What is Highland Football League?
The '''Highland Football League''' (HFL) is a league of [[football (soccer)|football]] clubs operating not just in the [[Scottish highlands]], as the name may suggest, but also in the north-east [[Scottish lowlands|lowlands]] ([[Moray]] and [[Aberdeenshire]]). It is one of the three 'senior' non-leagues (that is a league that is not the [[Scottish Football League]] (SFL), [[Scottish Premier League]] or one of the [[Scottish Junior Football Association]]'s leagues) in [[Scotland]]. The HFL is a full member of the [[Scottish Football Association]]. == History == === Formation === The HFL was formed on 4 August 1893, at the [[Inverness]] Workman's Club. The original league consisted of seven teams: [[Inverness Thistle F.C.|Inverness Thistle]], [[Caledonian F.C.|Caledonian]], [[Clachnacuddin F.C.|Clachnacuddin]], [[Forres Mechanics F.C.|Forres Mechanics]], [[Inverness Union F.C.|Inverness Union]], [[Inverness Citadel F.C.|Inverness Citadel]] and [[Cameron Highlanders F.C.|Cameron Highlanders]]. [[Ross County F.C.|Ross County]] were an eighth original member, but resigned membership in November 1893. Of the original teams, two are still playing in the league today (Clachnacuddin and Forres Mechanics), and two merged to become current [[Scottish Premier League]] club [[Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.|Inverness Caledonian Thistle]]. === Recent History === Many of the member clubs have performed well when competing against SFL clubs in the [[Scottish Cup]]. However, from the 1990s onwards, the HFL has been a victim of its own success, with various teams defecting to other leagues. Furthermore it has also had to contend with overexposure of large teams in the area, such as [[Aberdeen F.C.|Aberdeen]] and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, as well as the Old Firm to the South, and to an extent English football. However, the lack of Premier League, and to a lesser extent First Division, teams in the area, has worked in its favour, with some football fans being less willing to travel long distances to games in southern Scotlan