The Scottish Premiership (Scots Gaelic: Prìomh Lìog na h-Alba) known as the William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons,[1] is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Premiership was established in July 2013, after the SPFL was formed by a merger of the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League.[2] 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 are the current league champions, having won the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership.
 | |
| Organising bodies | SPFL |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2013 |
| Country | Scotland |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Scottish Championship |
| Domestic cup(s) | Scottish Cup |
| League cup(s) | Scottish League Cup |
| International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Conference League |
| Current champions | Celtic (10th title)[note 1] (2023–24) |
| Most championships | Celtic (10 titles)[note 1] |
| TV partners | Sky Sports Premier Sports BBC Alba BBC Scotland List of international broadcasters |
| Website | www |
| Current: 2024–25 Scottish Premiership | |
Competition format
editTeams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, 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.[3]
Split
editThe 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.[4] During this period the Scottish Premier League, and now the Scottish Premiership, has operated a "split" format, that is, split in two phases as is explained below. 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 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.[5] 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),[5][6] or a club can end up playing 20 home (or away) games in a season.[7]
Promotion and relegation
editThe bottom placed Premiership club at the end of the season is relegated and swaps places with the winner of the Scottish Championship,[3] provided that the winner satisfies Premiership entry criteria. With the creation of the SPFL, promotion and relegation play-offs involving the top flight were introduced for the first time in seventeen years.[4][8] 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.[9] 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 had used play-offs amongst its three divisions since 2007.[10]
European qualification
edit| Rank | Association | Coefficient |
|---|---|---|
 7 |  Netherlands | 49.300 |
 8 |  Austria | 38.850 |
| 9 |  Scotland | 36.900 |
 10 |  Russia | 34.482 |
| 11 |  Serbia | 33.375 |
UEFA grants European places to the Scottish Football Association, determined by Scotland's position in the UEFA country coefficient 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, one team in the UEFA Europa League, and two teams in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
At the end of the 2022–23 season, the Scottish Premiership winners (Celtic FC) gained qualification to the UEFA Champions League group stage, whilst the second placed team (Rangers FC) entered at the third qualifying round. The third placed team (Aberdeen FC) entered the Europa League in the playoff round, while the fourth place (Heart Of Midlothian FC) got UEFA Europa Conference League 3rd Qualifying Round and fifth place (Hibernian FC) got UEFA Europa Conference League 2nd Qualifying Round.
Scotland's place in the Europa League is awarded to the winners of the Scottish Cup. Should the winners of that competition have already qualified for European competition, then the fifth placed team also enters the Europa Conference League second qualifying round, while third placed team (unless they are cup winners themselves) are promoted from Europa Conference League to the Europa League third qualifying round.
Financial disparity
editThe 2017 'Global Sports Salaries Survey' report found a large variation between the wages offered by teams in the Scottish Premiership, with champions Celtic paying an average annual salary of £735,040, per player, whilst traditional rivals Rangers could only pay £329,600 and league runners-up Aberdeen offered £136,382.[11] The lowest salary offered by any of the twelve member clubs was Hamilton's £41,488—one seventeenth that of Celtic, whose wages were close to the sum of the other eleven clubs combined.[11]
The report stated that this disparity was the third-greatest from the 18 leagues surveyed, and that the Scottish Premiership offered the third-lowest salaries of those leagues; by contrast, Celtic's opponents in the Champions League that year paid average wages of £6.5m (Paris Saint-Germain) and £5.2m (Bayern Munich), seven times higher than the Scottish club.[11]
Clubs
editThe 12 clubs listed below will compete in the Scottish Premiership during the 2024–25 season.
