ReBrand: Kelty Hearts FC

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Kelty Hearts Football Club was established as an amateur side in 1975. After the 1978/79 season, five of the club’s players were signed by Halbeath Juniors, prompting the amateurs to become a junior side in order to remain competitive. In June 1980, the club was accepted into the Scottish Junior Football Association, where they competed for the better part of the next three decades.

During their time as a junior side, the Hearts reached the Scottish Junior Cup final twice, in 1999 and in 2007, though finished as runners up on both occasions. By the 2010s, the club was looking more dominant in the East Region Super League, winning the league in 2015 and 2017. After their second league victory, Kelty Hearts applied for admission into the Scottish Football Association, which was granted in December 2017.

The club entered the East of Scotland Football League in 2018 and finished at the top of the table that same season. As EoSFL champions, the Hearts played Threave Rovers for a chance at gaining another promotion. Over two legs, the Hearts dominated the Rovers, amassing a comprehensive 10-0 aggregate score to seal their entry into the Lowland Football League.

Kelty’s success continued in the Lowland League, placing third in their inaugural season (behind East Kilbride and BSC Glasgow, in first and second place, respectively). They topped the table in both of the curtailed (as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic) 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. Because of the pandemic, neither the Highland nor Lowland League champions were given the chance to compete for promotion into the SPFL in the 2019-20 season. Despite having only played 13 matches in the 2020-21 season, Kelty were given the opportunity to play Brora Rangers, the Highland League champions, who they defeated 6-1 over two legs. Kelty then faced SPFL League Two bottom side, Brechin City. With their 3-1 victory over Brechin over two legs, Kelty gained promotion to the SPFL for the first time in their history and will compete in League Two for the 2021-22 season.

The current Kelty Hearts badge is quite a sight to behold. I imagine, judging from the design, that this badge has been used since the 1970s. While I admire its uniqueness, with the text set on straight lines within a circle, there is very little design coherence. All four linear elements — the heart, the club name, the date and football and the ‘F.C.’ banner — utilise completely different styles. In order to bring them into some sort of unity, I decided to incorporate each element within a new circular badge.

Both the home and away kits make use of the traditional Kelty Hearts colours and have been inspired by 1970s kit styles.

ReBrand: Gretna FC 2008

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The original Gretna Football Club was established in 1946, competing in the Dumfries and District Junior League. Due to the town’s proximity to England, in 1947, the club began to compete in the Carlisle and District League. Gretna continued to play in English leagues until gaining admittance into the Scottish Football League in 2002 (replacing the original Airdrieonians, who had ceased operations).

Between 2005 and 2007, Gretna achieved phenomenal success in Scottish football. Over these three consecutive seasons, the club gained promotion from the bottom to the top tier.

In the 2005/06 season, Gretna’s 3-0 victory over Dundee in the semi-final sealed their place in history as the first team from the third tier to have reached the final of the Scottish Cup. Gretna would draw 1-1 with Hearts in the final, only to lose on penalties.

As a result of their admirable Scottish Cup performance, and by virtue of Hearts having already qualified for the Champions League for having finished second in the Scottish Premier League, Gretna became the first club from the Scottish third tier to have qualified for the UEFA Cup (the predecessor of the Europa League competition).

Eventually, Gretna became the victims of their own rapid ascension. Due to the unsuitability of the club’s home ground for top tier matches, Gretna was forced to play their home games at Motherwell‘s Fir Park, some 76 miles from Gretna itself. Additionally, the financial strain of the club’s rise began to show. This only exacerbated Gretna’s lacklustre debut season in the Scottish Premier League. By March 2008, the club had gone into administration and was deducted ten points under SPL regulations. Gretna was relegated on 29 March after a loss to St Mirren and ended the season with only 13 points.

The original Gretna Football Club resigned from the Scottish Football League on 3 June 2008 and was liquidated formally on 8 August. But before this liquidation had been made final, the Gretna Supporters’ Society formed ‘a new Gretna Football Club’, Gretna FC 2008, and were accepted into the East of Scotland Football League. By 2013, the new Gretna club was elected as a founding member of the Lowland Football League.

