Heriot-Watt University Football Club has reached the highest level of British university football for the first time since the club was founded 78 years ago.
They beat Leeds Beckett University 3-1 in a play-off and the club will now be promoted to the Premier Division of the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Football League.
BUCS is the UK’s national governing body for university sport and its football league has more than 450 men’s and women’s teams competing in 100 leagues.
The historic promotion means Heriot-Watt University Football Club will represent the university in the British University Football League for the first time.
Dan Potter, the sports union president, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and it means Heriot-Watt University Football Club will now be playing against the best and biggest university clubs in the UK like the universities of Nottingham, Newcastle and Durham.
“We want to be able to achieve and compete at the highest level and it shows the success of our students’ dedication and commitment to sport.”
Bejay Koya, head coach, said: “I feel a mixture of euphoria, happiness and delight for the team, the club and the university. It’s an important achievement because it elevates our status in university sports.
“It’s also very positive for our Sports Scholarship Programme because it should help us attract a higher level of athletes to the university and a higher level of sports performance as a result.”
This is the first year Heriot-Watt University Football Club has had Sport Scholarship students in its first team.
Heriot-Watt University has six men’s teams, one women’s team and more than 150 members and the club is the largest club affiliated to the University’s Sports Unio.
For the record, the club was founded around 1945 and first played in the East of Scotland Football League in 1971-2. University sport officially began in the UK when universities created the forerunner to BUCS in 1919.
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