Darvel F.C.

Darvel Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Darvel, Ayrshire. Nicknamed "The Vale" and formed in 1889, the club play at Recreation Park, and currently compete in the West of Scotland League First Division.

Darvel

Full name	Darvel Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Vale
Founded	1889
Ground	Recreation Park, Darvel
Capacity	2,200 (65 seated)
Manager	Michael Oliver
League	West of Scotland League First Division
2024–25	West of Scotland League Premier Division, 16th of 16 (relegated)
Website	https://www.darvelfc.com
Home colours Away colours

History

The club reached the final of the 1975–76 Scottish Junior Cup, but were beaten 3–0 by Bo'ness United.^[1]

Darvel won the Ayrshire District League title in 2016–17 to gain promotion to the West Super League First Division (renamed as the West Championship), the second tier of the SJFA West Region league structure.

The team was managed from June 2013 to November 2017 by Scott Clelland.^[2] On 14 February 2019, Darvel announced that Mick Kennedy would be the new manager for the season 2019–20.

The club and Blantyre Victoria were declared joint-winners of the West Region Championship in 2019–20 after the season was prematurely halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3]

Darvel joined the West of Scotland Football League in 2020–21 along with all other West Region junior clubs, and were promoted to the Premier Division for the inaugural season. In the first full season, they won the Premier Division in 2021–22.

On 23 January 2023, Darvel pulled off one of the biggest shocks in Scottish Cup history, as they beat Premiership side Aberdeen 1–0 in the fourth round at Recreation Park.^[4]

Players

Current squad

As of 11 July 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SCO Andrew Wilson 2 DF  SCO Ross Barbour (Captain) 8 MF  SCO Ross McKenzie 9 FW  SCO Aiden Gilmartin 12 MF  SCO Keir Ronney 15 MF  SCO Aidan Quinn

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 MF  SCO Aidan Callaghan 20 DF  SCO Scott Paterson 19 FW  SCO Aaron Brown 20 DF  SCO Cammy Williamson 22 DF  SCO Conner McGlinchey — DF  SCO Barry Eley — DF  SCO Robbie Cairns — DF  SCO Marc Smith — DF  SCO Luke Ramsay — DF  SCO Jason Naismith — DF  SCO Jordan Bow — MF  SCO Dom Boland — MF  SCO Jamie Bowman — FW  SCO Danny Burns — FW  SCO Steven Boyd

Coaching Staff

As of 11 June 2024

Position	Name
Manager	Michael Oliver
Assistant manager	Jamie Broadfoot
Coach	Andy Ward & Conor
Sports Therapist	Alice Meldrum

Honours

Senior
West of Scotland League Premier Division

• Champions: 2021–22

West of Scotland League Cup

• Winners: 2023–24

Junior
Scottish Junior Cup

• Winners: 2023–24
• Runners-up: 1975–76

West Region Championship

• Joint-winners: 2019–20

Ayrshire District League

• Winners: 2016–17