| Club | Location | Position in 2023–24 | First season in top division | No. of seasons in top division | First season of current spell in top division | No. of seasons of current spell | National titles | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Aberdeen | 7th, Scottish Premiership | 1905–06 | 113 | 1905–06 | 113 | 4 | 1984–85 |
| Celtic | Glasgow | 1st, Scottish Premiership (champions) | 1890–91 | 128 | 1890–91 | 128 | 54 | 2023–24 |
| Dundee | Dundee | 6th, Scottish Premiership | 1893–94 | 100 | 2023–24 | 2 | 1 | 1961–62 |
| Dundee United | Dundee | 1st, Scottish Championship (promoted) | 1925–26 | 63 | 2024–25 | 1 | 1 | 1982–83 |
| Heart of Midlothian | Edinburgh | 3rd, Scottish Premiership | 1890–91 | 122 | 2021–22 | 4 | 4 | 1959–60 |
| Hibernian | Edinburgh | 8th, Scottish Premiership | 1895–96 | 118 | 2017–18 | 8 | 4 | 1951–52 |
| Kilmarnock | Kilmarnock | 4th, Scottish Premiership | 1899–1900 | 95 | 2022–23 | 3 | 1 | 1964–65 |
| Motherwell | Motherwell | 9th, Scottish Premiership | 1903–04 | 109 | 1985–86 | 40 | 1 | 1931–32 |
| Rangers | Glasgow | 2nd, Scottish Premiership | 1890–91 | 124 | 2016–17 | 9 | 55 | 2020–21 |
| Ross County | Dingwall | 11th, Scottish Premiership | 2012–13 | 12 | 2019–20 | 6 | — | — |
| St Johnstone | Perth | 10th, Scottish Premiership | 1924–25 | 61 | 2009–10 | 16 | — | — |
| St Mirren | Paisley | 5th, Scottish Premiership | 1890–91 | 114 | 2018–19 | 7 | — | — |
| Aberdeen | Celtic | Dundee | Dundee United | Heart of Midlothian | Hibernian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittodrie Stadium | Celtic Park | Dens Park | Tannadice Park | Tynecastle Park | Easter Road |
| Capacity: 20,866[12] | Capacity: 60,411[13] | Capacity: 11,775[14] | Capacity: 14,223 | Capacity: 19,852[15] | Capacity: 20,421[16] |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Kilmarnock | Motherwell | Rangers | Ross County | St Johnstone | St Mirren |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby Park | Fir Park | Ibrox Stadium | Victoria Park | McDiarmid Park | St Mirren Park |
| Capacity: 15,003 | Capacity: 13,677[17] | Capacity: 50,817[18] | Capacity: 6,541[19] | Capacity: 10,696[20] | Capacity: 7,937[21] |
 |  |  |  |  | .jpg) |
- Club ranking
UEFA 5-year Club Ranking after 2021/22 season:[22]
- 33.
Rangers (50.250) - 51.
Celtic (33.000) - 136. Aberdeen (9.000)
- 161. St Johnstone (7.380)
- 162. Hibernian (7.380)
- 163. Motherwell (7.380)
- 164. Kilmarnock (7.380)
Statistics
editChampionships
edit| Season | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Tartan Boot | Players' Player of the Year | Writers' Player of the Year | SPFL Premiership Player of the Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Celtic | Motherwell | Aberdeen | Kris Commons, 27 (Celtic) | Kris Commons (Celtic) | Kris Commons (Celtic) | Not awarded |
| 2014–15 | Celtic | Aberdeen | Inverness CT | Adam Rooney, 20 (Aberdeen) | Stefan Johansen (Celtic) | Craig Gordon (Celtic) | Not awarded |
| 2015–16 | Celtic | Aberdeen | Heart of Midlothian | Leigh Griffiths, 31 (Celtic) | Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) | Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) | Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) |
| 2016–17 | Celtic | Aberdeen | Rangers | Liam Boyce, 23 (Ross County) | Scott Sinclair (Celtic) | Scott Sinclair (Celtic) | Scott Brown (Celtic) |
| 2017–18 | Celtic | Aberdeen | Rangers | Kris Boyd, 18 (Kilmarnock) | Scott Brown (Celtic) | Scott Brown (Celtic) | Scott Brown (Celtic) |
| 2018–19 | Celtic | Rangers | Kilmarnock | Alfredo Morelos, 18 (Rangers) | James Forrest (Celtic) | James Forrest (Celtic) | James Forrest (Celtic) |
| 2019–20[a] | Celtic | Rangers | Motherwell | Odsonne Édouard, 22 (Celtic) | Not awarded | Odsonne Édouard (Celtic) | Not awarded |
| 2020–21 | Rangers | Celtic | Hibernian | Odsonne Édouard, 18 (Celtic) | James Tavernier (Rangers) | Steven Davis (Rangers) | Allan McGregor (Rangers) |
| 2021–22 | Celtic | Rangers | Heart of Midlothian | Regan Charles-Cook 13 (Ross County) Giorgos Giakoumakis 13 (Celtic) | Callum McGregor (Celtic) | Craig Gordon (Heart of Midlothian) | Craig Gordon (Heart of Midlothian) |
| 2022–23 | Celtic | Rangers | Aberdeen | Kyogo Furuhashi 27 (Celtic) | Kyogo Furuhashi (Celtic) | Kyogo Furuhashi (Celtic) | Kyogo Furuhashi (Celtic) |
| 2023–24 | Celtic | Rangers | Heart of Midlothian | Lawrence Shankland 24 (Heart of Midlothian) | Lawrence Shankland (Heart of Midlothian) | Lawrence Shankland (Heart of Midlothian) |
As of 2024, Scotland's top-flight league championship has been won 55 times by Rangers, 54 times by Celtic. 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
edit- Biggest home win
- Rangers 8–0 Hamilton Academical, 8 November 2020[24]
- 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[25]
- Fewest points in a season
- 21; Dundee, 2018–19
- Most wins in a season
- 34; Celtic, 2016–17[25]
- Fewest wins in a season
- 5; Dundee, 2018–19; Livingston, 2023–24[note 2]
- Most draws in a season
- 15; Dundee, 2015–16
- Fewest draws in a season
- 3; St Mirren, 2014–15; Celtic, 2022–23; Aberdeen, 2022–23
- Most defeats in a season
- 27; Dundee, 2018–19
- Fewest defeats in a season
- 0; Celtic, 2016–17;[25] Rangers, 2020–21[26]
- Most goals scored in a season
- 114; Celtic, 2022–23
- Fewest goals scored in a season
- 24; St Johnstone, 2021–22[note 3]
- Most goals conceded in a season
- 78; Dundee, 2018–19
- Fewest goals conceded in a season
- 13; Rangers, 2020–21[26]
- Fastest goal
- Kris Boyd, for Kilmarnock against Ross County, 10 seconds, 28 January 2017 [27]
- Highest transfer fee paid
- Odsonne Édouard, from Paris Saint-Germain to Celtic, £9 million, 15 June 2018[28]
- Highest transfer fee received
- Kieran Tierney, from Celtic to Arsenal, £25 million, 8 August 2019[29]
- Most hat-tricks
- Liam Boyce and Leigh Griffiths, 4 each
- Youngest player
- Dylan Reid, for St Mirren v Rangers, 16 years and 5 days, 6 March 2021[30]
- Youngest goalscorer
- Jack Aitchison, for Celtic v Motherwell, 16 years and 71 days[31]
Top scorers
edit
- Bold shows players still playing in the Scottish Premiership.
