Football is alive and well in the Outer Hebrides.

My trip to the Outer Hebrides found that football is alive and well in this outpost.
I wrote about the iconic pitch in Eriksay and the Jock Stein Cup Final in Stornaway and on my travels saw some really good community football grounds.
Scotland like England are developing a good pyramid system although both in my view need to make it easier for more clubs to go up into the professional ranks each year.
The Hebrides are served by two Leagues the Uist and Barra Amateur Football League with 6 teams and the Lewis and Harris Football League with 9 teams. They all come together for the Coop Cup and compete in the Highland Amateur Cup. For a group of islands with a population of just less than 30000 this is some feat when you consider the logistics and distance (130 miles from the Southern to Northern point including two ferries).
The competition is healthy amongst the community clubs with the facilities often reflecting a community hub.

The football I saw would grace Step 5 in England and apart from no floodlights, which are not needed for a summer league the facilities would be up there too.

The grounds I saw were:

Eriksay FC

Goathill Stornaway home to Stornaway Athletic and Stornaway United.

Back FC

Back is roughly 5 miles north of Stornaway and have a very neat pitch along with other community sporting facilities.

Ness FC

Ness is right at the top of the Island of Lewis only a literal stones throw from the lighthouse of The Butt of Lewis. A fan I spoke to at the Jock Stein Cup final said that they have a lively vibrant social club that supports the football team.