Scottish Premier League facts for kids

The Scottish Premier League (also known as the Clydesdale Bank Premier League or SPL) was a professional football competition in Scotland. It was the top football league in Scotland. In 2013, the SPL was replaced by the Scottish Premiership.

Many people in Scotland loved watching the SPL. It was even more popular than watching top football leagues in other European countries. The SPL was ranked twentieth in Europe by UEFA. This ranking shows how well clubs from the league played in European competitions. Since the SPL started in 1998, eighteen clubs played in it. However, only two teams won the title: Celtic and Rangers. These two teams are known as the Old Firm. They each won the title seven times.

History of the SPL

Henrik Larsson scored many goals in the first SPL season.

The SPL started in 1998. A group of teams decided to leave the Scottish Football League. They wanted to create their own league. This idea came from a similar event in 1992. That's when the English Premiership began.

The SPL first had 10 clubs. In the 2000–01 season, the league grew to 12 teams. This change was agreed by the SPL clubs. From the 2001–02 season, the league table was split in half. This happened near the end of the season. Teams then played more games against clubs in their half. Sometimes, a team in seventh place had more points than a team in sixth. But they could not move into the top half. For example, in 2005–06, Inverness had more points than Hibernian. But Inverness still finished seventh.

The SPL saw some big moments. For example, Craig Gordon, a goalkeeper for Hearts, moved to Sunderland. He was sold for £9 million. This was a record fee for a British goalkeeper at the time. It was also the most money paid for a Scottish player. Later, Alan Hutton also moved for £9 million. But since then, other players like Victor Wanyama and Kieran Tierney were sold for even more. Kieran Tierney holds the record at about £25 million.

Tore André Flo's move from Chelsea to Rangers was also a record. Rangers paid £12 million for him. This was the most money a Scottish club ever paid for a player. The most money paid between two Scottish clubs was £4.5 million. This was for Scott Brown. He moved from Hibernian to Celtic.

How the SPL Worked

League Format

The SPL was set up as a league. Teams earned points by playing matches. A win gave a team three points. A draw gave one point. Teams got no points for a loss. The team with the most points at the end won the SPL trophy. If teams had the same points, goal difference was used. This means the number of goals scored minus goals against.

The season ran from August to May. Each club played every other club at least three times. Then, the league table split in half. The top six teams played each other once more. The bottom six teams also played each other once more. Each team played a total of 38 games.

The Split

After every team played each other three times, the league split. This meant the top six teams played five more games against each other. The bottom six teams did the same. Many people did not like this split. Some managers, like Jim Jefferies, wanted it removed. The SPL Chief Executive said that 11 out of 12 teams needed to agree to remove it. But most teams wanted to keep it.

Teams could not move between the two halves of the split. So, even if a team in seventh place had more points than a team in sixth, they stayed in the bottom half. This happened often. For example, in the 2005–06 season, Inverness Caledonian Thistle in seventh place had more points than Hibernian in fourth. But Inverness still finished seventh.

Winter Break

The SPL stopped having a "winter break" in the 2000–01 season. This meant teams played games in January. Often, games were cancelled because of bad weather or damaged pitches. Many people, including former managers like Martin O'Neill and Walter Smith, wanted the winter break to return. Former Rangers manager Alex McLeish said stopping the break was like going "back to the Dark Ages." He meant it was an old, outdated system.

Playing in Europe

Up to four clubs from the SPL could play in European competitions. The team that finished first in the SPL qualified for the UEFA Champions League. The teams in second and third place, along with the winner of the Scottish Cup, qualified for the UEFA Europa League.

Rangers and Celtic both reached the final of the UEFA Cup in different years. Neither team won the final match. In 2003, Celtic played Porto in Spain. Porto won 3–2. In 2008, Rangers played Zenit St. Petersburg in England. Zenit won 2–0. More than 200,000 Rangers fans traveled to Manchester to watch that game on big screens.

Moving Up and Down the League

The Caledonian Stadium, Inverness' home. This stadium did not meet the old rules for promotion.

Normally, the team that finished last in the SPL was moved down to the Scottish First Division. The team that finished first in the First Division was moved up to the SPL. However, teams had to meet certain rules to be promoted.

In 2003, Falkirk won the Scottish First Division. But their stadium was not big enough. They asked to share a stadium with another team while theirs was made bigger. But the SPL clubs voted against this. Because Falkirk's stadium was too small, they were not promoted. This meant the last-placed SPL team, Motherwell, was not moved down.

This problem almost happened again in 2004. After many discussions, Inverness Caledonian Thistle was allowed to be promoted. But they had to share a stadium with Aberdeen. This stadium was over 100 miles away!

In 2005, the stadium size rule was changed. A team in the SPL now needed at least 6,000 seats. Before, it was 10,000. Standing areas were not allowed for safety. This change allowed Inverness Caledonian Thistle to return to their own stadium in 2005–06.

Players in the SPL

The SPL had very few rules about signing players. The main rules were about general Scottish employment law. There were no limits on how much players could be paid. There were also no age limits or limits on the number of players from other countries.

There was one rule called the "Under-21" rule. This meant every club had to include at least three players under 21 in their match day squad. They didn't have to play. Some people, like managers Walter Smith and Gus MacPherson, did not like this rule.

Media and Money

TV Coverage

From 1998 to 2002, Sky Sports showed SPL matches on TV. Highlights were shown by STV's Scotsport. Sky Sports stopped showing games when the SPL asked for more money.

In 2002, there were talks about a new pay-per-view TV channel called "SPL TV." But Rangers and Celtic did not like the idea. They said no. Because of this, the other 10 SPL clubs said they would leave the league. Even though a two-year TV deal was made with BBC Scotland, the 10 clubs still wanted to leave. They were unhappy with how Rangers and Celtic could stop changes to SPL rules. The clubs changed their minds in 2003. This happened after new rules were agreed for voting and sharing TV money.

