The fourth tier of Scottish league football is often ignored when it comes to kit culture, so we’re taking a look at the shirts on display in the cinch League Two.
Last season, Queen’s Park won the title and were promoted to League One, in a memorable away strip by Admiral.
Meanwhile, Forfar Athletic took their place following relegation from the third division of the SPFL.
Kelty Hearts are the new boys in town after their play-off defeat of Brechin City earned them promotion from the Lowland League. That meant that poor old Brechin had to take the high-road to the Highland League.
Confused? Don’t blame you.
The lowest rung of Scotland’s league structure is a mix of professional and semi-professional clubs with many of the kits on display the result of partnerships with firms providing teamwear under licence from brands like Puma, Joma and Umbro.
Without the limitless supply of stock available from teams further up the ladder, don’t be surprised to find notices of club shops being down to a handful of remaining shirts or having sold out completely.
Still, there’s value and variety to be had for collectors who’ll know they’re supporting real football clubs keeping sport alive in local communities.
Let’s take a look at the shirts on display!
Albion Rovers
Albion Rovers were formed in 1882 after a merger between two sides.
Albion . . . and yes . . . you guessed it . . . Rovers.
The boys from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire may well have the smartest strips of the 10 teams that make up the division.
The simplicity of the home shirt recalls Roy of the Rovers whilst the more abstract black away number adds a little more flair.
Both shirts are available to buy through the Wee Rovers’ online store
Annan Athletic
The Galabankies have been a fixture of the division since their promotion to the Scottish football league following the sad demise of Gretna before the 2008-09 season.
This season’s strips are made by EV2 and fall into that category of being quite hard to come by.
For anyone seeking souvenirs of Dumfries and Galloway, and Annan’s black and gold colours, their online store can be found here.
Cowdenbeath
Affectionately known as The Blue Brazil, Cowdenbeath are the oldest surviving football club in the kingdom of Fife.
This season’s Umbro kit is supplied by Football Nation and the smart pattern across the chest, along with those white sleeves, reminds us of some of the Bundesliga shirts the double-diamond brand has supplied over the past couple of years.
Cowdenbeath’s kit is available to buy here.
Edinburgh City
The Citizens made history after becoming the first non-league club to win promotion to the SPFL after securing the Lowland League title in 2016.
The semi-pros have returned to the city’s refurbished Meadowbank stadium and Macron have decked them out in a smart black and white kit with patterned sleeves for the 2021-22 campaign.
Macron have done a great job with Edinburgh’s kits over the past couple of seasons and you can track them down here.
Elgin City
The city of Elgin holds all the legend and romance of the Scottish highlands and has boasted a league football club for the past two decades.
The Black and Whites have been members of the same division since they were elected to join an expanded league in 2000 alongside Peterhead.
Their Borough Briggs ground is is the most northerly football league ground in the United Kingdom and visitors can feel the ghosts of MacBeth and Duncan chilling their bones on cold evenings watching Elgin City play.
Elgin’s striped shirts are produced by The Soccer Shop Direct and available to buy from the club shop here.
Forfar Athletic
Forfar Athletic’s sky blue colours return to League Two following last season’s relegation.
From the town of Forfar in Angus, they get their Loons nickname from an old slang word for young boys or lads and are famous for being one half of the comedy result that nearly came true, when they won a five-goal thriller to record a victory of, East Fife 4, Forfar 5.
Forfar should be applauded for keeping their kits for two seasons meaning these are the 2020-22 home and 2021-23 away shirts.
Both kits are made by Pendle and their are some decent looking deals available through Forfar’s online store.
Just make sure you get your order in before Friday lunchtime!
Kelty Hearts
Founded in 1975 and based in the village of Kelty in Fife, the Jambos are near neighbours of Cowdenbeath and have started their debut league season well.
The Hearts’ maroon home shirts hint at a passing allegiance to Heart of Midlothian and feature the same subtle tonal stripes you’ll find on Swansea City’s 2021-22 kits.
We particularly like the slim blue and white stripes of Kelty’s away strip and both shirts can be picked up here.
Stenhousemuir
Stenhousemuir are one of those legendary old names of the Saturday afternoon classified football results, familiar to generations of football fans, it makes us feel oddly chilly just hearing the name of the Falkirk based club’s Ochilview Park home.
Founded in 1884, Stenny remain the only club to have competed in the professional leagues since the 20th century but never to have won a league title.
That’s some claim to fame!
The Warriors’ boast a pair of the most experimental kits in the division, courtesy of Puma in association with RJM Sports.
If these take your fancy then head over to Stenhousemuir’s online store.
Stirling Albion
In our opinion, Stirling Albion are blessed with one of the most romantic and beautiful badges in football.
The crest centres on the National Wallace Monument, perched on top of Abbey Craig, with the Ochil Hills etched into the background.
This season’s strips are made by Macron and were launched via the video below:
The red home shirt and navy blue away number can be found here, with free shipping available for orders over £30.
Stranraer
Founded in 1870, the Stair Park boys are the 3rd oldest surviving club in Scotland behind Queen’s Park and Kilmarnock.
Joma have supplied a neat retro looking home strip with those classy tonal stripes we’ve seen elsewhere, but it’s the hooped Stranraer away strip that really stars for us.
Incidentally, ferry operators Stena Line have sponsored the club for the past 32 years.
The Blues 2021-22 kits are available through their online store
Great to see someone giving lower league Scottish shirts a bit of coverage. I used to go watch Stirling Albion when I went to Uni there – one of the favourites in my shirt collection is a Binos shirt from 1998, made by Arrow (whatever happened to them?!).
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Thanks Gary, appreciate the comment!
Love reading up on these things, so the question is, do we do League One next?
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Absolutely!
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