East Kilbride Thistle FC

East Kilbride Thistle are one of the few non-professional clubs in Scotland to field football teams across the complete range of age groups, for men, women, boys, and girls. Regardless of your age, Thistle have a team for you. Further details of the team types can be found below, or use the Teams menu above to find your ideal team. Players can join us at 4 years old, and by the time they are 20 they should have had every opportunity to fulfil their potential. We endeavour to make sure that every player fulfils their potential, no matter what their starting level of ability is, through appropriate pathways and excellent coaching methods.

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Soccer School
Thistle's player pathway starts with our innovative Soccer School, which runs every week on a Sunday afternoon from 4pm to 5pm at Duncanrig High School. The Soccer School is open to 4 to 6 year olds, and aims to teach the young players the very basics of football, from control to passing, in a controlled yet fun atmosphere.

Youth Fun Fours Teams
The starting point for team football in Thistle's player development pathway, we begin with groups of 7 and 8 year olds playing short games of 4v4, on a small pitch, with tiny goalmouths, and no goalkeepers. Purely recreational, it is a gentle introduction to the sport, for the fun of the game. The objective is to learn the fundamentals of the game in a relaxed and enjoyable game.

Youth 7-a-side Teams
From the Fun Fours, the players then progress to Soccer Sevens from age 8 onwards. They still play on pitches with posts equivalent to their size and level of development. All to often at youth level football the skillful players are put in attack, with the role for defenders being to take the 'safety first' appraoach; get the ball away from danger, there is no time to play a pass or carry it upfield. Small tweaks to the rules discourages the long-ball game and gives defenders more time on the ball. 

Youth 11-a-side Teams
Thistle offer a full pathway for 11-a-side youth football for both boys and girls.

Mens First Team
The original East Kilbride Thistle team, formed in 1968, play under the auspices of the West Of Scotland region of the Scottish Junior FA.