After the BBC Scotland contract ended, the SPL made a new deal with Setanta Sports in 2004. This was a four-year deal worth £54 million. In 2008, a new deal was announced for £125 million. But Setanta went bankrupt in 2009. Then, Sky Sports and ESPN agreed a new £65 million deal for five years.

Radio

BBC Radio Scotland had the rights to broadcast SPL games on radio. They had these rights since the SPL started in 1998. BBC Radio Scotland also offered internet broadcasts of all matches. They were the first to do this in June 2000.

Sponsorship

Like many sports competitions, the SPL sold its name to a sponsor. The Clydesdale Bank, a Scottish bank, bought the name in 2007–08 for £8 million. They took over from another Scottish bank, the Bank of Scotland. So, the SPL became known as the "Clydesdale Bank Premier League."

Teams in the SPL

The Old Firm

The two Glasgow football clubs, Rangers and Celtic, were known as the Old Firm. They played in the SPL until the 2012-13 season. Some people criticized the Old Firm because they were so powerful in Scottish football. They earned a lot more money than other teams. In 2001, their combined income was £90 million. The other ten teams together earned £48 million. Since the SPL started, one of the Old Firm teams always won the league. Only once, in 2005–06, did they not finish first and second.

In 2012, Rangers faced financial problems. They owed money they could not pay back. Some of this was owed to HMRC (the tax office). Rangers tried to make a deal to pay only some of the money. But HMRC wanted all of it. So, Rangers was closed down. The people who owned Rangers started a new company. This new company bought the stadium and training grounds. This "newco" was moved out of the SPL. They had to start playing in the Scottish Third Division from the 2012-13 season.

Even though the Old Firm were strong in Scotland, they couldn't compete with other leagues for players. Leagues like the English Premiership had much more money. There were rumors that the Old Firm might leave the SPL to join the English Premiership. But FIFA stopped this from happening.

Teams in 2012–13

These teams played in the Scottish Premier League in the 2012–13 season:

Past SPL Members

These teams used to be in the SPL:

Inverness Caley Thistle and St Mirren were promoted to the SPL twice. Dunfermline Athletic was moved down from the SPL twice.

SPL Records

These are some records from the SPL:

• Most goals in a season: Celtic, 105 goals, 2003–04
• Fewest goals in a season: St. Johnstone, 23 goals, 2010–11
• Most points in one season: Celtic, 103 points, 2001–02
• Fewest points in a season: Gretna, 13 points, 2007–08
• Fewest goals given up in one season: Celtic, 18 goals, 2001–02
• Most goals given up in a season: Aberdeen, 83 goals, 1999–00 & Gretna, 83 goals, 2007–08
• Biggest goal difference in a season: Celtic, 80, 2003–04
• Biggest home win: Celtic 9-0 Aberdeen (2010-11); Rangers 8-0 Hamilton Academical (2020-21)
• Biggest away win: St. Johnstone 0-7 Rangers (1998–99); Dunfermline Athletic 1-8 Celtic (2005–06)
• Highest scoring match: Motherwell 6-6 Hibernian (2009–2010)
• Most away wins in a season: Celtic, 13, 2000–01
• Fewest away wins in a season: Dunfermline, 0, 1998–99
• Most away losses in a season: Livingston, 16, 2005–06
• Fewest home losses in a season: Celtic, 0, 2001–02, 2002–03
• Top goalscorer in one season: Henrik Larsson, 35 goals, 2000–01 Celtic
• Player with most hat-tricks (3 goals in a game): Henrik Larsson, 12, 1998–2004
• Top goalscorer in any one game: Kenny Miller, 5 goals, 4 November 2000; Kris Boyd, 5 goals, 25 September 2004 and 30 December 2009
• Oldest player: Andy Millen, for St. Mirren, 42 years 279 days, 15 March 2008
• Youngest player: Scott Robinson, for Hearts, 16 years, 45 days
• Youngest goalscorer: Fraser Fyvie (Aberdeen), 16 years & 10 months, 27 January 2010
• Fastest goalscorer: Anthony Stokes, for Hibernian, 12.4 seconds
• Most consecutive games without letting in a goal: Robert Douglas, Celtic, 7 games, 16 December 2000 - 21 February 2001
• Most SPL appearances (games played): Steven Pressley, 306
• Highest attendance (most people at a game): 60,440, Celtic v St. Mirren, 7 April 2001
• Lowest attendance: 431, Gretna v Inverness CT, 5 April 2008
• Highest average attendance: 59,369, Celtic, 2000–01
• Lowest average attendance: 2,283, Gretna, 2007–08
• Highest transfer fee paid for a player: Tore André Flo, from Chelsea to Rangers, £12m, 23 November 2000
• Highest transfer fee received for a player:
  • Craig Gordon, from Heart of Midlothian to Sunderland, £9m, 8 August 2007
  • Alan Hutton, from Rangers to Tottenham Hotspur, £9m, 30 January 2008
• Highest transfer fee between two SPL clubs: Scott Brown, from Hibernian to Celtic, £4.4m, 1 June 2007

Related pages

• Scottish Football League
  • Scottish Football League First Division
  • Scottish Football League Second Division
  • Scottish Football League Third Division
• List of Scottish football teams

Images for kids

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  Hearts play Hibernian in an Edinburgh Derby at Tynecastle in December 2006.

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  Fans at an Old Firm match at Celtic Park.

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  Rangers playing Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the 2007–08 Champions League.

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  A cameraman pitchside at Tynecastle Stadium.

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  Celtic Park, the biggest stadium used in the SPL.

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  Kris Boyd, the SPL's all-time top goalscorer.