Statement from the Board of Falkirk Football Community Foundation
22 October 2026
The Board of Falkirk Football Community Foundation is deeply disappointed by the statement issued yesterday by Falkirk Football Club announcing its decision to end its official relationship with the Foundation. We are particularly concerned that the statement contains inaccuracies and presents a misleading picture of the longstanding relationship between our two organisations.
For more than 16 years, the Foundation has been proud to work alongside Falkirk FC, delivering enormous benefits to the Club, its supporters and the wider community. Through our investment in the Community Pitch, development of the mezzanine level of the Kevin McAllister Stand, facilities at Woodlands and payments for rent, pitch use and branding, the Foundation has contributed in excess of £2 million in funding, facilities, assets and payments benefiting the Club. Alongside this considerable financial contribution, our programmes have helped strengthen the Club’s connection with thousands of people across Falkirk.
We are especially concerned by the impression given that our planned Hope Street Community Hub is an obstacle to the Club’s ambitions to develop a fourth stand at Falkirk Stadium. The Hub is a major charitable development, with planning permission, building approvals and substantial external funding already secured. It will provide much-needed facilities for education, employability, health, wellbeing and social inclusion.
The land that the Hub will be built on is not owned by FFC, it is waste land owned by Falkirk Council and is not adjacent to the Stadium. The Hub has been designed as a modular building which can easily be dismantled and relocated easily. We have not been presented with evidence, plans, or any documentation demonstrating that the Hub would prevent the future construction of a fourth stand.
We are also disappointed by the Club Board’s approach to the Foundation’s identity and its community football teams. After many years during which hundreds of children, young people and adults proudly wore Falkirk FC’s first-team strip and crest, the Club withdrew permission for this arrangement to continue. We responded by introducing a new Foundation strip, ensuring that our players could continue representing their teams with pride.
The Club has also challenged the Foundation’s logo, despite it having been used openly for many years, including by the Club itself on its website and in presentations. We find it difficult to understand why these longstanding arrangements have now become matters of dispute.
Throughout these difficulties, the Foundation has repeatedly sought to resolve matters privately and constructively, obtaining professional advice where appropriate and making significant compromises in pursuit of agreement. However, Falkirk Football Community Foundation is an independent Scottish charity, governed by its own Board of Trustees, with legal responsibilities to protect its independence, charitable assets and beneficiaries. What the club have demanded of us would sit well outside charity law and regulation and we will not set those responsibilities aside.
We want to make absolutely clear that our disagreements are with decisions taken by the Club’s Board, not with Falkirk Football Club or its supporters. Many of our trustees, staff, volunteers, coaches and participants are passionate Falkirk fans. We want the Club to succeed, and we remain open to rebuilding a positive and respectful relationship that recognises the independence and responsibilities of both organisations.
Above all, we ask that the people of Falkirk are not forgotten in this disagreement. Every year, more than 6,000 people benefit from the Foundation’s programmes, with around 1,500 participating each week. We support 650 players across 42 community football teams and deliver vital programmes in education, employability, physical and mental health, disability inclusion and family support. Behind those figures are children finding confidence and friendship, young people gaining qualifications and opportunities, families receiving support and isolated people finding somewhere to belong. They are the reason the Foundation exists, and their interests will always come first.
We want to reassure all of our teams, coaches, players and supporters that our community programmes will continue exactly as before. The Foundation is a completely independent organisation which is not financially dependent on FFC as a partner.
We have published a detailed Question and Answer document on our website to explain our position and correct misunderstandings arising from the Club’s statement. We sincerely hope that a constructive relationship with Falkirk FC can be restored, but whatever happens, our commitment to the people and communities of Falkirk will remain unwavering.
The Board of Trustees
Falkirk Football Community Foundation
