Formation and early years The club's foundation dates back to the very earliest days of organised football in Scotland, with speculation over the club's beginnings being in 1868, 1869 or 1872 often disputed. The club was founded by a collection of men and boys who were sporting enthusiasts, with a few of them playing
cricket during the summer months, as well as playing
bowls,
quoits,
running and
golf. On 25 October 1872, a meeting was held by the committee at the
George Hotel, Kilmarnock. Recorded minutes from the meeting highlighted that interest in the game had increased as had the membership, leading to the decision being made to officially constitute the club as "Kilmarnock Football Club", with a set of rules to play the game of football properly to be purchased, as no other clubs were playing "football" in the same style that the club had been playing up until that point. The club suffered a drastic decline in membership numbers following a fall out with their landlord at Holm Quarry, after the club wished to move back to Dundonald Road. Kilmarnock Football Club were one of the founding members of the Ayrshire Football Association which formed in May 1877. By the 1880s, Kilmarnock Football Club had established themselves as the premier club in
Ayrshire. The club had not been considered eligible for the
Scottish Football League when it was formed in 1890, nor was it deemed eligible to be included in a second division. Kilmarnock Football Club was finally elected to the Scottish League in 1895, and finished their first season in the Scottish League in fourth place out of ten teams. This was followed by their second success in
1929 where they beat massive favourites
Rangers 2–0 at the national stadium in front of a crowd of 114,708 people. They soon reached another final against the same opposition in
1932 but this time were beaten after a replay, and the same outcome followed in the
1938 final against
East Fife, Killie this time the team on the receiving end of an upset.
North American and European tournaments After finishing as runners-up during the
1959–60 season, Kilmarnock could have been put forward as one of Scotland's entrants for the following season's
European Fairs Cup. Instead, the Scottish Football Association sent the team to
North America to play in the
International Soccer League, serving as Scotland's representative. After years of being sidelined by the Scottish Football Association, Kilmarnock were put forward for the 1964–65 European Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, losing their first match. The team made it to the second round, losing to
Everton 1–4 and exiting the competition. In
1964–65 Heart of Midlothian fought out a championship title race with
Willie Waddell's Kilmarnock. In the era of two points for a win Hearts were three points clear with two games remaining. Hearts drew with
Dundee United meaning the last game of the season with the two title challengers playing each other at Tynecastle would be a league decider. Kilmarnock needed to win by a two-goal margin to take the title. Hearts entered the game as favourites with both a statistical and home advantage. They also had a solid pedigree of trophy-winning under Tommy Walker. Waddell's Kilmarnock in contrast had been nearly men. Four times in the previous five seasons they had finished league runners-up including Hearts' triumph in 1960. Killie had also lost three domestic cup finals during the same period including the 1962 League Cup Final defeat to Hearts. Hearts had won five of the six senior cup finals they played in under Walker. Even the final they had lost was in a replay after drawing the first game. Hearts'
Roald Jensen hit the post after six minutes. Kilmarnock then scored twice through
Davie Sneddon and Brian McIlroy after 27 and 29 minutes.
Alan Gordon had an excellent chance to clinch the title for Hearts in second half injury time but was denied by a
Bobby Ferguson diving save pushing the ball past the post. The 2–0 defeat meant Hearts lost the title by an average of 0.042 goals. Subsequently, Hearts were instrumental in pushing through a change to use goal difference to separate teams level on points. Ironically this rule change later denied Hearts the title in 1985–86. This is the only time to date Killie have been Scottish champions.
Korean Cup and Scottish Cup victory victory, 24 May 1997 Decline in the 1980s brought relegation to the
Second Division, returning to the top division with promotion in
1993. In the summer of 1995, Kilmarnock were invited to
South Korea to play in the
Korea Cup. With inconsistent league results, and a home defeat to
Raith Rovers in December 1996,
Bobby Williamson became the new manager of Kilmarnock and began introducing new players to the team. Players such as
David Bagan and
Alex Burke were credited with improving the team's performance, along with Williamson's managerial style and approach.
21st century UEFA Cup In the
2001–02 UEFA Cup, Kilmarnock travelled to
Lurgan in Northern Ireland to play
Glenavon, winning 1–0 following a goal by
Chris Innes.
