STORM CLOUDS CLEAR FOR FORT
Following several public meetings and committee sessions, on 29 April 2018 came the news that five of the existing board members had indeed left the club. On the plus side they left a healthy bank balance and three new recruits took over control, willing to underwrite the estimated £ 70,000 annual running costs of the only semi-professional club in the Western Highlands. Days later the new board announced that the club would also continue in the Highland League for the 2018 / 19 season. Kris Anderson was recruited as new first team manager charged with assembling a team able to compete rather than struggle in the fifth tier of Scottish football.
Despite a thriving academy set up, the Forts have always struggled to attract players of sufficient quality, often resorting to shipping in players from Glasgow and Inverness. Their traditional dragnet for local talent is from the surrounding areas of Lochaber, Oban and Speyside as well as the Isle of Skye. However, this flow of talent has dwindled since the closure of the Lochaber Welfare League, a summer competition, in 2016. Even nearby amateur club Ballachulish are forced to play in a Glasgow centric amateur league as there is nothing closer for them to join.
Fort William as an area, however, has produced players of a very decent standing. Bolton Wanderers’ legend John McGinlay started his career at Claggan Park, while ex-Chelsea and Swindon forward Duncan Shearer was born in the town.
4 Groundtastic- The Football Grounds Magazine