Scottish Premiership is the top tier division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Established in 2013 as a merger of the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League, it includes 12 teams that annually play 38 league matches each. Until today, 17 clubs have played in the Scottish Premiership.
The season runs from August to May. While it doesn’t include a knockout stage, the league follows an unusual format where clubs are divided into two halves after the first 33 matches.
In this article, we will answer the question “how does the Scottish Premiership work?” by taking a close look at the two-stage format, point system, promotion and relegation mechanisms, as well as other things that set it apart from other football leagues.
How Does the Scottish Premiership Work?
The current Scottish Premiership format includes 12 clubs competing for the champion title each season. In the first part of the season every club plays three times against each of the remaining teams. This can be either one home and two away games or two home and one away game. Correspondingly, each team plays 33 matches.
Once that’s done, the teams are divided into top and bottom six based on accumulated points and position in the league table. Clubs continue to play within their own section, one match against each of the five teams. Combined with the 33 matches played before, each team plays a total of 38 matches during the season.
Points earned in the first half of the season before the split are carried over to the second stage. However, teams remain in their section until the end of the game, even if they have more or fewer points than a higher or lower ranked club.
Based on the results of the previous season, the organisers try to predict which section each club will fall into. This is used to create a fixture schedule where each team will have to play two home and two away games against each of their opponents. However, if any team finishes the first stage of the season not where it was expected to, it may create a certain imbalance in the fixtures and cause the team to play more home than away matches or vice versa.
How Many Games Are in the Scottish Premiership?
In the first half of the season, each of the 12 teams plays three games against each of its 11 rivals. That gives us 33 games per team. Then after the split, each team has to play once against other five clubs in its section, so another five matches are added to the total. This means every club participating in the Scottish Premiership plays 38 games per season.
When counting how many games in the Scottish Premiership are played in total each season, the above calculations give us 228 matches if all fixtures are carried to completion.
This, however, doesn’t include the domestic Scottish Cup, League Cup, or Challenge Cup. While all three are an indispensable part of Scottish professional football, they are conducted independently of the league games. The Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Challenge Cup are operated by the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), while the Scottish Cup, although including all the teams within the SPFL, is operated under the authority of the Scottish Football Association.
In addition to that, qualifying clubs take part in various European tournaments throughout the season. Based on their ranking and domestic results, they can be advanced to play in the next season of the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, and the UEFA Conference League.
Why Does the Scottish Premiership Split After 33 Games?
The Scottish Professional Football League explicitly states that the split doesn’t indicate the beginning of a knockout stage in the competition. The top clubs from the top six and top clubs from the bottom six won’t meet each other in the later stage of the tournament either. In fact, the split takes place purely for convenience and time management reasons.
With 12 clubs playing in the tournament, if they followed a more conventional league stage format, they would have to play 44 games each, two home and two away matches with every other club on the list.
With the split built into the structure, they can finish the tournament after each team has played 38 games, 33 in the first half, i.e. three against each of the remaining 11 opponents, and 5 in the second half, i.e. one against each of the 5 teams in their section.
The top tier of Scottish football has been operating on this mechanism since the 2000/2001 season when the 12 club system was introduced. It continued the same way after the Scottish Premiership came into existence in 2013.
What Happens to the Points After the Split?
Points earned by each team in the first stage of the tournament are carried forward to the second stage after the split. Points aren’t reset or modified in any other way.
Clubs simply continue to play the remaining five fixtures. The points they earn in the second stage are added to the existing ones to determine the winner, the relegated club, as well as eligibility for European championships.
Can a Bottom-Six Team Finish Above a Top-Six Team?
Once the split is finalised, the positions are fixed. Even if a team in the top section ends up having fewer points after the final five matches than a team in the bottom section, they can’t move up or down the league table beyond their section of six.
Who Does Each Team Play After the Scottish Premiership Split?
Once the split is finalised, the teams in each section will continue playing against each other. They won’t play against the teams in the other section. Each team plays five games after the split, one per rival in the same section. This rule is the same for both top and bottom sections.
Before the split occurs, each team plays three matches against each of their opponents. The fixtures are either two home and one away or vice versa. Now if they both get in the same section, the fourth fixture will be appointed to balance out the home and away games, so that at the end of the tournament they will have played two home and two away games against each other.
However, as any two teams might not end up in the same section and they don’t play across top and bottom sections, it is not always possible to perfectly balance home and away games between any two teams.
As every team plays a total of 38 matches per season, the balanced home and away allocation would be 19 home and 19 away games. However, due to the split, it is possible for clubs to play 20 home and 18 away games or vice versa during the tournament.
How Are Scottish Premiership Points Awarded?
Following the general standard for association football, for each win in the Scottish Premiership a club is awarded three points. A draw will bring one point to each team of the match, while a loss will result in zero points.
The main criteria for the league table ranking is the total points. If any teams are in a tie with the same number of points, they are ranked according to the goal difference, and if that still leaves the tie unresolved, goals scored are taken into consideration.
How Is the Scottish Premiership Champion Decided?
The champion of the Scottish Premiership is decided in a pretty straightforward way. The club that has accumulated the highest number of points during the tournament is pronounced the winner. There are no play-offs between the top teams for the champion title.
Sometimes the split after the first 33 matches is perceived as the beginning of the knockout stage, however this is not the case. The Scottish Premiership doesn’t include a knockout stage and decisions regarding the winner are made solely based on the points. Moreover, points earned before the split are retained and added to the points earned afterwards for the final total sum.
If two teams have an equal number of points, the criteria used for tie breaking are, in chronological order, the following: goal difference, goals scored, and head to head results. If the clubs still remain at a tie, they will enter a play-off to define the winner. This rule only comes into force when the champion title or European qualifications are on the line.