2007 and 2012 Scottish League Cup finals in which Kilmarnock beat
Celtic 1–0 Kilmarnock reached the
2007 Scottish League Cup final, but suffered a 5–1 defeat in the final by
Hibernian. After selling
Steven Naismith to
Rangers for a club-record fee in August 2007,
Killie struggled in the
2007–08 Scottish Premier League, finishing in 11th place with 40 points. In January 2010, Kilmarnock were second bottom of the
2009–10 Scottish Premier League, with last placed
Falkirk just two points behind. On 11 January 2010, Jim Jefferies left the club by "mutual consent" and
Jimmy Calderwood was appointed manager. Kilmarnock then achieved a first win in nine years against
Celtic. Continued poor form, however, meant a final day showdown at Rugby Park with Falkirk for SPL survival. Kilmarnock began the game with a two-point advantage over their rivals and a goalless draw on the day was good enough to secure top-flight football for another year. They ended the season with just 33 points, their worst points finish in the SPL. After Calderwood left at the end of the season,
Mixu Paatelainen was appointed manager for the next two years with an option for a third. Despite being the favourites for relegation that season, Kilmarnock finished the season in fifth position. Paatelainen left the club to become manager of
Finland and his assistant
Kenny Shiels was appointed manager. Kilmarnock progressed to the
2012 Scottish League Cup final with wins against
Queen of the South,
East Fife and
Ayr United in an
Ayrshire derby at Hampden. Kilmarnock won the League Cup for the first time, as they defeated Celtic 1–0 in the final;
Dieter Van Tornhout scored the only goal six minutes from time, with goalkeeper
Cammy Bell named Man of the Match. In June 2013, after three years at Kilmarnock, manager
Kenny Shiels was sacked by chairman Michael Johnston after a "mutual agreement" between the two.
Manager changes Allan Johnston signed a two-year contract and was appointed manager on 24 June 2013, with
Sandy Clark as the assistant manager. Clark left his role in the summer of 2014 with the club looking to go in a new direction, and ex-Killie player and former Hearts manager
Gary Locke was appointed as his assistant. Johnston was sacked in February 2015 after informing the press of his intention to leave in the summer, before discussing this with the board. Locke was placed in interim charge, before signing a three-year deal in April 2015. Kilmarnock went on to lose seven of their final eight games of the season, but were spared the play-off spot after a 4–1 win over
Partick Thistle. The 2015–16 season would prove difficult for the team. Locke was removed from his position as manager in February 2016, with
Lee Clark being appointed as his replacement. Despite a small uplift in form, the team finished in 11th place and faced a relegation play-off against Championship side Falkirk in order to stay in the top flight. Despite losing 0–1 in the first leg,
Killie fought back and comfortably won the second leg 4–0 (4–1 on aggregate), securing the club's status in the Scottish Premiership for another season. Clark would leave Kilmarnock for a return to England with
Bury in February 2017, exactly a year after his arrival. Former Rangers player
Lee McCulloch, assistant to both Locke and Clark, was placed in temporary charge until the end of the season, achieving an eighth-place finish. The following season saw another poor start, with an early defeat to rivals
Ayr United in the league cup group stages, followed by a disappointing start to the league campaign. McCulloch was sacked in September 2017 with the club rooted to the bottom of the table.
