CLUB
PROFILE
MUSSELBURGH
WINDSOR F.C.
Established in June 1953,
Musselburgh Windsor
are one of the oldest
Youth football clubs
In the country.
Their founder Joseph Brown
and his
close friends set out to create a football team that was
community orientated as opposed to gauging success by
trophies and titles. As written in the Edinburgh Evening
Dispatch in August 1953, the club’s purpose was to
‘provide opportunities for youngsters aged between
fifteen and seventeen years old in juvenile football.’
Brown believed that too many young people in the
area were watching football as opposed to playing it
themselves and he set out to rectify that. The issue, as
Brown saw it, may have been that at the time, due to outdated laws, playing football on the streets of Musselburgh
was actually illegal; an offence punishable by the payment
of five shillings. Financial donations were made to the
club in its early years, as a way of getting Windsor up
and running. Notably, Cruden Builders h anded over
twenty-five pound; for which Harry Cruden was made
an honorary member of the club. Neighbouring team
Hibernian FC also contributed financially, gifting Windsor
five pound. In 1975,
Midlothian Council granted Windsor the opportunity
to play their home matches at Pinkie playing fields for the
cost of £1.05 per game. Since then, Pinkie has remained
the home venue of the team. Musselburgh Windsor has
been a member of what is currently called the Scottish
Youth Football Association for over fifty years. By the
1977/1978 season, Musselburgh had youth football teams
competing across the age groups of U16s, U17s and U18s.
The year after, an U15s team was set up, paving the way
for what exists today where players as young as six can
join one of the Windsor teams. Windsor’s first girls team
was established in 2004 and to this day boasts over 70
members, with teams ranging from under 7’s to under
17’s.
This summer saw a huge operational change at the
club as Scott Robertson was reinstated in his role as club
president. Robertson was at the fore-front of a move to a
management committee system, replacing the previous
system of monthly meetings between members.
It is hoped that this new vision will continue to drive
Musselburgh Windsor forward and bring further success
to a club that has done so much on and off the football
field. Success has come recently for Windsor in the form
of a league win for their U19 team. The First Division title
was clinched at the end of April with an impressive 4-1
away win against their rivals Haddington Athletic.
Issue # 1 | YFS Magazine | 53