The Scottish Premiership, known as the
cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the
Scottish Professional Football League
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As ...
(SPFL), the league competition for men's professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Premiership was established in July 2013, after the SPFL was formed by a merger of the
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
and
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...
. There are 12 teams in this division, with each team playing 38 matches per season. Sixteen clubs have played in the Scottish Premiership since its creation in the
2013–14 season.
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
are the current league champions, having won the
2021–22 Scottish Premiership
The 2021–22 Scottish Premiership (known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is the ninth and current season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football, and the 125th edition overall of the top nationa ...
.
Competition format
Teams receive
three points for a win
Three points for a win is a standard used in many sports leagues and group tournaments, especially in association football, in which three points are awarded to the team winning a match, with no points awarded to the losing team. If the game is ...
and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then
goal difference
Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned
league champion. If the points, goal difference, goals scored, and head-to-head results between teams are equal, a play-off game held at a neutral venue shall be played to determine the final placings. The play-off will only occur when the position of the teams affects the outcome of the title, European qualification, relegation, or second stage group allocation and shall not occur otherwise.
Split
The top flight of Scottish football has contained 12 clubs since the
2000–01 season, the longest period without change in the history of the
Scottish football league system
The Scottish football league system is a series of generally connected leagues for Scottish football clubs.
The Scottish system is more complicated than many other national league systems, consisting of several completely separate systems or 'gra ...
.
During this period the Scottish Premier League, and now the Scottish Premiership, has operated a "split" format. This is used to prevent the need for a 44-game schedule, based on playing each other four times. That format was used in the
Scottish Premier Division
The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) Th ...
in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, but it is now too high a number of games in a league season.
A season, which runs from August until May, is divided into two phases. During the first phase, each club plays three games against every other team, either once at home and twice away or vice versa. After this first phase of matches, by which time all clubs have played 33 games, the league splits into two halves - a 'top six' section and a 'bottom six' section. Each club plays a further five matches, one against each of the other five teams in their own section. Points achieved during the first phase of 33 matches are carried forward to the second phase, but the teams compete only within their own sections during the second phase. After the first phase is completed, clubs cannot move out of their own half in the league, even if they achieve more or fewer points than a higher or lower ranked team, respectively.
At the beginning of each season, the SPFL 'predicts' the likely positions of each club in order to produce a fixture schedule that ensures the best possible chance of all clubs playing each other twice at home and twice away. This is known as the league seeding and is based on clubs' performance in the previous season.
If the clubs do not finish in the half where they are predicted to finish, then anomalies can be created in the fixture list. Clubs sometimes play another three times at home and once away (or vice versa),
or a club can end up playing 20 home (or away) games in a season.
Promotion and relegation
The bottom placed Premiership club at the end of the season is relegated, and swaps places with the winner of the
Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland
Scotland (, ...
,
provided that the winner satisfies Premiership entry criteria. With the creation of the SPFL,
promotion and relegation
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
play-offs involving the top flight were introduced for the first time in seventeen years.
The Premiership club in eleventh place plays the Championship play-off winners over two legs, with the winner earning the right to play in the Scottish Premiership the following season. This enables two clubs to be relegated from the Premiership each season, with two being promoted. Prior to the creation of the Scottish Premiership, only a single club could be relegated each season - with only the second tier champions being promoted. The
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...
had used play-offs amongst its three divisions since 2007.
European qualification
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
grants European places to the
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...
, determined by Scotland's position in the
UEFA country coefficient
In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics based in weighted arithmetic means used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979 for men's football tournaments, and after applied in wome ...
rankings. The Scottish Football Association in turn allocates a number of these European places to final Scottish Premiership positions. At the end of the 2020–21 season, Scotland was ranked 11th in Europe – granting them two teams in the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
, one team in the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
, and two teams in the
UEFA Europa Conference League
The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their ...
.
For the
2021–22 season, the Scottish Premiership winners (Celtic) gained qualification to the Champions League group stage, whilst the second placed team (Rangers) entered at the third qualifying round. The third placed team (Heart of Midlothian) entered the Europa League in the playoff round, while the fourth (Dundee United) and fifth (Motherwell) placed teams entered the Europa Conference League in the third and second qualifying rounds respectively.
Scotland's place in the Europa League is awarded to the winners of the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,[Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...](_blank)
) and £5.2m (
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
), seven times higher than the Scottish club.
[
]
Clubs
The 12 clubs listed below are competing in the Scottish Premiership during the 2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season.
