Status
Further information: Football clubs playing in the league of another countryThey are one of a handful of teams in the world to play in a national football league other than their own country's, where both countries have their own fully professional competitions.
The town of Berwick-upon-Tweed is near to the Scottish border and is closer to Edinburgh than to Newcastle upon Tyne. The old town is on the Scottish side of the traditional border, the River Tweed, and Berwick has formerly been part of Scotland. The club also formerly played in the East of Scotland League, which contains other nearby Borders teams, prior to joining the Scottish League; for season 2007–08, the club's reserve side have rejoined this competition.
There is also some controversy over Berwick's identity. The time (and expense) involved in travelling to away matches against English opposition would be greater than it is to travel to matches in Scotland; for example a match at England's southernmost and westernmost league team Plymouth Argyle would result in a round-trip of almost 1,000 miles. Were Berwick to make the transition they would be more likely to initially compete in one of the regional divisions below the Conference North, as Gretna F.C. did before making the opposite move (England to Scotland).
Berwick have never played in the Scottish top flight, so questions of potential competition in European tournaments have not arisen (Derry City, by contrast, regularly contends for the Republic of Ireland league title and represents the country in UEFA competitions, whereas FC Vaduz regularly represents Liechtenstein although the club plays in the Swiss Football League).
Berwick's status as a Scottish club, led to the anomaly of them being the only team in the Scottish leagues who were subject to the implementation of the Taylor report following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
Read more about this topic: Berwick Rangers F.C.
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