The Clarke era , appointed manager in 2017, led the club to 3rd place in the
2018–19 Scottish Premiership and secured a place in the
2019–20 UEFA Europa League In an unexpected move, Kilmarnock appointed former
Chelsea and
West Bromwich Albion coach
Steve Clarke. It was Clarke's first involvement with the Scottish game in 30 years and his appointment preempted a dramatic upturn in form, with the club ultimately finishing in fifth place, earning him the SFWA Manager of the Year award in the process. The 2018–19 season saw Kilmarnock celebrate their 150th anniversary, and the team continued their strong form in the league, both home and away, culminating in a final day fixture against
Rangers at Rugby Park. Kilmarnock won the match 2–1 and the result secured a third-place finish in the league, which guaranteed European football for the first time since 2001. The season's results also set a new record points total for the club and their highest placed finish in the league since 1966. The following day, Clarke was signed by the
Scottish Football Association to become the head coach of the
Scotland national team. Following the departure of Steve Clarke, Kilmarnock had three managers whose spell in charge was brief, beginning with former
Juventus and Chelsea assistant coach
Angelo Alessio. In Alessio's second match in charge, Kilmarnock lost in Europa League qualification to
Welsh Premier League club
Connah's Quay Nomads. Alessio was sacked in December 2019, with the team sitting in fifth place. Following his departure,
Alex Dyer, assistant coach to both Alessio and Clarke, was appointed on an initial caretaker basis until the end of the season, before all football was abruptly ended due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Dyer's services were retained by the club and he signed a new contract extension in June 2020. However, following a poor start to the new season, he left the club by mutual consent in January 2021. In February 2021, former
St Johnstone manager
Tommy Wright was appointed as the club's third manager in two years.
Relegation and Championship winners On 24 May 2021, following a play−off defeat to
Dundee, Kilmarnock were relegated to the
Scottish Championship, bringing an end to their 28-year stay in the top flight. Their 11th-place finish and play-off defeat in
2020–21 meant it was the club's first season in the Championship, and their first in the second tier of Scottish football since
1992–93. Manager
Tommy Wright made 14 permanent summer signings as he approached his first full season as Kilmarnock manager, before being sacked in December 2021 with the team sitting fifth place in the Championship. Former
Aberdeen manager
Derek McInnes was quickly appointed as his successor. Results improved, and by the end of the
2021–22 season, Kilmarnock were promoted back to the top flight of Scottish football at the first attempt, defeating closest challengers
Arbroath 2–1 on the penultimate matchday with a dramatic last-minute winner from
Blair Alston. , 19 February 2022. Kilmarnock won 3–0 at
Rugby Park In cup competition during the season, Kilmarnock were eliminated in the fourth round of the
Scottish Cup, in the second round of the
League Cup and the semi-finals of the
Challenge Cup.
Return to Premiership Following their first-place finish in the
Scottish Championship in
2021–22, Kilmarnock returned to the
Scottish Premiership after spending one year in the second tier. At the conclusion of the season, Kilmarnock finished 10th in the Premiership table out of 12 teams, as well as reaching the quarter finals of the
Scottish Cup and the semi-final of the
2022–23 Scottish League Cup.
2024–25 Europa and Conference League campaign in the
2024–25 UEFA Conference League, 29 August 2024 After finishing the
2023–24 Scottish Premiership in fourth place, Kilmarnock secured qualification for the . Their first game, against Belgian team
Cercle Brugge at Rugby Park on 25 July 2024, ended in a 1–1 draw with
David Watson scoring for Kilmarnock in the 70th minute. On 1 August 2024, Kilmarnock played Cercle Brugge at
Jan Breydelstadion in Belgium, losing to the hosts 1–0. Following their exit from the Europa League after losing 2–1 aggregate defeat to Cercle Brugge, the team dropped to the UEFA Conference League. Their first match of the Conference League took place at Rugby Park on 8 August 2024 against Norwegian team
Tromsø, which ended 2–2, with
Kyle Vassell and
Bobby Wales scoring for Kilmarnock in the 6th and 90th minute respectively. On 15 August 2024, Kilmarnock secured a
UEFA Conference League play–off spot following a 1–0 victory in the return leg. On 22 August 2024, Kilmarnock travelled to
Copenhagen, losing 2–0. They exited the Conference League on 29 August 2024, following a 1–1 draw to Copenhagen. Kilmarnock were first to score, with a
Marley Watkins goal in the 16th minute, followed by an
own goal by
Lewis Mayo in the 68th minute. Following the departure of
Derek McInnes to
Hearts,
Stuart Kettlewell was appointed manager in May 2025. After a string of unsuccessful results and consecutive losses, Kettlewell was relived of his duties as manager in December 2025 with "immediate effect", with the club sitting 11th out of 12 in the Scottish Premiership table. Following Kettlewell's departure,
Kris Doolan was appointed as manager on an interim basis. ==Ayrshire Derby==