The current Gretna 2008 badge is derived from the original Gretna badge. Though the colour scheme and the shape of the shield itself has been altered, the essential elements remain – a representation of Sark Bridge above a horseshoe above an anvil that is flanked by thistles. As with the old Gretna badge, this badge also features the club’s name within the shield, which, as I have observed elsewhere, is a problem when it comes to a certain ancient Scottish heraldic law (see my redesigns for Airdrieonians and Ayr United for more information). I also find this collection of items to be a wee bit too busy. Ultimately, I found the Sark Bridge to represent too much of the ‘naff’ characterisation of Gretna being a place where English lovers could flee for a quick and easy wedding under Scots Law. Truth be told, the same can probably be said for both the horseshoe and anvil, but I consider those two images to represent a bit more of the resilience and durability of the footballing spirit in Gretna.

For my redesign, I employed a shield more akin to the shape of the original Gretna badge. Inside, it only includes an anvil and a horseshoe. Black and white horizontal lines, resembling the traditional Gretna black and white hoops, have been placed behind the shield. The badge is encircled by a ring bearing the club’s name.

Both kit redesigns employ traditional Gretna colour schemes, with the home kit utilising the original club’s black and white hoops.

ReBrand: Gala Fairydean Rovers FC

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Gala Fairydean Rovers Football Club was established in the Borders town of Galashiels in 1894. Thirteen years later, in 1907, the club split into Gala Fairydean and Gala Rovers, with the Rovers acting as the reserve side for Fairydean. With the outbreak of the First World War, both sides ceased. In 1919, Fairydean alone resumed competition, becoming a founding member of the East of Scotland Football League four years later. It would not be until 1947 that the Gala Rovers name resurfaced, this time, as an amateur side.

Fairydean experienced relative success in the EoSFL, with their most fruitful period taking place in the 1960s. During this time, the club claimed six league championships (1960/61, 1961/62, 1963/64, 1964/65, 1965/66 and 1968/69). Fairydean went on to win the EoSFL championship twice more, in 1988/89 and 1990/91.

Over the coming years, Fairydean applied unsuccessfully to the Scottish Football League on four ocassions. Eventually, in 2013, Fairydean and Rovers merged, forming the modern incarnation of Gala Fairydean Rovers. That same year, the new club was granted membership in the new Lowland League.

At some point during their time as Gala Fairydean, the club began to use a badge which featured the coat of arms of the Burgh of Galashiels. This coat of arms includes two foxes seated at the base of a plum tree, looking upward and a version of this image can be found in the current badge. The current badge also includes a hovering football, the Latin motto, UNITAS EST FORTITUDE (‘unity is strength’) and two red stripes over a black field, representing, in my best estimate, the traditional home kit of Gala Fairydean.

For my redesign, I decided that I wanted to retain the elements from the coat of arms and the Latin motto (which I find especially apt given Gala Fairydean Rovers’ history), but I was not convinced with the way that they are presented in the current badge. I opted to tie the foxes, the plum tree and the football together, with the former resting atop a redesigned, Victorian-styled football in gold. As I don’t feel as if the current badge’s foxes much resemble foxes, I went with a more ‘maximalist’ colour scheme. I also chose to include both the current club’s date of formation as well as the original Gala Fairydean Rovers’ date of formation. The Latin motto has been moved to the outer circle in gold.

For the kit redesigns, I opted to go with some version of the current kits, bringing back the home kit’s red and black vertical stripes (which are absent from the club’s kit at present).

ReBrand: Edusport Academy

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Edusport Academy was established as a residential football academy in 2011 with the aim of developing young French players and giving them the opportunity to improve their English language skills. The purpose behind refining these skills was to give the young footballers an edge in entering into the professional game in Britain.

The academy continues to operate as such, but in 2014, applied successfully to become members of the South of Scotland Football League, becoming the first private academy to participate in a senior league recognised by FIFA. The following season, Edusport applied to the Lowland Football League, but was rejected. This did not deter the club for long, as they were crowned champions of the South of Scotland League in 2017, gaining promotion to the Lowland League.

In 2018, club founder Chris Ewing launched ‘Our Football Club‘, an online membership scheme, giving supporters the opportunity to have a more democratic voice in the affairs of the club. With this, Ewing expressed the goal of establishing the senior Edusport team as a separate club in its own right with the ambitious aim of reaching the top tier of Scottish football by 2025.

