 | |
| Founded | 1890 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2013 |
| Country |  Scotland |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Last champions | Partick Thistle (2012–13) |
| Most championships | Rangers (47 titles)[note 1] |
TheScottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professionalfootball clubs mostly fromScotland.[note 2] From its foundation in 1890 until the breakawayScottish Premier League (SPL) was formed in 1998, the SFL was the top level offootball in Scotland. After 1998, the SFL represented levels 2 to 4 of theScottish football league system. In June 2013, the SFL merged with the SPL to form theScottish Professional Football League.
The SFL was associated with atitle sponsor from the1985–86 season. As this sponsor changed over the years the league was known in turn as theFine Fare League,B&Q League,Bell's Scottish Football League and finally as theIrn-Bru Scottish Football League. The SFL also organised two knock-out cup competitions, theScottish League Cup and theScottish Challenge Cup.
Organised football in Scotland began in 1873 with the formation of theScottish Football Association (SFA).[1] During the next 15 years or so, clubs would playfriendly matches,Scottish Cup ties and local cup (e.g.Glasgow Cup orEast of Scotland Shield) ties.[1]The Football League, initially containing clubs from theNorth West andMidlands of England, was formed in 1888.[2] This had been done in response to the professionalisation of football in England in 1885, with the regular diet of league fixtures replacing the haphazard arrangement of friendlies.[2] Many Scottish players, known as theScotch Professors, moved to the English league clubs to receive the relatively high salaries on offer.[3]
This prompted Scottish clubs into thinking about forming their own league. In March 1890, the secretary ofRenton wrote to thirteen other clubs inviting them to discuss the organisation of a league.[3] All of the clubs accepted the invitation, exceptQueen's Park andClyde.[4] Amateur club Queen's Park, who were the oldest organised club in Scotland and had played a key role in the development of football, were opposed to the league because it would lead to professionalism and eliminate many of the smaller clubs.[4] These concerns were to prove well-founded, as six of the founder members would leave the league before 1900.[4]
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was inaugurated on 30 April 1890.[5] The first season of competition,1890–91, commenced with 11 clubs becauseSt Bernard's were not elected.[5] The eleven original clubs in membership wereAbercorn,Cambuslang,Celtic,Cowlairs,Dumbarton,Heart of Midlothian,Rangers,Renton,St Mirren,Third Lanark andVale of Leven.[6] Renton were expelled after five games of the 1890–91 season[7] for playing againstSt Bernard's, who had been found guilty of concealed professionalism. Renton raised an action against the SFA in theCourt of Session and won, which meant that their SFA and SFL memberships were restored.[7]
In the1890–91 season, Rangers and Dumbarton were level at the top of the league on 29 points.[7] The teams drew 2–2 in aplay-off match, but no further thought had been given to separating teams by another method and the championship was shared.[7]Goal average was introduced for the1921–22 season and replaced by goal difference for the1971–72 season.[8]
The league proved to be highly successful, and in 1893, a second tier was formed by the inclusion of a number of clubs previously in theScottish Football Alliance. Promotion was initially based on a ballot of clubs; automatic promotion was not introduced until 1922.
The onset ofWorld War I saw Division Two but not Division One being suspended, not restarting again until 1921 when theCentral Football League was absorbed as a new division with automatic promotion.
Note: in contemporary sources the divisions were often referred to as 'First' and 'Second' rather than 'One' and 'Two'; the latter format has been used throughout the site to avoid confusion with the league'sFirst andSecond Division, each one tier lower than their predecessor, introduced in the 1970s (see below).
In 1923, the League decided to introduce a third tier. TheWestern League was used as its backbone[9] but the new set-up lasted only three years before it collapsed under heavy financial losses. From 1926 until 1946, the League reverted to two divisions with many of the third tier clubs joining the second iteration of Scottish Football Alliance.[10]
Post-World War II reforms saw the League resume with three divisions, renamed 'A', 'B' and 'C' with the last section also includingreserve sides.[11][12] In 1947, league championship trophies were introduced for the first time for the top two divisions, until then only flags had been presented to the winners. The new trophies were engraved with the names of all previous winners.[13]
In 1949, the 'C' Division was expanded to two sections – South-East (North-East from 1950) and South-West. The withdrawal of the reserves from 'C' Division in 1955 saw a return to two divisions with the 5 first teams in Division C being given automatic promotion.[9][14] There were then 18 clubs in Division A and 19 in Division B. In 1956 the divisions were renamed Division 1 and Division 2.
