The 2022–23 Scottish Women's Premier League is the 22nd season of the SWPL, the highest division of women's football in Scotland since 2002. The league is split into two divisions – SWPL 1 with 12 clubs and SWPL 2 with eight clubs. Both divisions were enlarged after the 2021–22 season (from ten and seven clubs respectively).[1]
Rangers are the defending champions, after winning their first women's Scottish title in 2021–22 by beating the 15-time champions Glasgow City.[2] Dundee United and Glasgow Women won promotion to SWPL 1.[3] Montrose, Gartcairn and East Fife won promotion to SWPL 2 as the top three clubs in the SWF Championship in 2021–22.
In February 2022, a majority of SWPL clubs voted to leave the Scottish Women's Football association (under the auspices of the Scottish Football Association); from 2022–23 onwards, the two divisions will be administered by the Scottish Professional Football League.[4][1]
A 12-club "split" format is returning in SWPL 1 in 2022–23, with a double round-robin before the "split",[5] then another double round-robin of the top six and bottom six clubs respectively.[1] The Women's Premier League previously used a "split" format between the 2012 and 2015 seasons. In SWPL 2, the eight clubs will simply play each other four times.[5] The top club in SWPL 2 will win automatic promotion, the 12th-placed club in SWPL 1 will be relegated, and a promotion/relegation play-off will take place between the clubs finishing 11th in SWPL 1 and 2nd in SWPL 2.[5] The league season began on 7 August 2022 and is scheduled to end on 21 May 2023.
Teams
SWPL 1
| Team | Location | Manager | Home ground | Capacity | 2021–22 position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Cove Bay | Balmoral Stadium | 2,602 | 5th | |
| Celtic | Airdrie | Excelsior Stadium | 10,101 | 3rd | |
| Dundee United | Dundee | Gussie Park[6] | TBC | 1st (SWPL2) | |
| Glasgow City | Springburn | Petershill Park | 1,000 | 2nd | |
| Glasgow Women | Glasgow | New Tinto Park | 1,000 | 2nd (SWPL2) | |
| Hamilton Academical | Hamilton | New Douglas Park | 6,018 | 10th | |
| Heart of Midlothian | Edinburgh | Oriam | 1,000 | 8th | |
| Hibernian | Edinburgh | Meadowbank Stadium | TBC | 4th | |
| Motherwell | Motherwell | Alliance Park | 500 | 7th | |
| Partick Thistle | Springburn | Petershill Park | 1,000 | 9th | |
| Rangers | Milngavie | Broadwood Stadium[7] | 8,086 | 1st | |
| Spartans | Edinburgh | Ainslie Park | 3,000 | 6th |
SWPL 2
| Team | Location | Manager | Home ground | Capacity | 2021–22 position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boroughmuir Thistle | Edinburgh | Meadowbank Stadium | 1,320 (500 seated) | 3rd | |
| East Fife | Methil | Bayview Stadium | 1,980 | 2nd (Championship North) | |
| Gartcairn | Airdrie | MTC Park[8] | 300 | 1st (Championship South) | |
| Kilmarnock | Kilmarnock | Rugby Park | 15,003 | 4th | |
| Montrose | Montrose | Links Park | 4,936 | 1st (Championship North) | |
| Queen's Park | Glasgow | New Tinto Park | 1,000 | 6th | |
| St Johnstone | Perth | Riverside Stadium | 1,000 | 5th | |
| Stirling University | Stirling | University of Stirling | 1,000 | 7th |

SWPL 1
| Season | 2022–23 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Glasgow City |
| Relegated | Glasgow Women |
| Champions League | Glasgow City Celtic |
| Matches played | 168 |
| Goals scored | 621 (3.7 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Rangers 14–0 Glasgow Women (7 August 2022) |
| Biggest away win | Glasgow Women 0–10 Rangers (4 December 2022) |
| Highest scoring | Rangers 14–0 Glasgow Women (7 August 2022) |
| Highest attendance | 15,822 Celtic v Hearts (21 May 2023) |
← 2021–22 2023–24 →
All statistics correct as of 4 May 2023. | |
Regular season
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glasgow City | 22 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 94 | 7 | +87 | 62 | Qualification for the Top six |
| 2 | Celtic | 22 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 90 | 4 | +86 | 56 | |
| 3 | Rangers | 22 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 89 | 5 | +84 | 55 | |
| 4 | Heart of Midlothian | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 33 | 19 | +14 | 40 | |
| 5 | Hibernian | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 45 | 34 | +11 | 32 | |
| 6 | Partick Thistle | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 31 | |
| 7 | Motherwell | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 28 | 39 | −11 | 30 | Qualification for the Bottom six |
| 8 | Spartans | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 38 | −19 | 26 | |
| 9 | Dundee United | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 21 | 61 | −40 | 17 | |
