Airdrie United Football Club are a Scottish association football team currently playing in the Scottish Football League First Division. They are currently managed by Sandy Stewart.

The club was formed in May 2002 on the bankruptcy of a previous club, Airdrieonians, who had finished runners-up in the Scottish League Division One but went out of business with debts of almost £3 million. The collapse of Airdrieonians had left a vacant place in the Scottish Football League (in Division Three) but Gretna were preferred by league members to fill the place - instead of a new club called "Airdrie United". However, the following month, Jim Ballantyne completed a buy-out of the ailing Division Two side Clydebank and took over the club's place in the league. With SFL approval, the club was relocated to Airdrie and its name was changed to Airdrie United.

Airdrie United play their home fixtures at New Broomfield, Airdrie as the fans call the stadium, but officially known as Shyberry Excelsior Stadium. The defunct Airdrieonians previous home having been sold to Safeway (since taken over by Wm. Morrison) who where given permission to build a new supermarket on the site. It was this which helped trigger the financial ruin of Airdrieonians as their old ground was demolished several years before the new ground was given planning permission. The years away from Airdrie meant that the money from the sale of Broomfield which was to be used for building a new stadium, was frittered away. This and the fact that the board of directors built a stadium with a capacity in excess of 10,000 despite crowds being less than 2,000 as this was the criteria for joining the SPL at the time, didn't help the club's cause. Ironically the requirement is now 6,000 all seater stadium, which may or may not have been enough to have saved Airdrieonians from the financial burden they would face on building the new stadium.

Airdrie United have inherited Airdrieonians' distinctive playing colours and nickname, 'The Diamonds' since the team play in white top with a red diamond.

Airdrie United reached the final of the Bells Challenge Cup in 2003-04 and lost to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, but consolation came in the form of the Division Two championship and promotion to the Scottish Football League 1st Division, a game which was watched by over 5,000 fans at the Excelsior stadium.

In 2005 the club finished fifth in the Scottish Football League 1st Division, a position exceeding the expectations of most Airdrie supporters. The club lost several key players in the summer of 2005, and went into the 2005/6 season with little expectation of repeating their success of 2004/5 (indeed many predicted they would be in a fight for relegation). However the club finished a respectable sixth in the league.

Current squad

External links

• Official website

Scottish football clubs | Sport in North Lanarkshire

Airdrie United | Airdrie United FC | Airdrie United FC | Airdrie United F.C. | Airdrie United