Clydebank were elected to Division Two as the 20th club in 1966, but following the demise ofThird Lanark in 1967, Division Two kept operating with just 19 clubs; the situation would not be corrected until the next change of format, which happened in 1975.
This change of structure split the league into three divisions, Premier, First, and Second Divisions. This permitted more frequent fixtures between the top clubs; the expectation was that meant greater revenue for them, and it was hoped it would stimulate greater interest, at a time when attendance at league matches had dropped alarmingly. One year before the restructuring, a new club entered the league,Meadowbank Thistle (which would eventually becomeLivingston). This three-divisional structure of 38 clubs continued until 1994.
After a couple of decades, in 1994 the league again reorganised (following an attempted 'Super League' breakaway by the top clubs in 1992)[15] with four divisions of 10 teams, asHighland League clubsInverness Caledonian Thistle (a merger of two existing clubs in the city) andRoss County were elected to round out the league. At the same time, the SFL adopted the system ofthree points for a win. In 1998 the Premier Division clubs split from the league to form theScottish Premier League (SPL).[16] The remaining leagues, of ten clubs each, kept their names and the Premier Division was not reconstituted, leaving First, Second and Third Divisions. Part of the agreement was that the SPL would expand to 12 clubs in 2000. The SFL then took in two new members to replace the two clubs lost to the SPL; Highland League clubsElgin City andPeterhead were admitted, increasing the total number of clubs in the Scottish football league system to 42.
From 2005, the SFL determined apromotion and relegation place between each division according toplayoffs between four clubs.[17] The playoffs were contested between the ninth placed (second bottom) club in the higher division and the second, third and fourth placed clubs in the lower division.[17] It was therefore possible for a team finishing fourth in the Second Division or Third Division to be promoted, rather than the clubs finishing immediately above them in the standings.[17] It was also possible for the ninth placed club to retain their position in the higher division.[17]
Our review of non-financial matters indicate an organisation which is not wholly suited to the modern-day business environment, or the size of the league.
— Pannell Kerr Foster,BBC Sport website
In March 2007, a self-conducted review found the league to be three times more expensive to run than equivalent leagues in England, with a report stating the league structure was "outdated": the report found that theFootball Conference had four employees looking after 68 clubs, while the SFL had 14 people running leagues with just 30 clubs.[18]
No clubs were relegated from the bottom end of the Scottish Football League,[17] although there were changes of membership due to clubs going out of business.[19][20][21][22] The Scottish Football Association were keen for a pyramid system to be instituted. SFL First Division clubs wanted to gain a greater share of the media revenue generated by the SPL.[23] In 2013, both the SPL and SFL voted in favour of merging to form the newScottish Professional Football League.[23] The number of divisions and clubs in each division remained the same, but there were changes to the financial distribution model.[23] The first club to be promoted to the SPFL from the newLowland League via playoffs wasEdinburgh City in 2016 at the expense ofEast Stirlingshire, while in 2019Cove Rangers were the firstHighland League champions to go up, replacingBerwick Rangers.
The Scottish Football League organised two knock-out cup competitions: theScottish League Cup and theScottish Challenge Cup. The League Cup was established in 1946, succeeding the wartime Southern League Cup. Unlike theScottish Cup, organised by theScottish Football Association, the League Cup was only open to Scottish Football League clubs. Scottish Premier League clubs continued to participate in the League Cup after the top tier clubs broke away in 1998. Until the mid-1990s, the competition winner was eligible to participate in theUEFA Cup, but this was discontinued due to a loss of European places.
The Scottish Challenge Cup was instituted in 1990, to celebrate the League's centenary.[24] The Challenge Cup was only open to Scottish Football League clubs outside the top division of theScottish football league system. From 2011, twoHighland Football League clubs were allowed to participate each year in the Challenge Cup, to give a round number of 32 clubs participating.[25] Both the League Cup and the Challenge Cup continued under the auspices of theScottish Professional Football League.
