At the East Region Junior Football Association meeting on Tuesday 18th February, Thornton Hibs indicated that we would be resigning from the association at the end of the current season with the intention to apply to join the East of Scotland Football League for the beginning of next season (2020/21).

Thornton Hibs has been a member of the Scottish Junior Football Association since our move to the Juniors in 1935, and it is with somewhat of a heavy heart that the club has made this decision at this time. We, as a club, have been a strong advocate of more local football due to our particular circumstances and preference, but have supported the ERJFA’s position during the break-up of the East Region over the past couple of years based on information provided to the club.

With the strong likelihood that additional local teams would be making an application to the East of Scotland Football League, we felt that the timing was right for Thornton Hibs to make the same move, particularly if this meant a more regionalised set-up and an opportunity to renew our more traditional rivalries within the SFA pyramid system.

Those that know our home ground of Memorial Park will perhaps appreciate the challenges to be faced as we attempt to meet any conditions of our application. We plan to work closely with all agencies and stakeholders in an effort to overcome these particular challenges in an appropriate timescale.