- Italics show players still playing professional football in other leagues.
- As of matches played on 18 May 2024
| Rank | Player | Goals | Apps | Ratio | First | Last | Club(s) (goals/apps) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leigh Griffiths | 92 | 188 | 0.49 | 2014 | 2022 | Celtic (90/173), Dundee (2/15) | [note 4] | |
| 2 |  James Tavernier | 80 | 278 | 0.29 | 2016 | 2024 | Rangers | ||
| 3 |  Alfredo Morelos | 78 | 178 | 0.44 | 2017 | 2023 | Rangers | ||
| 4 |  Odsonne Édouard | 66 | 116 | 0.57 | 2017 | 2021 | Celtic | ||
 Adam Rooney | 66 | 151 | 0.44 | 2014 | 2018 | Aberdeen | [note 4] | ||
| 6 |  Liam Boyce | 62 | 155 | 0.4 | 2014 | 2023 | Ross County (48/99), Heart of Midlothian (14/56) | ||
| 7 | Billy Mckay | 59 | 185 | 0.32 | 2013 | 2021 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle (32/78), Dundee United (12/29), Ross County (15/78) | [note 4] | |
| 8 | James Forrest | 58 | 248 | 0.23 | 2013 | 2024 | Celtic | ||
| 9 | Lawrence Shankland | 56 | 124 | 0.45 | 2013 | 2024 | Aberdeen (0/17), Dundee United (8/33), Heart of Midlothian (47/73) | [note 4] | |
| 10 | Kris Boyd | 55 | 145 | 0.38 | 2013 | 2019 | Kilmarnock | [note 4] |
Broadcasting rights
editThe SPFL's domestic TV broadcast deal currently ranks 16th in Europe among European Leagues.
| Country/region | Broadcaster | Language | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
 United Kingdom | Sky Sports | English | Up to 60 live Premiership matches per season from 2024 to 2029 and the play-off final, Saturday-night goal highlights on Sky Sports News.[32][33] |
| Premier Sports | 20 live Premiership matches per season from 2024 to 2029. This is in addition to live Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup, and Scotland Men's National Team matches. [34] | ||
| BBC Sport Scotland | Saturday-night Scottish Premiership Highlights of matches from that day. Extended Sunday-night Scottish Premiership Highlights with full weekend review, 20 live Friday-night Scottish Championship matches & the Scottish Premiership Play-Off Quarter-Final & Semi-Final. Friday night magazine programme A View from the Terrace. Online and Social Media Highlights also. | ||
| STV | Goal Clips during the Sports section of their STV News at Six programme. | ||
| BBC Alba | Gaelic | 38 delayed matches on Saturday evenings and live Championship and League One Playoff Matches. | |
| Worldwide | YouTube | English (N/A) | 6-10 minute highlights of all Premiership Matches as well as Championship, Leagues One and Two goals available without commentary/narration via the SPFL Youtube Channel. |
International
edit
Notes
edit- ^ a b The Scottish Premiership has only existed since 2013. For a complete record of clubs that have won Scottish league championships, see list of Scottish football champions.
- ^ Heart of Midlothian won 4 games in the curtailed 2019–20 season.
- ^ St Mirren scored 24 goals in the curtailed 2019–20 season.
- ^ a b c d e Player also scored goal(s) in the Scottish Premier League.
- ^ The 2019–20 Scottish Premiership was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland. The season was subsequently curtailed on 18 May 2020 and a points per game average was used to calculate a final table.[23]
