Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Historically it served as the county town of the county of Inverness-shire. Inverness lies near two important battle sites: the 11th-century battle of Blàr nam Fèinne against Norway which took place on the Aird, and the 18th century Battle of Culloden which took place on Culloden Moor. It is the northernmost city in the United Kingdom and lies within the Great Glen at its northeastern extremity where the River Ness enters the Beauly Firth. At the latest, a settlement was established by the 6th century with the first royal charter being granted by Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim in the 12th century. Inverness and Inverness-shire are closely linked to various influential clans, including Clan Mackintosh, Clan Fraser and Clan MacKenzie.
The Scottish Highland Football League is a senior football league based in the north of Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Scottish Professional Football League.
Nairn is a town and royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around 17 miles (27 km) east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. It is the traditional county town of Nairnshire.
The North Caledonian Football Association is a senior football association operating throughout the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and is a recognised body of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and as such has its senior football competitions officially registered with the SFA.
The Scottish Football Association is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations. It was formed in 1873, making it the second oldest national football association in the world. It is not to be confused with the Scottish Football Union, which is the name that the SRU was known by until the 1920s.
Clachnacuddin Football Club is a part-time, senior Scottish football club based in the city of Inverness, that currently plays in the Highland Football League.
Fort William Football Club is a senior football team from Fort William, Lochaber, Scotland. They play in the North Caledonian Football League having being relegated from the 2021–22 Highland Football League.
Wick Academy Football Club are a senior football club founded in October 1893, who currently play in the Scottish Highland Football League at Harmsworth Park. They represent the Caithness town of Wick, making them the most northerly professional football league club in the United Kingdom.
Raigmore Hospital is a health facility located in Inverness, Scotland. It serves patients from the local area as well as providing specialist services to patients from across the Highland area. It is a teaching hospital, educating a range of healthcare professionals in association with the Universities of Aberdeen and Stirling. It is managed by NHS Highland.
The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) is an integrated, tertiary institution encompassing both further and higher education. It is composed of 12 colleges and research institutions spread around the Highlands and Islands, Moray and Perthshire regions of Scotland. UHI offers further education, undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes which can be studied at a range of locations across the area and online. It has 31,000 students, including 19,779 further education students and 11,210 higher education students.
Sergei Pavlovich Baltacha is a Ukrainian former professional football player and coach who won 45 caps for the Soviet Union and made nearly 300 appearances for Dynamo Kyiv.
Alness is a town and civil parish in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. It lies near the mouth of the River Averon, near the Cromarty Firth, with the town of Invergordon 3 miles (5 km) to the east, and the village of Evanton 4 miles (6 km) to the south-west. The parish has a population of 5,310, although the census locality, which includes part of the parish of Rosskeen, has a population of 5,186.
Duncan Nichol Shearer is a Scottish former footballer, currently coaching the 'Development squad' at Inverness Caledonian Thistle. During his playing career, Shearer predominantly played for Huddersfield Town, Swindon Town, Aberdeen and Inverness. He also captained the Scotland 'B' team and played seven times for the full Scotland national team.
Charleston Academy is a secondary school established in 1978, in the Kinmylies area of Inverness, Scotland. The present roll is 724 pupils. The catchment area includes Kinmylies, Muirtown, Leachkin and Clachnaharry in the west of Inverness, as well as the rural communities of Beauly, Kirkhill, Kiltarlity, Struy, Abriachan and Dochgarroch.
In addition to their senior squad, Rangers Football Club also operate a football Academy which contains a number of football teams culminating in a B team, which plays friendly challenge matches against various domestic and European sides in accordance with the academy's development plan, having declined the option to continue in the SPFL Reserve League despite winning the competition in 2019. Historically, the club's second side was known as the Rangers Swifts.
Highland Rugby Football Club is a rugby union amateur club from the city of Inverness that compete in the Scottish National League Division One. They have a number of teams taken from different age groups including micros and minis, S1 and S2, Under-15, Under-16, Under-18 and senior first and second teams. They play their rugby at Canal park in Inverness.
The Highland derby is a football rivalry that is based in the Scottish Highlands. It is contested between the only two full-time SPFL clubs in the Highland council area, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ross County. The city of Inverness and town of Dingwall are only 14 miles (23 km) apart, whereas the nearest other professional clubs are over 100 miles (160 km) away from either club. The fixture is the most northerly professional football derby in the UK.
The Aberdeen Roughnecks are an American football club based in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, who compete in the BAFA National Leagues NFC 1 Scotland, the second level of British American Football. The team operate from the Sports field within Hazlehead Park that they nickname "The Rig". They were formed in 2012 and after progressing out of Associate status they debuted in the 2014 season. The club have paid homage to the previous Aberdeen-based side the Granite City Oilers and have considered themselves a continuation of the Oilers.
Steven Mackay is a Scottish football manager and player. After a spell as assistant manager of Scottish League Two club Elgin City, he now manages Highland League club, Nairn County.
Scott Allardice is a Scottish footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Scottish club Ross County. He began his career with Dundee United, making his first team debut in April 2017. He spent loan spells with East Fife and Dumbarton in 2018 before joining Bohemians in 2019. In 2020 he joined Inverness Caledonian Thistle and player there until 2023, when he joined their Highland rivals Ross County. He has represented the Scotland national under-19 team.
