Cowdenbeath F.C. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Cowdenbeath

Full name	Cowdenbeath Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Blue Brazil Cowden The Miners
Founded	1881; 144 years ago (1881)
Ground	Central Park
Ground Capacity	4,309
Chairman	Donald Findlay
Manager	Dougie Hill
League	Scottish League Two
2015–16	Scottish League One, 9th (relegated via play-off)
Home colours Away colours

Cowdenbeath Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Cowdenbeath, Fife, in Scotland. They are often called "The Blue Brazil" or "The Miners." The club was started in 1881 and plays its home games at Central Park.

Cowdenbeath FC is a very old club, being the oldest surviving football club in Fife. They joined the Scottish Football League (SFL) in 1905. While they haven't won the biggest trophies in Scottish football, they have won titles in lower divisions five times. They played in the top division of the SFL from 1924 to 1934. Since then, they've only had one more season in the top league, which was in 1970–71. Currently, they play in the Lowland Football League, which is the fifth level of Scottish football.

History of Cowdenbeath FC

Cowdenbeath FC started when two local clubs, Cowdenbeath Rangers and Cowdenbeath Thistle, joined together in 1881. Some history experts say the club truly began in 1882. That's when Cowdenbeath Rangers combined with another local team called Raith Rovers. This helped create one strong football club for the town.

The club quickly became successful. They reached the first Fife Cup final in 1883 and won the Cup for the first time in 1885. In 1905, they joined Division Two of the Scottish Football League. They won Division Two twice before World War I, in 1913–14 and 1914–15. However, they weren't promoted to the top division either time.

The club moved to their current home, Central Park, in 1917. After World War I, they were placed back in Division Two. In 1924, they finished as runners-up and were finally promoted to Division One for the first time! They stayed in the top division until 1934.

Cowdenbeath won their third Division Two championship in 1938–39. A player named Rab Walls helped a lot by scoring an amazing 54 goals that season! This is one of the highest goal totals in Scottish League history. Unfortunately, World War II started, and the club had to close down for a while. When football restarted in 1946, they were placed in the second-tier B Division.

One exciting moment after the war was when Cowdenbeath beat Rangers in the Scottish League Cup in 1949. The club worked hard to get back to the top league. They finally did it in the 1969–70 season under manager Andy Matthew. But they only stayed in Division One for one season.

In the 1990s, the club had some tough times, including a long run of 38 home games without a win. Things started to improve when former Scotland player Craig Levein, who began his career at Cowdenbeath, became manager in 1997. They won promotion from the Third Division in 2000–01.

In 2005–06, with player-manager Mixu Paatelainen, the team won their first divisional title in 67 years, winning the Third Division. In 2009–10, they were promoted to the Second Division after Livingston was moved down for breaking league rules. Cowdenbeath then surprised everyone by finishing third and winning the play-offs to get promoted again!

In 2011, they were relegated back to the Second Division after losing a play-off game. But under new manager Colin Cameron, they quickly bounced back. They won the league the very next season! They managed to stay in the First Division for a couple of years. In one exciting play-off final, they beat local rivals Dunfermline Athletic 4–1 to avoid relegation.

More recently, the club faced tough challenges. They were relegated twice in a row in 2015 and 2016. They had to play in relegation play-offs to stay in the SPFL (Scottish Professional Football League) in 2017 and 2018, winning both times. The team's performance improved in 2018–19, finishing in a safe sixth place. This good form continued into the 2019–20 season, where they finished fourth before the season ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, fans showed their support by donating over £14,000 to help the club during the pandemic. On May 14, 2022, Cowdenbeath was relegated from Scottish League Two to the Lowland Football League after losing to Bonnyrigg Rose.

Club records

Here are some of Cowdenbeath FC's biggest records:

• Biggest win: 12–0 against Johnstone in the Scottish Cup on January 21, 1928.
• Biggest loss:
  • 1–11 against Clyde on October 6, 1951.
  • 0–10 against Hearts on February 28, 2015.
• Biggest home crowd: 25,586 people watched them play Rangers on September 21, 1949.
• Youngest player to make their debut: Peter McKean, who was 15 years and 60 days old when he played against Forfar Athletic on November 11, 2014.

Playing squad

Here are the players currently in the Cowdenbeath FC squad:

No. Position Player GK Josh Blair GK Ruaridh Lynch (on loan from Dundee) DF Ethan Kerr DF Greg MacPherson DF Jack Denham DF Gregor Jordan DF Paul McLean MF Aiden McLaughlin MF Danny Swanson MF Shay Burke MF Gary Fusco MF Rhys Walker (on loan from Falkirk)

No. Position Player MF Robbie McNab (Captain) MF Sean Newman MF Matthew McDonald MF Olly Whyte (on loan from Motherwell) FW Daryl Healy FW Ewan MacPherson FW Jake Sutherland (on loan from Dunfermline Athletic) FW Jamie Docherty FW Riley Haston (on loan from Bonnyrigg Rose)

Out on loan

These players are currently on loan to other clubs:

No. Position Player DF Sean Guiney (on loan at Penicuik Athletic)

Noted players

Many great players have played for Cowdenbeath FC. Here are some of the most famous ones, including those in the club's Hall of Fame:

Honours

Cowdenbeath FC has won several league titles:

• Scottish First Division
  • Champions: 1913–14, 1914–15, 1938–39
• Scottish Second Division
  • Champions: 2011–12
• Scottish Third Division
  • Champions: 2005–06

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See also

A friendly robot

In Spanish: Cowdenbeath Football Club para niños