The current badge employs the colours of the French tricolore and features a small Saltire within its central football, representing the link between France and Scotland. While I appreciate the aim of this badge, I find it somewhat difficult to see as more than a relatively weak corporate brand. For a start, the colour scheme of ‘Edusport’ is reminiscent of the uninspiring SportsDirect.com logo. Additionally, the current badge features text within a shield – a ‘no-no’ under ancient Scottish heraldic law. For my redesign, I went for a roundel which features the club’s name with the French definite article le (l’). I have also included the French name for Scotland, Écosse, which is recognised quite readily in Scotland. Also within the outer circlet are found laurel branches, which are found in the current badge. The centre of the redesigned badge features a stylised ‘EA’ monogram and a red circle representing a football.

The kits are based upon previous incarnations of Edusport kits, with thick blue and black hoops on the home kit and red and dark red hoops on the away kit. To me, these seem simple, clean and dramatic.

ReBrand: Edinburgh University AFC

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Edinburgh University Association Football Club was constituted formally in 1878 and has been a member of the Scottish Football Association since the same year.

The club’s honours include the 1883 Edinburgh Shield (which is now known as the East of Scotland Shield) awarded by the East of Scotland Football Association. The club has also won the Queen’s Park Shield (a tournament for Scottish universities and colleges, with the shield itself donated by Queen’s Park to the Scottish Amateur Football Association in 1921) a record 26 times, including a run of eight consecutive wins from 1974 to 1982.

Having been eligible to compete for the Scottish Cup since their admittance into the SFA, Edinburgh University’s best performance came in 2006, when they beat Vale of Leithen to qualify for the first round of the competition. The club then defeated Highland League outfit Keith, proceeding to the second round where they met Cowdenbeath. The Uni lost to the league side 5-1, thus ending their run.

The club was the most successful university side in history until passing into senior football with their admittance into the Lowland League in 2014. Since that time, the Uni has yet to make a significant impact, with their best finish being 6th in the 2015/16 season.

The club’s current badge is a version of the university crest. This might well be used in order to comply with the university’s branding policies, but I thought that I would change it up ever so slightly, as that is my task here. I have designed a slight variation on the crest, doing away with the black outlines, and incorporating a unified design style for each of the heraldic symbols of the university. I have also included two Victorian-styled footballs as well as the year of the club’s founding. The shield is enclosed within a ring which features the club’s name.

For the kits, I have gone with the club’s traditional colours with some additional features. The outer ring and all text is omitted from the shorts.

ReBrand: East Stirlingshire FC

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As with a number of other Scottish football clubs, the origins of East Stirlingshire Football Club can be traced back to cricket. In 1880, a local cricket club in the Bainsford area of Falkirk, the Bainsford Blue Bonnets (styled as ‘Bainsford Bluebonnets’ by some sources), formed a football side called Bainsford Britannia. Britannia had existed as part of the cricket club for a year, when, in 1881, the football club broke away and adopted the name ‘East Stirlingshire’ (after a previous occupant of their home ground, East Stirlingshire Cricket Club). The name East Stirlingshire refers to the historic county of Stirlingshire, of which the town of Falkirk was a part until 1975.

In 1900, when Linthouse FC folded, the Shire gained the vacant spot in the bottom tier (at that time, the Second Division) of the Scottish Football League. East Stirlingshire did not impress during this spell and, in 1915, the Second Division was dissolved due to the First World War. After the war, in 1921, the Second Division was reintroduced and the Shire gained admittance once again.

The club experienced its share of ups and downs over the comings decades. In 1932, East Stirlingshire finished the season at the top of the table, sharing the position with St Johnstone. Thanks to the Shire’s superior goal difference, they gained promotion to the top tier of Scottish football for the first time. Unfortunately, this spell would last only one season.

When the Second World War broke out in 1939, the league was suspended. After the war, the Shire was not permitted to return to the second tier. Alongside a number of other small clubs, East Stirlingshire competed in the new third tier. At various points, the Shire gained promotion to and were relegated from the second tier, but it was not until the 1963/64 season that the club competed in the top tier for a second time. As with their previous spell, they lasted only one season before relegation.

