Club histories

Falkirk

The club

Falkirk were founded in 1876 and play at the Falkirk Stadium, an all-seater ground on the eastern edge of the town holding 7,937. The club are known as the Bairns, from the Scots word for the children of Falkirk, and play in navy blue and white.

Recent seasons

Falkirk have climbed two divisions in three years. They were second in League One in 2019/20 with 52 points, fifth in 2020/21 with 32, sixth in 2021/22 with 44 and second again in 2022/23 with 67. The 2023/24 season was the turning point: they won League One with 90 points and went through the league campaign unbeaten. They went up again immediately, winning the Championship in 2024/25 with 73 points. Their first season back in the Premiership, 2025/26, was better than a promoted side would expect: sixth place with 49 points from 38 matches, 14 wins, 7 draws and 17 defeats, 50 goals scored and 62 conceded. Calvin Miller was the leading league scorer with 10. They went out of the Scottish Cup in the fourth round, beating Dunfermline Athletic on penalties in April 2026 along the way, and out of the League Cup in the second round.

Honours and landmarks

Falkirk have won the Scottish Cup twice, in 1913 and 1957, and were runners-up in 1997, 2009 and 2015. They have won the second tier eight times, a record for the division. They won League One in 2023/24. They have won the Challenge Cup four times, a joint record they share with Raith Rovers. Record attendance is 23,100 against Celtic in the Scottish Cup on 21 February 1953. Kenneth Dawson is the leading league scorer with 129 goals, and Tom Ferguson holds the appearance record with 498 senior games. The unbeaten League One league campaign of 2023/24 is the most recent distinctive thing about the club, and the 90 points that came with it.

Notable scorelines

Record victory: 9-0 against Port Glasgow Athletic in 1907. Record defeat: 1-11 against Airdrieonians in 1951. The 1957 Scottish Cup final against Kilmarnock went to a replay, and the 1913 win over Raith Rovers is the club's other national trophy. In the Premier Sports Cup group stage of July 2026 Falkirk's 5-0 win at Edinburgh City was their biggest result of the summer.

Head-to-head notes

Falkirk do not publish all-time head-to-head records on their own site, and no published all-time record could be established for any of the eleven Premiership opponents. What can be stated is recent form: Falkirk beat Motherwell 1-0 at the Falkirk Stadium on 2 May 2026 and lost 3-1 at Celtic in the same month. Falkirk and Dunfermline Athletic drew 0-0 in the Scottish Cup on 18 April 2026, Falkirk winning 4-2 on penalties, but Dunfermline are not a Premiership club this season. The club's traditional local rivals, Dunfermline, Stenhousemuir and East Stirlingshire, are all in lower divisions, so there is no derby in the top flight; Falkirk announced a cooperative partnership with East Stirlingshire on 10 July 2026. The nearest thing to a rivalry in the 2026/27 Premiership is with the other recently promoted sides, and no established record exists there.

Right now (2026/27)

John McGlynn is the manager, and remains in post going into the 2026/27 Premiership. Summer business has been steady rather than dramatic. Goalkeeper Jay Hogarth was loaned out on 28 June 2026. Ben Krauhaus joined on 13 July. Ryan Strain signed on 17 July. Aodhan Doherty, a 20-year-old Northern Ireland youth international left winger, arrived on a season-long loan from Blackburn Rovers on 25 July, having just signed a four-year deal at Ewood Park. Joe Gardner, a 21-year-old Republic of Ireland under-21 attacking midfielder, signed from Nottingham Forest on 28 July for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal; he had made his Forest debut in the FA Cup against Bristol City in 2024 and had loan spells at Lincoln City and Mansfield Town. Falkirk also played a pre-season friendly against KRC Genk in July 2026.

In the Premier Sports Cup group stage Falkirk were drawn in Group G with Ayr United, Edinburgh City, Alloa Athletic and Stranraer. They won 5-0 at Edinburgh City on 10 July, lost 0-1 at home to Ayr United on 13 July, drew 1-1 away at Alloa Athletic on 20 July and lost the shootout, and beat Stranraer 3-0 at home on 23 July. That gave them seven points and second place in the group behind Ayr United, who won all four and took the qualifying place. Falkirk did not reach the second round.

The Premiership season begins on 31 July 2026. Falkirk's first league match is at home to St Mirren on Saturday 1 August 2026 at 3pm. They then go to Motherwell on 8 August, host Heart of Midlothian on 22 August, go to Celtic on 29 August, host Rangers on Wednesday 2 September and go to Dundee United on 5 September. The Motherwell fixture was subject to an amendment announced on 31 July 2026.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_F.C. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Falkirk_F.C._seasons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025%E2%80%9326_Scottish_Premiership https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026%E2%80%9327_Scottish_Premiership https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026%E2%80%9327_Scottish_League_Cup https://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/fixtures/ https://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/news/ https://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/joe-gardner-is-a-bairn/ https://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/aodhan-doherty-signs/

Researched and written for not4quarters. Where a fact could not be established from the sources read, this page says so rather than guessing.