;Club ranking:
UEFA 5-year Club Ranking after 2021/22 season:
* 33. Rangers (50.250)
* 51. Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
(33.000)
* 136. Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
(9.000)
* 161. St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
(7.380)
* 162. Hibernian (7.380)
* 163. Motherwell
Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...
(7.380)
* 164. Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
(7.380)
Statistics
Championships
As of 2022, Scotland's top-flight league championship has been won 55 times by Rangers, 52 times by Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
. Nine other clubs have won the remaining 19 championships, with three clubs tied for third place with 4 apiece. The last time the championship was won by a club other than Rangers or Celtic was in 1984–85, by Aberdeen.
Records and awards
; Biggest home win: Rangers 8–0 Hamilton Academical, 8 November 2020
; Biggest away win: Dundee United 0–9 Celtic, 28 August 2022
; Most goals in a game: Hibernian 5–5 Rangers, 13 May 2018
; Most points in a season: 106; Celtic, 2016–17
; Fewest points in a season: 21; Dundee, 2018–19
; Most wins in a season: 34; Celtic, 2016–17
; Fewest wins in a season: 5; Dundee, 2018–19[Heart of Midlothian won 4 games in the curtailed 2019–20 season.]
; Most draws in a season: 15, Dundee, 2015–16
; Fewest draws in a season: 3, St Mirren, 2014–15
; Most defeats in a season: 27, Dundee, 2018–19
; Fewest defeats in a season: 0; Celtic, 2016–17; Rangers, 2020–21
; Most goals scored in a season: 106; Celtic, 2016–17
; Fewest goals scored in a season: 24; St Johnstone, 2021–22[St Mirren scored 24 goals in the curtailed 2019–20 season.]
; Most goals conceded in a season: 78, Dundee, 2018–19
; Fewest goals conceded in a season: 13; Rangers, 2020–21
; Fastest goal: Kris Boyd
Kris Boyd (born 18 August 1983) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Boyd grew up in the South Ayrshire village of Tarbolton and started his senior career with Kilmarnock. He transferred to Rangers in January ...
, for Kilmarnock against Ross County, 10 seconds, 28 January 2017
; Highest transfer fee paid: Odsonne Édouard
Odsonne Édouard (born 16 January 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Crystal Palace.
Having progressed through the youth ranks of AF Bobigny, Édouard signed with Paris Saint-Germain in July ...
, from Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
to Celtic, £9 million, 15 June 2018
; Highest transfer fee received:Kieran Tierney
Kieran Tierney (born 5 June 1997) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-back or centre-back for Premier League club Arsenal and the Scotland national team.
Tierney came through the Celtic youth system and made his first t ...
, from Celtic to Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, £25 million, 8 August 2019
; Most hat-tricks: Liam Boyce
Liam Boyce (born 8 April 1991) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian and the Northern Ireland national team.
Boyce began his career at Cliftonville and returned to ...
and Leigh Griffiths
Leigh Griffiths (born 20 August 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who most recently played as a striker for Australian club Mandurah City.
Griffiths started his career at Livingston where he made his debut as a sixteen-year-old. He ...
, 4 each
; Youngest player: Dylan Reid, for St Mirren v Rangers, 16 years and 5 days, 6 March 2021
; Youngest goalscorer: Jack Aitchison, for Celtic v Motherwell, 16 years and 71 days
Top scorers
* Bold shows players still playing in the Scottish Premiership.
* ''Italics'' show players still playing professional football in other leagues.
Broadcasting rights
The SPFL's domestic TV broadcast deal currently ranks 16th in Europe among European Leagues.
International
Notes
See also
* List of association football competitions
This is a list of the association football competitions past and present for international teams and for club football, in individual countries and internationally. Confirmed future competitions are also included.
The competitions are grouped b ...
* List of professional sports teams in the United Kingdom
This article features a listing of all professional sports teams based in the United Kingdom, in addition to teams from other countries that compete in professional leagues featuring teams from the United Kingdom.
Football Premier League
EFL ...
* Scottish Women's Premier League
The Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) is the highest level of league competition in women's football in Scotland. Its two divisions are SWPL 1 and SWPL 2. The league was formed when the Premier Division of the Scottish Women's Football League ...
References
External links
Scottish Premiership – Official website
{{UEFA leagues
Premiership
Top level football leagues in Europe
1
2013 establishments in Scotland
Sports leagues established in 2013
Professional sports leagues in Scotland
pt:Scottish Premiership