Rothes

Derek Thomson and Gordon Younie took the field against Wick Academy in 2015 as the oldest pair ever to start a match in the Highland Football League.

Rothes started life in 1907 as a Junior side called Rothes Victoria, and it took until 4 May 1938 for the club to turn senior, take the name Rothes FC and join the Highland League, where it still plays, in Scotland's fifth tier. The town gave it a home in Mackessack Park, named for Douglas Mackessack, a local laird and whisky magnate. The tangerine shirts have nothing to do with Speyside itself — they came from Dundee United, after Rothes bought United's old floodlights from Tannadice Park and took the colour along with the lights.

The championship years are thin on the ground but real: the Highland League title in 1958–59, the Highland League Cup in 2019–20 after beating Buckie Thistle 2–1 in the final, and the North of Scotland Cup three times, most recently in 2021–22. None of it has come with a production line of academy talent — Rothes has no formal youth setup and no capped internationals to point to. Games against Keith are known locally as the Whisky Derby, while matches with Lossiemouth carry their own weight as the Moray Derby.

It is a small ground, seating fewer than 200 of its 1,731 capacity.