travel to many of the away games.[4] Before the 2014–15 season began, it had been suggested that supporters would be allowed to vote on whether the club should join the Scottish Professional Football League were it to qualify for promotion.[5] However following Brora's successful defence of their Highland League title, chairman John Young said that the club had "looked at all options and there's no way we can avoid competing. We meet SPFL criteria for entry level so we can’t opt out, we’ve got to go for it."[6] Besides the impact on the club, it has been suggested that Brora itself would benefit economically from players and supporters of Southern clubs visiting the town.[7]

The 2019–20 season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Brora were declared Highland League champions.[8] They were due to progress to the playoffs with the Lowland League winner and the bottom club in League Two, but they were never held.[8]

On 23 March 2021 in the 2020–21 Scottish Cup, Brora recorded a significant upset by beating runaway Championship leaders and the previous season's Scottish Cup finalists, Heart of Midlothian, 2–1 at Dudgeon Park.[9][10] The result has been described as one of Scotland's biggest cup shocks of all time.[11]

For the second consecutive season, Brora were declared champions of the 2020–21 Highland Football League on a points per game formula due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was announced by the Highland Football League on 30 March 2021.[12]