EXCLUSIVE: Inverness Thistle chief reacts after new club wins place in North Caledonian League

Press and Journal

2 days ago

A new club with an old name – Inverness Thistle – are celebrating after being accepted into the North Caledonian League.
The moniker of the historic former Highland League club had been used in recent times in the Inverness amateur leagues, but a group of dedicated volunteers have been working towards creating a competitive side in the NCL.
Inverness Thistle and Caledonian FC merged in the early 1990s to create what is now Caley Thistle, who are in SPFL League One after have had two spells in the top-flight and won the Scottish Cup a decade ago.
However, football fans with a love for the red and black of Thistle have thrown their support behind the plans to build a new Jags club and they have been granted entry into the NCL – part of the pyramid system.
From next season, the North Caledonian League will have a competitive Inverness Thistle in action – and the efforts to get a squad in place can really pick up pace.
The club's chairman is Martin Mainland, a Lovat shinty player, who has played for Inverness Athletic in the NCL, and won the title with Loch Ness in 2023.
He stressed that the great news for Jags followers comes on the back of a wide community involvement and that 'team effort rather than individuals' has helped secure this early off-field victory.
The Thistle chief told The Press and Journal explained the background to Inverness Thistle, of 2025, reaching this crucial milestone.
He said: 'In the Inverness amateur scene around 2016 or 2017, there was a team called Inverness Thistle AFC.
'That club was run by quite a few people who are on our committee now. Our current secretary, Robert MacIllwraith, was their chairman at one point for example.
'Unfortunately, it didn't work for them, but we knew there was always an opportunity to take on the naming rights if they are not in use for a certain period of time.
'This was our chance to take the name into the senior football leagues, so we just went for it.
'We held many focus groups with fans and there are many people, even more than 30 years on, who remain sickened with the merger between the two clubs.
'A lot of people have a lump in their throat and they're not willing to follow the current club.
'But we are a new club, and it is just nice to bring something back.
'I'm only 33, so I knew next to nothing about the merger when I was wee, but I have a soft spot for the underdog, and I felt for so many people and how (losing Inverness Thistle) affected them.
'It hit a spot, and I felt 'maybe we can do something here'. And that's what's happened.
'We're in week 57. We started it in May last year with our first focus group to gauge the interest and it has grown from there.
'We have a really extensive team of people behind the scenes. This was so important to so many people, we wanted to get it right.
'It's run by hard working volunteers and I'd like to say I'm so grateful to everyone involved. It's a real team effort.'
Mainland explained one of the first steps was to get the right football management in place to move the club into these initial stages.
He said: 'We have a dual management team, Andrew Martin and Ryan Macleod, who I had seen in the amateur leagues for some time – they ran Culloden together for about 10 years.
'I was always interested in how they always kept a happy camp. In amateur sport, you see arguing and bickering, but they never seemed to bicker with one another and they fostered great camaraderie within their teams.
'Even though players would come and go, there was never fall-outs, so I thought it was important to get these guys in and that follows our club's ethos, which transmits on to the park.
'We're a community club – and the community is everyone. We want everyone involved at the club to be happy, and Andrew and Ryan were the perfect fit.'
Work is gathering pace to put a squad together, with this new Inverness Thistle not even having played a game yet.
Mainland added: 'We've not had a chance to play a game yet, but it will happen soon.
'We will soon get players signed up. We've been speaking with a large amount of players. I think we've around 30 players already interested in playing for us.
'We will also be running an open trials' day for people to turn up and have a go. We want to ensure we're as inclusive as possible.'
And Mainland is thrilled that Inverness Thistle will be one of 13 clubs lining up in the 2025-26 NCL, which kicks off on August 9.
He said: 'There are a lot of people on our committee with experience of the North Caledonian League, and I played for Loch Ness and Inverness Athletic where I was also captain.
'I know the clubs, the grounds, the area, and how competitive the North Caledonian league is.
'We thought about contacting the junior leagues, but we thought geographically it made sense to go for the North Caledonian League where we can get derby games in Inverness. It is the best way to create interest locally.'
Mainland confirmed that a home venue for Thistle remains under wraps, but the club will make an announcement in the coming days.