The same rule is used to break a tie in relegation or while determining how two teams with equal points will be split into top and bottom sections.
How Do Relegation and Promotion Work?
If they are relegated from the Scottish Premiership, clubs will play the next season in the Scottish Championship, which is the second highest division of Scottish professional football. At the same time, winners of the Scottish Championship are eligible for promotion to the Scottish Premiership.
However, the relegation mechanism works slightly differently in the Scottish Premiership compared to other top tier European football leagues.
Automatic Relegation
The club that finishes in the 12th and last position on the league table is automatically relegated to the Scottish Championship. Here everything works according to the standard procedure.
At the same time, the winner of the Scottish Championship will be promoted to the next season of the Premiership, should they satisfy a number of entry criteria.
Premiership Play-Off
On the other hand, the club that finishes in the 11th place doesn’t automatically get relegated to the Championship. Instead, they have to play relegation play-offs with an eligible club from the Championship to determine which one of them will play the next season in the Premiership and which in the Championship.
While the winner of the Scottish Championship is automatically eligible for the promotion (provided they satisfy the entry criteria), clubs in the second, third, and fourth place all enter the Championship play-offs to earn a spot in the top league.
The Championship clubs in the third and fourth places play against each other, with the winner advancing to play the club in the second place. The winner of this round will go on to play against the Premiership club in the 11th place.
The Premiership play-off is played over two legs, and the winner will play in the next season of the Premiership, while the loser will play in the Championship. This means that the club finishing in the 11th place may be relegated but based on the results of the play-off might stay in the league.
What Does the Top Six and Bottom Six Mean?
Let’s take a closer look at each of the sections after the split and what they stand for.
Top Six
Top six comprises the teams standing in positions one through six on the league table based on the points earned after the first 33 games. Once the split is finalised, these teams will only play each other during the final five rounds.
Their positions within the top six after they have played the last five rounds will determine the winner and the clubs that will qualify to enter either the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League play-offs, or UEFA Conference League at different stages.
Bottom Six
Teams that occupy places seven through twelve on the league table after the first 33 matches get into the bottom six section. Same as the top six, they will continue playing five games each, but only against the other five clubs in the bottom section.
In this section, relegation and relegation play-offs are on the line. The club that finishes the season in the 12th place is automatically relegated to the Scottish Championship, while the club in the 11th position will enter the relegation play-offs to challenge the winner of the Championship play-offs for one final chance to stay in the Premiership.
Scottish Premiership Format Example
Below we will take a look at a fictional league table of the Scottish Premiership. Teams are positioned according to the points they earned after the first 33 matches.
| Position | Club |
| 1 | Team A |
| 2 | Team B |
| 3 | Team C |
| 4 | Team D |
| 5 | Team E |
| 6 | Team F |
| 7 | Team G |
| 8 | Team H |
| 9 | Team I |
| 10 | Team J |
| 11 | Team K |
| 12 | Team L |
After the split, Teams A through F will be placed in the top six, while Teams G through L will be placed in the bottom six.
Now in the top six, Team A will play one match with each of the remaining teams, namely, Teams B, C, D, E, and F. The other teams will do the same.
In the bottom six, Team G will play one match with Teams H, I, J, K, and L. The other teams will also play one game with each of their rivals in the section.
When each team has played 38 matches, the points they have accumulated during the season will define their position, the winner title, eligibility for European championships, or relegation to the Scottish Championship.
However, no matter how many points they earn, teams can’t move beyond the red line and will remain in their section of the league table till the end of the tournament.
FAQ
How does the Scottish Premiership work?
Every club out of 12 members first plays three games against each of their opponents for a total of 33 games. Then they are divided into top six and bottom six to play another five matches against the opponents in their section.
How many games does each team play in the Scottish Premiership?
Each team plays 33 games in the first stage of the tournament and five games in the second stage after the split for a total of 38 matches during the Scottish Premiership season.
When does the Scottish Premiership split?
The split occurs after all 12 clubs have completed their first 33 games, i.e. three games against each of their 11 opponents. Then they are split into top six and bottom six to play another five games against each of the rivals in their section.
Why does the Scottish Premiership have a split?
This allows the clubs to finish the tournament after each of them has played 38 games, 33 in the first half and 5 in the second. Otherwise, if they played two home and two away teams against each of the 11 rivals, they would have to play 44 games.
How many teams are in the Scottish Premiership?
Since the 2000/2001 season, the top division of the Scottish professional association football has included 12 teams per season. After its establishment in 2013, the Scottish Premiership has featured 17 clubs.
Do points reset after the Scottish Premiership split?
No, the points each team earns during the first stage of the season are carried forward to the second stage and will determine whether the team will get into the top six or the bottom six section.
Can a team move from the bottom six to the top six after the split?
No, once the teams are split into top and bottom six, their position is fixed. They can’t move even if they have more or fewer points than a team ranking higher or lower than them.
Why can Scottish Premiership teams play each other different numbers of times at home?
This happens because of the split. In the first stage, each club plays three games against every other club, two home and one away or vice versa. If both clubs end up in the same section after the split, the fourth fixture will be scheduled to balance the home and away ratio. But if the teams end up in different sections, the clubs may end up playing an uneven number of home and away matches.
How many teams are relegated from the Scottish Premiership?
Depending on the results of the relegation play-offs, either one or two clubs are relegated each season. The team in the 12th place is relegated automatically, while the team in the 11th place plays the relegation play-offs to determine whether they stay in the Premiership or not.
Betting is only available to participants above 18 years. Please bet responsibly. BeGambleAware.org