Barney Stewart

Stewart was a trainee with Queens Park Rangers as a teenager^[2] but mainly played for local boys' clubs and school teams in West London. He also competed in rugby union with Ealing Trailfinders' youth teams and played Gaelic football and tennis at a high level.^[3][4] While considering Scottish institutions for his higher education, he impressed the staff of Heriot-Watt University (based just outside Edinburgh where his father was raised) with his performance as a stand-in for their team in a bounce match for their team against nearby club Penicuik Athletic, official fixtures having been cancelled due to bad weather which also prevented Stewart and his family from returning home as planned.^[4] He was given strong encouragement to join their Football Scholarship Programme which would include use of the facilities at the Oriam training centre and a pathway into the senior pyramid of Scottish football^[5] – albeit the Heriot-Watt University F.C. first team compete in the lower echelons of the East of Scotland Football League. Stewart accepted the offer and began his degree in Sport and Exercise Science in 2022. In football, he helped Heriot-Watt gain promotion from the EoSFL Second Division (eighth tier) to the First Division. In 2023–24 he scored over 40 times in the EoSFL and BUCS Football League competitions which drew the attention of professional clubs along with his pace and physical stature.^[4]

In October 2024, Stewart signed for Falkirk^[6] with an understanding between all parties that completion of his degree would be prioritised alongside football,^[4] and initially this meant he was loaned back to Heriot-Watt until the end of the calendar year.^[5] He made his Falkirk debut on 11 January 2025 against Queen's Park and went on to make 16 Scottish Championship appearances (mostly as a substitute), scoring twice, as the club managed by John McGlynn won the title and were promoted to the Scottish Premiership.^[2]

Stewart sustained a broken metatarsal in July 2025, and upon recovering two months later he was loaned out to Championship side Dunfermline Athletic who had lost striker Zak Rudden to injury, the move causing discontent among some supporters of both clubs due the rivalry between them.^[7][4] He soon won over the Dunfermline fans by scoring at the rate of a goal every 90 minutes, including twice in Fife derby victories over Raith Rovers, and was recalled by Falkirk at the end of 2025.^[8] His maiden Premiership appearance came against Aberdeen on 3 January 2026, and three weeks later he enhanced his growing reputation further by scoring a hat-trick as the Bairns defeated Hibernian 4–1.^[9] On 26 January he signed an extension to his Falkirk contract, running to 2028 with the option of a further year.^[10]

During his productive loan with Dunfermline, Stewart was called up to the Scotland Under-21 squad, along with teammate Andy Tod, for 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification fixtures against Gibraltar and Bulgaria in November 2025;^[11] he appeared as a substitute in both matches.^[12][13]