STORM CLOUDS CLEAR FOR FORT
P ETE M ILES BRINGS WELCOME NEWS FROM T HE H IGHLANDS
Claggan Park
Photos: Pete Miles
It’s been a rocky past season for one of football’s most cherished clubs, Fort William, peren-
nial losers and occupants of the iconic Claggan Park, arguably the most scenic football
ground in the United Kingdom. Their on field struggles have been well documented, but
its immediate future was under severe threat when in January of this year all six board
members announced that they would be stepping down at the end of the season. This
included the club’s primary benefactors Stewart Maclean and Gerald McIntyre whose cash
injections have kept the club afloat and funded the tortuous road trips needed in the High-
land League. At the same time the club notified the Highland League of their provisional
resignation from the competition at the end of the campaign. Off the field struggles are not
new to the club as there were saved twice from disaster in 2013 and 2015, the latter being
caused by a major dressing room fire, with vandalism also being a regular and costly bur-
den.
The club had three options open to them when the retiring board met for an EGM in April.
The first was to reconstitute a board with new members and carry on with renewed enthu-
siasm. Choice two was to reluctantly leave the Highland League and join the Scottish Ama-
teur set up or rejoin the North Caledonian League. This option was not without its own
issues as rejoining the North Caledonian League would have meant Fort’s nearest opposi-
tion would be Inverness Athletic who are located in Muir of Ord. The away trip to Thurso
would still take over four hours each way on a 173 mile journey. The final option, had
there been no offers of new blood and financing, would be to fold the club altogether.
Such was the genuine risk of option three becoming a reality, the troubling news sent
groundhoppers, photographers and enthusiasts scurrying northward to potentially see the
final few games at this fantastic venue.
www.groundtastic.co.uk | Facebook/Groundtastic | Twitter: @Groundtastic
3