The
Scottish football league system is a series of
generally unconnected leagues for
Scottish
football clubs. The Scottish system
is a more complicated than many other national
league systems, consisting of two completely
separate systems of leagues and clubs, senior football and junior
football. The two systems have nothing to do with the ages of the
players involved.
In senior football in Scotland there are two national leagues, the
Scottish Premier League and
the
Scottish Football
League (which has three divisions). There are also several
regional leagues (most notably the
Highland Football League), but
there is no regular promotion or relegation between the regional
leagues and the national league.
Rangers are the current record holders with 52 titles.
One senior club based
in England
, Berwick Rangers, plays in the Scottish
system in the Scottish Football League. A small number of
English amateur clubs in the lowest levels of the game, based on or
around the
Anglo-Scottish
border, also compete in the Scottish system for geographical
and travel reasons.
Rejection of a Pyramid System
Overall, the structure of
football
in Scotland is amongst the most fractured and multi-faceted in
Europe, being unique in having a plurality of
adult male governing bodies (with Seniors, Juniors, Amateurs and
Welfarers - see below). It is also unusual in the modern era in
having declined to create a structured pyramid system, and as a
result it is practically impossible for clubs at the bottom of the
system to progress to the top, or for weak clubs to be relegated
down the leagues.
While discussion about the creation of a
pyramid system have existed for many decades,
no serious action has ever been taken by the
Scottish Football Association
(SFA) or the leagues. This is often attributed to narrow-mindedness
and self-interest on behalf of some clubs.
Gretna's resignation from the Scottish
Football League injected new life into this debate, with SFA chief
executive,
Gordon
Smith, starting discussions with the regional and junior
leagues.
It is not uncommon for a given town or county to have clubs in as
many as 3 or 4 separate systems.
Current system
Senior football
The current system has been in place since the creation of the
Scottish Premier League at the start of the
1998–99 season. For each
division, its official name, sponsored name and number of clubs is
given:
Below this national structure, but entirely separate of it and of
each other, are the three regional leagues, the
Highland Football League consisting
of 15 clubs, the
East
of Scotland Football League consisting of 24 clubs and the
South of Scotland
Football League consisting of 14 clubs (three of which are
reserve teams of one club in the East of Scotland Football League
and two in the Scottish Football League). They are all overseen by
the Scottish Football Association and most enter the
Scottish Cup, although some are not eligible
because their grounds are not adequately appointed. All three
leagues have their own cup tournaments, sometimes involving reserve
teams fielded by the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football
League clubs.
In the 2007/8 season, the Scottish qualifying cups were disbanded
and a new structure was adopted for the Scottish Cup. All non
SPL/SFL sides that are entitled to enter now start in the first
round. A phasing in of SFL/SPL division clubs happen in later
rounds. A point of controversy is that a small number of Junior
sides are now invited to enter.
Junior football
Also outside of the national structure, overseen by the
Scottish Junior Football
Association, are the three junior regions,
Scottish
Junior Football Association, West Region of 63 clubs;
Scottish
Junior Football Association, East Region also of 63 clubs; and
the
Scottish
Junior Football Association, North Region of 34 clubs. These
clubs operate entirely separately from the Scottish Football
Association (except
Girvan who for
historical reasons are a member of both the SFA and the SJFA) and
participate in a number of their own cup competitions, as well as
the nationally renowned
Scottish
Junior Cup. The term 'junior' refers not to the age of the
players but the level of football played, similar levels of
football in England are often referred to as '
Non-League football'.
Amateur football
Again separate from the above, and generally agreed to lie 'below'
the senior and junior levels, are the over 1,000 clubs in
membership of the
Scottish Amateur Football
Association which claims to oversee 35,000 players competing in
67 different leagues - although this includes a small number of
Sunday League football and
Futsal competitions, and a few youth football
bodies which did not amalgamate with many others into the
Scottish Youth Football
Association. Again due to historical anomaly, certain local
associations of the Scottish Amateur Football Association -
including the
North
Caledonian Football League - are also associated with the
Scottish Football Association.
Three member clubs of the Scottish Amateur
Football Association - Glasgow University
, Burntisland Shipyard
Amateur and Golspie
Sutherland - are members of the Scottish Football Association
and are permitted to enter the Scottish Cup.
Welfare football
Roughly concurrent with the Scottish Amateur Football Association
is the
Scottish
Welfare Football Association, which has a very low profile
nationally. The SWFA was established in the aftermath of
World War I, and oversees around 500 clubs
competing in summer and winter football, predominantly in the north
of Scotland.
Cup eligibility
Domestic cups
All Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League clubs
directly enter the Scottish Cup and the
Scottish League Cup, while all Scottish
Football League clubs also contest the
Scottish Challenge Cup.
From 2007-2008 season a restructuring of the Scottish cup saw the
Scottish Qualifying Cup
competition scrapped and the 36 SFA member clubs outwith the SPL
and SFL given direct entry to the 1st Round of the cup.
Additionally, the league winners of the East of Scotland and South
of Scotland Leagues are also in the draw. Clubs from Scottish
Junior football have been admitted for the first time. Up to four
Junior clubs are allowed to enter, these being the winners of the
previous season's North Premier League, West Premier League and
East Superleague, and the winner of the Scottish Junior Cup if they
have not also won one of the three regional league champions.
Scottish Cup format
Scottish League Cup format
First round
32 teams (16 ties)
Second round
20 teams (10 ties)
Third round
16 teams (8 ties)
Quarter-finals
8 teams (4 ties)
Semi-finals
4 teams (2 ties)
Final
2 teams (1 tie)
Scottish Challenge Cup
First round
North & East region
14 teams (7 ties)
South & West region
14 teams (7 ties)
Second round
16 teams (8 ties)
Quarter-finals
8 teams (4 ties)
Semi-finals
4 teams (2 ties)
Final
2 teams (1 ties)
European cups
From season 2008-09, the top two sides in the Scottish Premier
League qualify for the
Champions
League, with the third and fourth placed teams qualifying for
the
UEFA Europa League. The
winners of the Scottish Cup also qualify for the Europa League; if
the Scottish Cup winners have already qualified for European
competition via their league position, the European slot passes to
the Scottish Premier League, resulting in the fifth placed side
qualifying.
References
See also
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search