A Brief History of the Scottish Premiership

The Scottish Premiership has been the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League since its formation in 2013. Also known as the Ladbrokes Premiership, because of its sponsorship by the Ladbrokes gambling company, this division was formed through the merger of the Scottish Premier league, which was founded in 1998, and the Scottish Football League, which was founded in 1890. The Scottish Premiership can therefore trace its historical roots back for more than a century.

Because it features the very best teams in Scotland, Scottish Premiership games are massively popular with those who enjoy watching live football on TV. The current Champions are Celtic, and the team’s success in 2018/19 was their 8th in a row and their 50th in total.

Competition Format

There are twelve football clubs involved in the Scottish Premiership, and the season usually runs from August until May. The season is divided into two main parts, and in the first part (which consumes the bulk of the season) each club plays a total of three matches against every other competing team – either twice at home and once away, or once at home and twice away. In each of these matches, points are earned according to the result gained, with three points being earned for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss.

The first part of the competition reaches its conclusion in May, when each team has played a total of 33 matches. At this point, the league table is divided equally in two – the top six and the bottom six – and each team must play one more match against each of the other teams that occupy the same half. For obvious reasons, no team may shift from one half of the league to the other during this part of the competition, no matter how they fare.

When the second part of the competition has concluded, each team will have played a total of 38 matches. The club which heads the league table become the Scottish Premiership Champions for that season. At the other end of the table, the club at the bottom is automatically relegated to the Scottish Championship league, and is replaced by the Scottish Championship winners. The club in 11th place in the Scottish Premiership must play two matches against the Scottish Championship play-off winners. The team which fares best from those two matches then earns the right to compete in the Scottish Premiership in the next season.

Clubs and Championships

The twelve football clubs which currently play in the Scottish Premiership are as follows:

• Aberdeen
• Celtic
• Hamilton
• Hearts of Midlothian
• HIbernian
• Kilmarnock
• Livingston
• Motherwell
• Rangers
• Ross County
• St Johnstone
• St. Mirren

As far as Championships are concerned, Rangers are the most dominant team, having won the league title (and the title of previous top-flight leagues) a total of 54 times. Celtic have won 50 times and the remaining 19 seasons were won by 9 other teams, with no team having won more than 4 times.

Rivalry between Celtic and Rangers

Because Rangers and Celtic have won this competition more than any other team by a staggeringly wide margin, and both are based in the city of Glasgow, it isn’t surprising that there is strong rivalry between the two. The two teams are collectively referred to as the Old Firm, and they have faced each other on 417 occasions, with Rangers winning 161 times, Celtic winning 157 times and a draw resulting in the remaining 99 matches. Celtic achieved the biggest Old Firm victory in 1957, when beating Rangers by 7 goals to 1.

Noteworthy Stats

The record for the biggest home win was set in 2016 when Celtic scored an 8-1 victory over Hamilton Academical. The biggest away win was a 0-7 victory by Aberdeen over Dunfermline in 2017. Celtic holds the record for the most points earned in a season, with 106 points earned in 2016/17.