Scottish Premiership facts for kids
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| Founded | 2013 |
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| 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) (2023–24) |
| Most championships | Celtic (10 titles) |
| TV partners | Sky Sports BBC Alba BBC Scotland List of international broadcasters |
The Scottish Premiership (also called the William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is the top football league in Scotland. It's where the best men's professional football teams in Scotland play.
The Scottish Premiership started in July 2013. It was created when two older leagues, the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League, joined together to form the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL).
There are 12 teams in this league. Each team plays 38 games every season. Since it began in the 2013–14 season, 16 different clubs have played in the Scottish Premiership. Currently, Celtic are the champions, having won the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership season.
Contents
How the Competition Works
In the Scottish Premiership, teams get points for their games.
- A win gives a team three points.
- A draw (when the score is tied) gives one point.
- A loss gives zero points.
Teams are ranked by their total points. If teams have the same points, the one with a better goal difference (goals scored minus goals against) ranks higher. If that's also the same, then the team that scored more goals ranks higher.
At the end of the season, the team with the most points wins the league championship! If teams are still tied after all these rules, a special play-off game might be played. This only happens if the tied position affects who wins the title, who gets to play in European competitions, or who gets relegated.
The League Split
The top football league in Scotland has had 12 clubs since the 2000–01 season. This is the longest time the league has stayed the same size.
The Scottish Premiership season runs from August to May. It's split into two parts:
- First Phase: Each club plays every other team three times. This means some teams play twice at home against another team, and once away, or vice versa. After this phase, all clubs have played 33 games.
- Second Phase: The league then "splits" into two groups: a "top six" and a "bottom six." Each club plays five more games, one against each of the other five teams in their own group. The points from the first 33 games still count. However, once the split happens, teams can't move out of their group, even if they get more or fewer points than teams in the other group.
This "split" system helps avoid having too many games in a season. Sometimes, because of how games are scheduled, a team might play another team three times at home and once away, or even play 20 home games in a season.
Moving Up and Down (Promotion and Relegation)
At the end of each season, the team that finishes last in the Premiership is moved down (relegated) to the Scottish Championship (the league below). The team that wins the Scottish Championship then moves up (promoted) to the Premiership.
Since the SPFL started, there are also play-off games. The team that finishes 11th in the Premiership plays against the winner of the Championship play-offs. These play-offs are two games. The winner gets to play in the Scottish Premiership next season. This means up to two teams can be relegated from the Premiership each season, and two can be promoted. Before the Scottish Premiership, only one team could be relegated and one promoted.
Playing in Europe (European Qualification)
UEFA is the organization that runs European football competitions. They give spots in these competitions to countries based on how well their clubs do in Europe. This is called the UEFA country coefficient ranking.
The Scottish Football Association then gives these European spots to Scottish Premiership teams. For example, after the 2020–21 season, Scotland was ranked 11th in Europe. This meant:
- Two Scottish teams could play in the UEFA Champions League.
- One team could play in the UEFA Europa League.
- Two teams could play in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
After the 2022–23 Scottish Premiership season:
- The Scottish Premiership winners (Celtic FC) went straight into the UEFA Champions League group stage.
- The second-placed team (Rangers FC) entered the Champions League at an earlier stage.
- The third-placed team (Aberdeen FC) entered the Europa League.
- The fourth and fifth-placed teams (Heart Of Midlothian FC and Hibernian FC) entered the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The winner of the Scottish Cup also gets a spot in the Europa League. If the cup winner has already qualified for Europe through their league position, then other teams get a chance to play in the Europa Conference League.
Clubs
The 12 clubs listed below are playing 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 | Capacity: 60,411 | Capacity: 11,506 | Capacity: 14,223 | Capacity: 17,480 | Capacity: 20,421 |
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| Kilmarnock | Motherwell | Rangers | Ross County | St Johnstone | St Mirren |
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| Rugby Park | Fir Park | Ibrox Stadium | Victoria Park | McDiarmid Park | St Mirren Park |
| Capacity: 17,889 | Capacity: 13,677 | Capacity: 50,817 | Capacity: 6,541 | Capacity: 10,696 | Capacity: 8,023 |
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- Club Ranking
Here's how Scottish clubs ranked in Europe after the 2021/22 season (UEFA 5-year Club Ranking):
- 33.