Although East Stirlingshire’s league performances have proven unremarkable, they have experienced moderate success in cup competitions, reaching the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup on three occasions, most recently, in the 1980/81 competition. In that quarter-final, the Shire lost with a respectable 2-0 to cup-holders and eventual top tier champions Celtic.

At the end of the 2015/16 season, East Stirlingshire gained the dubious distinction of being the first club to have lost their place in the Scottish Professional Football League as a result of a play-off, relinquishing their place to the Lowland Football League champions, Edinburgh City 2-1 over two legs. Since that time, the Shire have competed in the Lowland League.

A version of East Stirlingshire’s current badge was first used in 1987. This first version incorporated orange as an accent colour, which first featured in the club’s 1980 badge. For my redesign, I have chosen to make use of the orange accent, which I find striking alongside the black and white. The roundel and the shield design call back to the 1980 badge, which I find particularly handsome. The two stars in the roundel call back to the old Stirlingshire coat of arms and depict two rowels (the spiked discs at the end of spurs).

For the home kit redesign, I went with East Stirlingshire’s traditional black and white hoops (used in the vast majority of the club’s home kits from 1883 onward). The red socks first featured in 1946 and have been used often ever since. The home kit also features a 1970s-styled collar. The away kit makes use of the orange accent. The shorts for both kits feature only the central portion of the redesigned badge.

ReBrand: East Kilbride FC

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The original East Kilbride Football Club was established in 1871, making it one of the earliest association football clubs in Scotland, after Queen’s Park (1867), Kilmarnock (1869) and Stranraer (1870). East Kilbride’s early years, like many football clubs at that time, were precarious, with the club folding and reforming on several occasions. Ultimately, the club folded for good after about a decade and the town of East Kilbride went unrepresented at the senior level for more than a century.

In 2010, the local junior sides Stewartfield FC and Jackton Boys Club merged to form a new club, taking the defunct East Kilbride FC name. For the 2012/13 season, East Kilbride competed in the South of Scotland Football League before becoming members of the Lowland Football League in its inaugural season the following year. Since joining the league, East Kilbride have proven very formidable, coming second in 2014/15, winning the league in 2016/17, coming second again in 2017/18 before securing their second league championship in 2018/19.

Having won the Lowland League on two occasions, East Kilbride were eligible to compete in a play-off against the Highland Football League champions for a chance at gaining a place in the Scottish Professional Football League. In 2017, East Kilbride beat Buckie Thistle with an aggregate score of 4-3 in order to advance to the League Two play-offs against last-place Cowdenbeath. The first leg, which took place at East Kilbride’s home ground of K-Park, ended with no score. The second leg ended 1-1 after extra time, forcing a penalty shootout to decide which would compete in the SPFL the following season. The shootout proved heart-breaking for East Kilbride, who lost 5-3.

The club’s second chance at promotion to the SPFL came following their latest league championship (2018/19), though the Kilby lost to the Highland League champions, Cove Rangers with an aggregate score of 5-1 (Cove went on to gain promotion to the SPFL with a 7-0 aggregate victory over Berwick Rangers).

The club’s current badge is attempting to do a lot. It draws its colours from the 1871 club’s colours of gold and dark blue and employs a number of local symbols. The use of the oystercatcher, the cross and the colour red represent St Brigid of Kildare, after whom ‘Kilbride’ is named. The current badge also features the date of the original club’s founding as well as the Latin motto, a priori, meaning ‘from the earlier’, which is yet another reference to the original club.

While I appreciate the symbolism of the current badge, I feel it tries to do too much in its current form. In order to comply with an ancient heraldic Scottish law, my redesigned badge takes the form of a roundel. The central image is an oystercatcher atop a football. The outer circle includes the club’s name, the Latin motto and the years of the founding of the original and current East Kilbride FC.

For the home kit redesign, I have gone with the traditional East Kilbride harlequin-style shirt of gold and dark blue and for the away kit I have made use of the current away colour scheme of red and white, though instead of opting for harlequin-style featured in the current away kit, I have gone with bold, thick hoops.

ReBrand: Dalbeattie Star FC

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The name Dalbeattie Star Football Club was used as early as 1900 for a team in the Kirkcudbrightshire town which played a number of local friendlies, but it was not until 1905 that Dalbeattie Star began to play competitive fixtures. In 1906, it was decided that the club would compete as a senior side and in August 1907, Dalbeattie Star were admitted into the SFA.