| 10 | Aberdeen | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 20 | 56 | −36 | 15 | |
| 11 | Hamilton Academical | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 20 | 74 | −54 | 13 | |
| 12 | Glasgow Women | 22 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 6 | 115 | −109 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
Top six
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glasgow City (C) | 32 | 27 | 2 | 3 | 112 | 18 | +94 | 83 | Qualification for the Champions League first round |
| 2 | Celtic | 32 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 115 | 11 | +104 | 81 | |
| 3 | Rangers | 32 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 111 | 9 | +102 | 78 | |
| 4 | Heart of Midlothian | 32 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 39 | 42 | −3 | 49 | |
| 5 | Hibernian | 32 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 54 | 51 | +3 | 39 | |
| 6 | Partick Thistle | 32 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 42 | 73 | −31 | 32 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions
Bottom six
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Spartans | 32 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 48 | 51 | −3 | 54 | |
| 8 | Motherwell | 32 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 52 | 53 | −1 | 47 | |
| 9 | Aberdeen | 32 | 9 | 3 | 20 | 39 | 77 | −38 | 30 | |
| 10 | Dundee United | 32 | 8 | 5 | 19 | 45 | 76 | −31 | 29 | |
| 11 | Hamilton Academical (Q) | 32 | 8 | 3 | 21 | 38 | 93 | −55 | 27 | Qualification for the SWPL1 relegation/promotion play-off |
| 12 | Glasgow Women (R) | 32 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 9 | 150 | −141 | 0 | Relegation to the SWPL2 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated
SWPL 2
| Season | 2022–23 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Montrose |
| Promoted | Montrose |
| Matches played | 96 |
| Goals scored | 334 (3.48 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Boroughmuir Thistle 7–0 Gartcairn (5 March 2023) |
| Biggest away win | Stirling University 0–5 Montrose (23 April 2023) East Fife 1–6 Montrose (30 April 2023) |
| Highest scoring | Boroughmuir Thistle 3–5 Kilmarnock (7 August 2022) Montrose 7–1 St Johnstone (18 January 2023) |
← 2021–22 2023–24 →
All statistics correct as of 30 April 2023. | |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montrose (C, P) | 24 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 75 | 25 | +50 | 55 | Promotion to SWPL1 |
| 2 | Gartcairn | 24 | 13 | 3 | 8 | 46 | 42 | +4 | 42 | Qualification for the promotion play-off |
| 3 | St Johnstone | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 34 | 35 | −1 | 39 | |
| 4 | Kilmarnock | 24 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 34 | 25 | +9 | 37 | |
| 5 | Boroughmuir Thistle | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 53 | 38 | +15 | 35 | |
| 6 | Queen's Park | 24 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 41 | 42 | −1 | 32 | |
| 7 | Stirling University | 24 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 28 | 65 | −37 | 18 | Qualification for the SWPL2 relegation/promotion play-off |
| 8 | East Fife | 24 | 1 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 62 | −39 | 9 | Relegation to the SWF Championship |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
References
- 1 2 3 "SWPL top flight expanding to 12 teams for next season". BBC Sport. 1 Apr 2022.
- ↑ "Park's SWPL: Rangers Women champions for first time". She Kicks. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022.
- ↑ "Glasgow Women promoted in thrilling final day for SWPL - Scottish Women's Football". SWF. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022.
- ↑ "SWPL to be administered by the SPFL for season 2022/23". Scottish Women's Football. 15 Feb 2022. Archived from the original on 15 Feb 2022.
- 1 2 3 "SWPL announce 12-team top flight plans to mirror mens' [sic] SPFL". Edinburgh News. 1 April 2022. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022.
- ↑ "GUSSIE PARK FUNDING UPDATE". Dundee United Football Club. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ↑ "Rangers Confirm Broadwood Stadium as Home Venue For 2022/23 SWPL season". Rangers Football Club. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
- ↑ "Gartcairn FA". SWF. Archived from the original on 12 Apr 2021. Retrieved 14 Aug 2022.
- 1 2 "Summary – SWPL1". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- 1 2 "Summary – SWPL1". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- 1 2 "Summary – SWPL1". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- 1 2 "Summary – SWPL2". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 April 2023.