From 1985, the League accepted sponsorships for its main competition.[26] Below is a list of sponsors and the League's name under their sponsorship:
The League's cup competitions have had different sponsors, with theScottish League Cup first attracting sponsorship in 1979.[32] The competition was revamped in 1984, adopting a straight knock-out format, whenSkol Lager began its sponsorship.[33]The Co-operative Insurance company sponsored the League Cup for 12 seasons, until the2010–11 competition.[34] It has since been sponsored by theScottish Government, under the name of theScottish Communities League Cup.[35] TheScottish Challenge Cup was created by League sponsor B&Q in 1990, but it was cancelled in1998–99 due to a lack of sponsorship.[36] Since 2008, the Challenge Cup has attracted its own sponsor, withBBC Alba and Ramsdens providing support.[25]
Before 1979, the major source of revenue to Scottish Football League clubs, apart from their attendances, was from thefootball pools.[37] In the year ended 31 March 1983, the pools generated £1.08 million out of a total of £1.46 million.[38] By 1990, this source of income had been overtaken by revenue from sponsorships and television rights.[37] As of 1990, 75% of these central revenues were split equally between the 38 member clubs, with the remaining 25% allocated according to each club's position in the league ladder.[37] During the 1970s and 1980s, the main terrestrial television companies (STV andBBC Scotland) produced shows (Scotsport andSportscene respectively) containing highlights of league matches.[39] The revenues from these broadcasts were relatively small, with the companies paying less than £1000 per match in the mid-1970s.[39]BBC Radio Scotland had exclusive rights for live radio coverage of matches at this time,[40] with independent stations such asRadio Clyde providing coverage via score updates and analysis.[41]
The first live television broadcast of a Scottish league match was not until April 1986.[42] Earlier in the1985–86 season, there had been no television coverage at all due to a dispute between the League and the broadcasters.[42] The birth of satellite broadcasterBritish Sky Broadcasting (Sky TV) changed the situation significantly.[43] As ITV had an exclusive contract for live coverage of games inthe English league, the first match shown on Sky was aScottish Premier Division match betweenRangers andDundee United in April 1991.[43] A year later, the top division English clubs formed a breakawayPremier League, signing an exclusive television contract with Sky. Live Scottish Premier Division games were shown on STV during the 1990s, but the top division clubs formed the breakawayScottish Premier League in 1998 and signed an exclusive broadcast contract with Sky.
This left the remaining Scottish Football League clubs without live coverage, although STV continued to show highlights ofFirst Division games in theirFootball First show.Scots Gaelic channelBBC Alba provided coverage of Scottish Football League games, including the Challenge Cup, from its launch in 2008.[25] Live coverage on English language channels returned to Scottish Football League games in the 2012–13 season, as Sky andESPN agreed contracts to showThird Division matches involvingRangers.[44][45] These arrangements secured revenues that had been under threat due to thefinancial collapse of Rangers.[44][45]
Of the original SFL clubs, Celtic, Heart of Midlothian, St Mirren and Dumbarton are the only clubs today playing in the successorScottish Professional Football League. Every other club is either defunct or out of the League.
When the Scottish Football League was established in 1890, all of the clubs played in just one division. In 1893 the Scottish Football League absorbed many clubs from theScottish Football Alliance and had enough clubs to form another division. The existing division was renamed Division One and the new division was called Division Two. Nevertheless,promotion and relegation between the top two divisions was not automatic until1921–22 when Division Two was brought back after a hiatus provoked byWorld War I which affected only that division; hence some teams of the era winning Division Two twice in a row before being promoted, and some Division Two winners being never promoted at all.
A third tier of Scottish league football was first established in the1923–24 season, but it only lasted for two full seasons due to financial difficulties. A third tier league (called Division C) was reintroduced in1946–47. Division C, which also includedreserve teams of higher division clubs, operated as a national competition for the first three seasons but thereafter it was split into two regional sections. During this period only full-strength clubs (not reserve teams) were promoted if they finished as champions. The two-division tier was abolished after the1954–55 season.
Since the1975–76 season there has been a third tier, known as theSecond Division. The top tier became thePremier Division and the second tier became known as the First Division. A fourth tier, known as theThird Division, was introduced in 1994. The last major change within theScottish football league system was in1998–99, when the Premier Division clubs broke away from the Scottish Football League to form theScottish Premier League. The remaining Scottish Football League divisions continued as before.
