Alloa Athletic Football Club is delighted to confirm its Academy coaching and support staff for the 2026/27 season, underlining the club’s continued commitment to developing young players and strengthening the pathway into senior football.

Tony Massie will continue as Head of Youth after leading the Academy last season, while also remaining Head Coach of the Under-17s. His continued leadership reflects the club’s long-term commitment to the Academy.

Joining the club as Under-19 Head Coach is former Trinidad and Tobago international Jason Scotland. Jason enjoyed a distinguished professional playing career with clubs including Swansea City, St Johnstone, Dundee United, Wigan Athletic and Ipswich Town, bringing a wealth of experience to the Academy.

Supporting the Under-19s is Reece Watt, who has been appointed Assistant Coach, while Kayi Birnie joins the Under-17s as Assistant Coach.

David McCormack takes on the role of Head of Goalkeeping, bringing valuable experience from the SWPL and his work with Alloa Athletic Women’s first team.

Completing the backroom team, Billy Watson has been appointed Head of Sports Science, with Jordan Gorman joining as Social Media Manager.

Everyone at Alloa Athletic welcomes our new and returning staff and wishes them every success for the season ahead.

Alloa Athletic are delighted to confirm the signing of 19-year-old defender Joseph McGrath on loan from Scottish Premiership side Hibernian.

The highly-rated Scottish youth international arrives at the Indodrill Stadium following an outstanding 2025/26 campaign, where his displays earned him the Hibernian FC Academy Player of the Year award.

McGrath, a central defender who has been progressing through Hibernian’s youth system since the age of eight, spent the second half of last season on loan with Scottish League Two side Stranraer.During his time at Stair Park, McGrath was an ever-present figure in the starting XI, playing every minute across 15 appearances and helping the Blues mount a strong run that narrowly missed out on a promotion playoff spot.

McGrath’s also captained Hibs’ youth side and earned regular call-ups as a starter for the Scotland Under-19 national team.

Welcome to Alloa, Joe!

Alloa Athletic Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of John O’Malley as a Director of the Club.

John’s appointment reflects the club’s commitment to strengthening its ties with the local community and supporting sustainable growth both on and off the pitch. His experience in business development, community engagement and building successful organisations will provide valuable support as the club continues to develop for the future.

John is a local business leader and entrepreneur with more than 20 years’ experience building successful businesses across Central Scotland.

As Founder and Managing Director of O’Malley Property and Founder of Calluna Financial, John has developed a reputation for creating strong teams, building sustainable organisations and placing community at the heart of business.

Alongside his business interests, John has a longstanding passion for grassroots football and youth development. As a Board Director of Wasps Community Club and a youth football coach, he has spent many years helping create opportunities for young people, supporting families and strengthening links within the local community.

John joins the Board of Alloa Athletic with a particular interest in community engagement, supporter experience and strengthening the relationship between the football club, grassroots football, local businesses and the wider Clackmannanshire community.

John O’Malley said:

“I’m incredibly proud to be joining the Board of Alloa Athletic Football Club. This is a club with a fantastic history and an important role within our community, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to its future.

My passion has always been bringing people together, building strong organisations and creating opportunities within the communities we serve. I believe there is a real opportunity to strengthen the connection between the football club, the community and local businesses, and I’m looking forward to working alongside everyone involved to help the club continue moving forward.

Above all, I’m here to listen, learn and play my part in supporting the club, its supporters and the wider community for many years to come.”

The Board looks forward to working with John as the club continues to build a sustainable future, strengthen its connection with the community and support long-term success both on and off the pitch.

Our partner, Wasp Community Club and The Hive are delighted to announce two exciting opportunities to join our growing team and help make a lasting difference across the local community.

We are currently recruiting for a full-time School to Community Club Lead and a part-time Employability and Health Lead, with both roles playing a vital part in delivering programmes that use sport, education and wellbeing to create positive opportunities for local people.

The School to Community Club Lead will strengthen pathways from schools into Wasp Community Club football programmes, leading the delivery of our School of Football and Learning Through Football initiatives while helping young people progress into community football, coaching, volunteering and leadership opportunities.

The Employability and Health Lead will deliver employability and wellbeing programmes through The Hive, using the café as a practical learning environment to help participants build confidence, develop workplace skills and progress into volunteering, training, education and employment, while embedding health and wellbeing support throughout their journey. There is scope for this role to add hours.

Job Descriptions

How to Apply

To apply, please send your CV and a covering letter outlining your suitability for the role to kieren@alloaathletic.co.uk.

The Wasps Community Club reserve the right to close applications early. We look forward to welcoming passionate and motivated individuals who want to make a real difference in our community.

SPFL releases fixtures for expanded KDM Evolution Trophy league phase

The SPFL has today published the 2026/27 fixtures for the league phase of the KDM Evolution Trophy, which kicks off on Tuesday August 11.

This season’s competition will see 10 guest clubs participate in an expanded 40-club league phase. A total of 120 games will be played over six matchdays, involving 10 William Hill League 1 clubs, 10 William Hill League 2 clubs, 10 guest clubs from the Scottish Highland Football League and the Scottish Lowland Football League East and West, and 10 William Hill Premiership B teams. The 22 highest-placed clubs will be joined by the 10 William Hill Championship clubs for the start of the knock-out stages.

Prize money has been maintained for this season meaning over £1.3 million will be shared with clubs, with the winners receiving £150,000, and the runners-up £100,000. Clubs progressing from the league phase will be guaranteed at least £30,000.

Fifteen-year-olds will again be eligible to participate in the competition, where youth prospects will play a minimum of six competitive matches against senior opposition.


Alloa have been drawn against Motherwell B, Hibernian B, Gala Fairydean Rovers, Clydebank, Annan Athletic and Stranraer.

2026-27

Date	Home	Time/Results	Away	Ground
2026-08-11 19:45:0011 August 2026	Alloa Athletic	2 - 1	Stranraer	N/A
2026-08-25 19:45:0025 August 2026	Alloa Athletic	3 - 0	Motherwell	N/A
2026-09-08 19:45:008 September 2026	Clydebank	1 - 1	Alloa Athletic	N/A
2026-09-22 19:45:0022 September 2026	Alloa Athletic	19:45:007:45 pm	Hibernian	N/A
2026-09-26 15:00:0026 September 2026	Alloa Athletic	15:00:003:00 pm	Gala Fairydean	N/A
2026-10-13 19:45:0013 October 2026	Annan Athletic	19:45:007:45 pm	Alloa Athletic	N/A

Neil Doncaster, SPFL group chief executive, said: “We are pleased to announce the fixtures for the league phase of the season 2026/27 KDM Evolution Trophy.

“After a successful first season of the new-look competition, we are hugely excited to welcome 10 guest clubs into our expanded tournament. We would like to thank KDM Group for their continued sponsorship of the competition as we prepare for the league phase commencing next month.”

Iain Jones, chief executive of KDM Group, said: “We are delighted to continue our support of the KDM Evolution Trophy this season, and look forward to the opening fixtures kicking off in August. We wish all clubs involved in the tournament the very best of luck.”

The league phase will conclude on Tuesday October 13, with the Round of 32 scheduled for November 3/4. The showpiece final will take place on either the weekend of March 27/28 or April 3/4.