Rangers - 51.
Celtic - 136. Aberdeen
- 161. St Johnstone
- 162. Hibernian
- 163. Motherwell
- 164. Kilmarnock
League Statistics
Championship Winners
The table below shows the winners, runners-up, and third-place teams for each Scottish Premiership season since 2013. It also lists the top goalscorer (Tartan Boot) and the best players of the year.
| 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 | 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, Rangers have won Scotland's top league 55 times. Celtic have won it 54 times. Nine other clubs have won the remaining 19 championships. The last time a club other than Rangers or Celtic won was in 1984–85, when Aberdeen were champions.
Records and Awards
Here are some interesting records from the Scottish Premiership:
- 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; Livingston, 2023–24
- 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; Rangers, 2020–21
- Most goals scored in a season: 114; Celtic, 2022–23
- Fewest goals scored in a season: 24; St Johnstone, 2021–22
- Most goals conceded in a season: 78; Dundee, 2018–19
- Fewest goals conceded in a season: 13; Rangers, 2020–21
- Fastest goal: Kris Boyd, for Kilmarnock against Ross County, 10 seconds, 28 January 2017
- Highest transfer fee paid: Odsonne Édouard, from Paris Saint-Germain to Celtic, £9 million, 15 June 2018
- Highest transfer fee received:Kieran Tierney, from Celtic to Arsenal, £25 million, 8 August 2019
- 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
- Youngest goalscorer: Jack Aitchison, for Celtic v Motherwell, 16 years and 71 days
Top Goalscorers
This table shows the players who have scored the most goals in the Scottish Premiership.
- Bold means the player is still playing in the Scottish Premiership.
- Italics mean the player is still playing professional football, but in a different league.
| 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) | ||
| 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 | |||
| 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) | ||
| 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) | ||
| 10 | Kris Boyd |
55 | 145 | 0.38 | 2013 | 2019 | Kilmarnock |
Where to Watch the Games (Broadcasting Rights)
The Scottish Premiership games are shown on TV and online. The money from these TV deals helps the league and its clubs.
| Country/region | Broadcaster | Language | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
 United Kingdom |
Sky Sports | English | Shows up to 60 live Premiership matches each season from 2024 to 2029. Also shows the play-off final and Saturday-night goal highlights on Sky Sports News. |
| Premier Sports | Shows 20 live Premiership matches each season from 2024 to 2029. They also show live Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup, and Scotland Men's National Team matches. | ||
| BBC Sport Scotland | Shows highlights of Scottish Premiership matches on Saturday nights. They have extended highlights and a full weekend review on Sunday nights. They also show 20 live Friday-night Scottish Championship matches and the Scottish Premiership Play-Off Quarter-Final & Semi-Final. There's a Friday night show called A View from the Terrace. Highlights are also available online and on social media. | ||
| STV | Shows short goal clips during the Sports section of their STV News at Six program. | ||
| BBC Alba | Gaelic | Shows 38 matches on delay on Saturday evenings. They also show live Championship and League One Playoff Matches. | |
| Worldwide | YouTube | English (N/A) | You can watch 6-10 minute highlights of all Premiership Matches. Also, Championship, Leagues One and Two goals are available without commentary on the SPFL Youtube Channel. |
International Broadcasters
Many channels around the world show Scottish Premiership games:
Images for kids
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Pittodrie Stadium, home of Aberdeen F.C.
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Celtic Park, home of Celtic F.C.
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Dens Park, home of Dundee F.C.
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Tannadice Park, home of Dundee United F.C.
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Tynecastle Park, home of Heart of Midlothian F.C.
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Easter Road, home of Hibernian F.C.
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Rugby Park, home of Kilmarnock F.C.
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Fir Park, home of Motherwell F.C.
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Ibrox Stadium, home of Rangers F.C.
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Victoria Park, home of Ross County F.C.
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McDiarmid Park, home of St Johnstone F.C.
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St Mirren Park, home of St Mirren F.C.
See also
In Spanish: Scottish Premiership para niños