| No. | Season | 1st tier | 2nd tier | 3rd tier | 4th tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1890–91 | Dumbarton (share)[7] Rangers (share)[7] | — | — | — |
| 2. | 1891–92 | Dumbarton | |||
| 3. | 1892–93 | Celtic | |||
| 4. | 1893–94 | Celtic | Hibernian | ||
| 5. | 1894–95 | Heart of Midlothian | Hibernian | ||
| 6. | 1895–96 | Celtic | Abercorn | ||
| 7. | 1896–97 | Heart of Midlothian | Partick Thistle | ||
| 8. | 1897–98 | Celtic | Kilmarnock | ||
| 9. | 1898–99 | Rangers | Kilmarnock | ||
| 10. | 1899–1900 | Rangers | Partick Thistle | ||
| 11. | 1900–01 | Rangers | St Bernard's | ||
| 12. | 1901–02 | Rangers | Port Glasgow Athletic | ||
| 13. | 1902–03 | Hibernian | Airdrieonians | ||
| 14. | 1903–04 | Third Lanark | Hamilton Academical | ||
| 15. | 1904–05 | Celtic | Clyde | ||
| 16. | 1905–06 | Celtic | Leith Athletic | ||
| 17. | 1906–07 | Celtic | St Bernard's | ||
| 18. | 1907–08 | Celtic | Raith Rovers | ||
| 19. | 1908–09 | Celtic | Abercorn | ||
| 20. | 1909–10 | Celtic | Leith Athletic (share) Raith Rovers (share) | ||
| 21. | 1910–11 | Rangers | Dumbarton | ||
| 22. | 1911–12 | Rangers | Ayr United | ||
| 23. | 1912–13 | Rangers | Ayr United | ||
| 24. | 1913–14 | Celtic | Cowdenbeath | ||
| 25. | 1914–15 | Celtic | Cowdenbeath | ||
| 26. | 1915–16 | Celtic | — | ||
| 27. | 1916–17 | Celtic | |||
| 28. | 1917–18 | Rangers | |||
| 29. | 1918–19 | Celtic | |||
| 30. | 1919–20 | Rangers | |||
| 31. | 1920–21 | Rangers | |||
| 32. | 1921–22 | Celtic | Alloa Athletic | ||
| 33. | 1922–23 | Rangers | Queen's Park | ||
| 34. | 1923–24 | Rangers | St Johnstone | Arthurlie | |
| 35. | 1924–25 | Rangers | Dundee United | Nithsdale Wanderers | |
| 36. | 1925–26 | Celtic | Dunfermline Athletic | Not awarded[note 3] | |
| 37. | 1926–27 | Rangers | Bo'ness United | — | |
| 38. | 1927–28 | Rangers | Ayr United | ||
| 39. | 1928–29 | Rangers | Dundee United | ||
| 40. | 1929–30 | Rangers | Leith Athletic | ||
| 41. | 1930–31 | Rangers | Third Lanark | ||
| 42. | 1931–32 | Motherwell | East Stirlingshire | ||
| 43. | 1932–33 | Rangers | Hibernian | ||
| 44. | 1933–34 | Rangers | Albion Rovers | ||
| 45. | 1934–35 | Rangers | Third Lanark | ||
| 46. | 1935–36 | Celtic | Falkirk | ||
| 47. | 1936–37 | Rangers | Ayr United | ||
| 48. | 1937–38 | Celtic | Raith Rovers | ||
| 49. | 1938–39 | Rangers | Cowdenbeath | ||
| 50. | 1939–40 | League abandoned after five matches due to the commencement ofWorld War II. | |||
— | 1940–46 | League suspended due to World War II. | |||
| 51. | 1946–47 | Rangers | Dundee | Stirling Albion | — |
| 52. | 1947–48 | Hibernian | East Fife | East Stirlingshire | |
| 53. | 1948–49 | Rangers | Raith Rovers | Forfar Athletic | |
| 54. | 1949–50 | Rangers | Morton | HibernianA | |
| Clyde A | |||||
| 55. | 1950–51 | Hibernian | Queen of the South | Heart of Midlothian A | |
| Clyde A | |||||
| 56. | 1951–52 | Hibernian | Clyde | Dundee A | |
| Rangers A | |||||
| 57. | 1952–53 | Rangers | Stirling Albion | Aberdeen A | |
| Rangers A | |||||
| 58. | 1953–54 | Celtic | Motherwell | Brechin City | |
| Rangers A | |||||
| 59. | 1954–55 | Aberdeen | Airdrieonians | Aberdeen A | |
| Partick Thistle A | |||||
| 60. | 1955–56 | Rangers | Queen's Park | — | |
| 61. | 1956–57 | Rangers | Clyde | ||
| 62. | 1957–58 | Heart of Midlothian | Stirling Albion | ||
| 63. | 1958–59 | Rangers | Ayr United | ||
| 64. | 1959–60 | Heart of Midlothian | St Johnstone | ||
| 65. | 1960–61 | Rangers | Stirling Albion | ||
| 66. | 1961–62 | Dundee | Clyde | ||
| 67. | 1962–63 | Rangers | St Johnstone | ||
| 68. | 1963–64 | Rangers | Morton | ||
| 69. | 1964–65 | Kilmarnock | Stirling Albion | ||