Sporadic local success came to the club until the cessation of football with the outbreak of the First World War. When competition resumed in 1919, the club’s committee decided to pursue professional football, though this proved to be a financial disaster. Even in the midst of financial hardship, the club experienced a number of local honours, winning the South of Scotland League title in 1924/25 and then again for five consecutive seasons from 1920/30 to 1933/34. The following season, the club withdrew from competition for a year and struggled up until the Second World War. In 1948, Dalbeattie Star ceased all operations.

Nearly three decades later, in 1976, the club was resurrected and regained a place in the South of Scotland League. An assortment of local achievements and qualifications in the early rounds of the Scottish Cup would follow. In 2001, Dalbeattie Star became part of the East of Scotland League before rejoining the South of Scotland League for the 2009/10 season. In total, Dalbeattie Star topped the South of Scotland League eleven times before entering the newly-formed Lowland League for the 2013/14 season.

Presumably, the current club badge has been in use for some time. Although the quality of the badge is lacking, it depicts a double-headed eagle taken from the Dalbeattie coat of arms, which itself is taken from the coat of arms of the Maxwell Earls of Nithsdale. For my redesign, I decided to make use of the double-headed eagle and the star, all within a shield. I’ve also added a red background in the hope of making the badge more striking.

For the home kit, I went with the club’s traditional colour scheme and design, namely, the vertical black and red stripes.

ReBrand: Cumbernauld Colts FC

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Cumbernauld Colts Football Club was established as a youth football club (hence, the use of ‘Colts’) in 1969.

During these early years, the club developed several players who went on to success in senior football, including Scottish internationals Derek Whyte (who went on to play for Celtic, Middlesbrough, Aberdeen and Partick Thistle) and Jackie McNamara (who went on to play for Dunfermline Athletic, Celtic, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aberdeen, Falkirk and Partick Thistle).

In the 1990s, several of the club’s teams disbanded and during the 1998/99 season, the final Colts club folded. The following season, the club was relaunched and continued to grow, gaining full membership into the Scottish Football Association and admittance into the Lowland Football League in 2015. Since that time, the Colts came in runners-up in the 2016/17 Scottish Football Association South Region Challenge Cup in and won the 2017/18 Lowland League Cup.

I find the club’s current badge to be a bit dated and it reminds me of an amateur American football club logo. For the redesign, I decided to opt for simplicity by illustrating a more anatomically correct silhouette of a horse within two ‘C’s.

The home kit employs the club’s traditional yellow and blue with a 1970s feel, while the away kit is dark grey, accented with a large silhouette.

ReBrand: Civil Service Strollers FC

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Civil Service Strollers Football Club was established as Edinburgh Civil Service Football Club in 1908. The club was based at Stenhouse Stadium until moving to Pinkhill Stadium in Corstorphine in the 1920s. In 1957, the club moved to the Edinburgh Area Civil Service Sports Association in Muirhouse, where they continue to play today.

In 2000, the club began to develop youth football sides, at which point the ‘Civil Service Stollers’ name first came into use. Before being admitted into the Lowland Football League in 2016, the Strollers experienced sporadic success in the East of Scotland Football League, but their greatest achievement came in the 2017/18 season, when they won the Scottish Football Association South Challenge Cup with a 2-1 victory after extra time over BSC Glasgow.

For the badge redesign, I sought to incorporate the club’s current symbols of a football and an inkwell and quill. The football redesign is more reflective of the club’s date of founding. I have also replaced the typeface with a serif-type and placed the lot within a roundel.

The home kit calls back to the 1970s, when the Strollers experienced some minor success in the East of Scotland Football League.

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design & illustration

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ReBrand: Kelty Hearts FC

ReBrand: Gretna FC 2008

ReBrand: Gala Fairydean Rovers FC

ReBrand: Edusport Academy

ReBrand: Edinburgh University AFC

ReBrand: East Stirlingshire FC

ReBrand: East Kilbride FC

ReBrand: Dalbeattie Star FC

ReBrand: Cumbernauld Colts FC

ReBrand: Civil Service Strollers FC