| 70. | 1965–66 | Celtic | Ayr United | ||
| 71. | 1966–67 | Celtic | Morton | ||
| 72. | 1967–68 | Celtic | St Mirren | ||
| 73. | 1968–69 | Celtic | Motherwell | ||
| 74. | 1969–70 | Celtic | Falkirk | ||
| 75. | 1970–71 | Celtic | Partick Thistle | ||
| 76. | 1971–72 | Celtic | Dumbarton | ||
| 77. | 1972–73 | Celtic | Clyde | ||
| 78. | 1973–74 | Celtic | Airdrieonians | ||
| 79. | 1974–75 | Rangers | Falkirk | ||
| 80. | 1975–76 | Rangers | Partick Thistle | Clydebank | |
| 81. | 1976–77 | Celtic | St Mirren | Stirling Albion | |
| 82. | 1977–78 | Rangers | Morton | Clyde | |
| 83. | 1978–79 | Celtic | Dundee | Berwick Rangers | |
| 84. | 1979–80 | Aberdeen | Heart of Midlothian | Falkirk | |
| 85. | 1980–81 | Celtic | Hibernian | Queen's Park | |
| 86. | 1981–82 | Celtic | Motherwell | Clyde | |
| 87. | 1982–83 | Dundee United | St Johnstone | Brechin City | |
| 88. | 1983–84 | Aberdeen | Morton | Forfar Athletic | |
| 89. | 1984–85 | Aberdeen | Motherwell | Montrose | |
| 90. | 1985–86 | Celtic | Hamilton Academical | Dunfermline Athletic | |
| 91. | 1986–87 | Rangers | Morton | Meadowbank Thistle | |
| 92. | 1987–88 | Celtic | Hamilton Academical | Ayr United | |
| 93. | 1988–89 | Rangers | Dunfermline Athletic | Albion Rovers | |
| 94. | 1989–90 | Rangers | St Johnstone | Brechin City | |
| 95. | 1990–91 | Rangers | Falkirk | Stirling Albion | |
| 96. | 1991–92 | Rangers | Dundee | Dumbarton | |
| 97. | 1992–93 | Rangers | Raith Rovers | Clyde | |
| 98. | 1993–94 | Rangers | Falkirk | Stranraer | |
| 99. | 1994–95 | Rangers | Raith Rovers | Morton | Forfar Athletic |
| 100. | 1995–96 | Rangers | Dunfermline Athletic | Stirling Albion | Livingston |
| 101. | 1996–97 | Rangers | St Johnstone | Ayr United | Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
| 102. | 1997–98 | Celtic | Dundee | Stranraer | Alloa Athletic |
| 103. | 1998–99 | — | Hibernian | Livingston | Ross County |
| 104. | 1999–2000 | St Mirren | Clyde | Queen's Park | |
| 105. | 2000–01 | Livingston | Partick Thistle | Hamilton Academical | |
| 106. | 2001–02 | Partick Thistle | Queen of the South | Brechin City | |
| 107. | 2002–03 | Falkirk | Raith Rovers | Morton | |
| 108. | 2003–04 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Airdrie United | Stranraer | |
| 109. | 2004–05 | Falkirk | Brechin City | Gretna | |
| 110. | 2005–06 | St. Mirren | Gretna | Cowdenbeath | |
| 111. | 2006–07 | Gretna | Morton | Berwick Rangers | |
| 112. | 2007–08 | Hamilton Academical | Ross County | East Fife | |
| 113. | 2008–09 | St Johnstone | Raith Rovers | Dumbarton | |
| 114. | 2009–10 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Stirling Albion | Livingston | |
| 115. | 2010–11 | Dunfermline Athletic | Livingston | Arbroath | |
| 116. | 2011–12 | Ross County | Cowdenbeath | Alloa Athletic | |
| 117. | 2012–13 | Partick Thistle | Queen of the South | Rangers | |
The SFL was the organising body of theScottish Football League XI, a select side which represented the SFL in matches against other leagues, including theEnglish Football League, theLeague of Ireland, theNorthern Irish league and the ItalianSerie A.[76] These matches began in 1892, soon after the foundation of the SFL.[77] Before the Second World War, inter-league matches were only second in importance toScotland international matches. After the war, however, the inter-league matches became less important as European club football was instituted and clubs withdrew players due to fixture congestion.[78] The last inter-league match was played in 1980, while a Scottish Football League XI was last selected in 1990 for a match against theScotland national team to mark the centenary of the SFL.[79]
