The 2021–22 Scottish Women's Premier League was the 21st season of the SWPL, the highest division of women's football in Scotland since 2002. The league is split into two divisions – SWPL 1 with 10 teams[1] and SWPL 2 with seven teams, following the sudden resignation of Forfar Farmington in August 2021[2] – Partick Thistle were elevated to SWPL 1 to maintain an even number of teams, leaving SWPL 2 one short.
The league season started on 5 September 2021 and ended on 15 May 2022.[3] The competition was known as the Scottish Building Society Scottish Women's Premier League for sponsorship reasons,[4] then as the Park's Motor Group Scottish Women's Premier League from November 2021.[5] Glasgow City were the defending champions of 14 consecutive seasons.
In February 2022, Glasgow City lost 3–1 away to Rangers in a pivotal fixture;[6] a 0–0 draw in the reverse fixture on 8 May gave Rangers the SWPL 1 championship, their first Scottish women's title.[7] The Gers finished seven points ahead of Glasgow City and only dropped four points, via two draws against the deposed champions, defeating all other opponents three times for an unbeaten season. They also qualified for the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time.[8]
The SWPL 2 champions were Dundee United, 20 points ahead of the runners-up, Glasgow Women, who won promotion with a 3–1 win in the final match[9][10] against third-placed Boroughmuir Thistle.[11][12]
Two clubs were promoted from SWPL 2 and none relegated from SWPL 1 due to league expansion.[13] The league's first promotion/relegation play-off had been planned[14] until the expansion was confirmed in April 2022[13] following the SWPL clubs' majority vote to leave SWF for the SPFL in February.[15]
Teams
editSWPL 1
edit| Team | Location | Head coach | Home ground | Capacity | 2020–21 position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Cove Bay |  Emma Hunter Gavin Beith |
Balmoral Stadium | 2,602 | 1st in SWPL 2 |
| Celtic | Airdrie |  Fran Alonso |
Excelsior Stadium | 10,101 | 2nd |
| Glasgow City | Springburn |  Eileen Gleeson |
Petershill Park | 1,000 | 1st |
| Hamilton Academical | Hamilton | Gary Doctor |
New Douglas Park | 6,018 | 2nd in SWPL 2 |
| Heart of Midlothian | Edinburgh | Eva Olid |
Oriam | 1,000 | 8th |
| Hibernian | Livingston | Dean Gibson |
Almondvale Stadium | 3,000 | 4th |
| Motherwell | Motherwell | Stewart Hall Willie Kinniburgh (interim) |
Alliance Park | 500 | 6th |
| Partick Thistle | Springburn | Brian Graham |
Petershill Park | 1,000 | 3rd in SWPL 2 |
| Rangers | Milngavie | Malky Thomson |
Rangers Training Centre | 500 | 3rd |
| Spartans | Edinburgh | Debbi McCulloch |
Ainslie Park | 3,000 | 5th |
Source: [16]
SWPL 2
edit| Team | Location | Head coach | Home ground | Capacity | 2020–21 position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boroughmuir Thistle | Edinburgh | Suzy Shepherd |
Meggetland Sports Complex | 1,000 | 9th |
| Dundee United | Dundee | Graeme Hart (interim) |
Regional Performance Centre | 4th | |
| Glasgow Girls & Women | Glasgow | Craig Joyce |
New Tinto Park | 6th | |
| Kilmarnock | Kilmarnock | Andy Gardner |
Rugby Park | 17,889 | 8th |
| Queen's Park | Glasgow | Mark Kirk |
Lesser Hampden | 1,000 | 7th |
| St Johnstone | Perth | Jason McCrindle |
McDiarmid Park | 10,696 | 5th |
| Stirling University | Stirling | Craig Beveridge |
Gannochy Sports Centre | 1,000 | 10th |
Source: [16]
SWPL 1
edit| Season | 2021–22 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Rangers |
| Matches played | 135 |
| Goals scored | 481 (3.56 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Glasgow City 10–1 Aberdeen Glasgow City 9–0 Spartans |
| Biggest away win | Hamilton Academical 0–7 Rangers Partick Thistle 0–7 Celtic |
| Highest scoring | Glasgow City 10–1 Aberdeen (11 goals) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Rangers (27 games) |
← 2020–21 2022–23 → | |
League table
edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rangers (C, Q) | 27 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 97 | 11 | +86 | 77 | Qualification for the Champions League first round |
| 2 | Glasgow City (Q) | 27 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 89 | 13 | +76 | 70 | |
| 3 | Celtic | 27 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 85 | 22 | +63 | 60 | |
| 4 | Hibernian | 27 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 46 | 32 | +14 | 43 | |
| 5 | Aberdeen | 27 | 9 | 2 | 16 | 39 | 69 | −30 | 29 | |
| 6 | Spartans | 27 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 28 | 54 | −26 | 28 | |
| 7 | Motherwell | 27 | 8 | 3 | 16 | 31 | 75 | −44 | 27 | |
| 8 | Heart of Midlothian | 27 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 20 | 66 | −46 | 20 | |
| 9 | Partick Thistle | 27 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 29 | 70 | −41 | 18 | |
| 10 | Hamilton Academical | 27 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 17 | 69 | −52 | 13 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Results
editSWPL 2
edit| Season | 2021–22 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dundee United |
| Promoted | Glasgow Women |
| Matches played | 84 |
| Goals scored | 328 (3.9 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Glasgow Women 8–1 Stirling University Kilmarnock 7–0 Stirling University |
| Biggest away win | Stirling University 0–7 Dundee United |
| Highest scoring | Glasgow Women 8–1 Stirling University (9 goals) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Dundee United (21 games) |
← 2020–21 2022–23 → | |
League table
edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dundee United (C, P) | 24 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 89 | 21 | +68 | 65 | Promotion to SWPL 1 |
| 2 | Glasgow Women (P) | 24 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 52 | 30 | +22 | 45 | |
| 3 | Boroughmuir Thistle | 24 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 54 | 38 | +16 | 40 | |
| 4 | Kilmarnock | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 52 | 51 | +1 | 32 | |
| 5 | St Johnstone | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 42 | 46 | −4 | 32 | |
| 6 | Queen's Park | 24 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 26 | 56 | −30 | 16 | |
| 7 | Stirling University | 24 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 13 | 86 | −73 | 8 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Results
editReferences
edit- ^ "SWPL: No relegation this season with top flight to expand to 10 teams". BBC Sport. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "Forfar Farmington a sorry casualty of the professional era". The Herald. 15 Aug 2021. Archived from the original on 15 Aug 2021.
- ^ "2021/22 SWPL Fixtures released". Scottish Women's Football. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ "League start date announced [2020]". SWF. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- ^ Diamond, Drew (22 November 2021). "Historic new sponsorship deal for Scottish top flight". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
- ^ "Rangers on course for first-ever SWPL 1 title after defeating Glasgow City". The Herald. Archived from the original on 6 Feb 2022.
- ^ Goodwin, Sophie (8 May 2022). "Aberdeen Women beaten 4-1 by Hibernian in penultimate weekend of SWPL 1". The Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022.
- ^ Rangers end 14 years of Glasgow City dominance with historic SWPL title win, Rangers News, 8 May 2022
- ^ "Glasgow Women promoted in thrilling final day for SWPL - Scottish Women's Football". SWF. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022.
- ^ "Match Report: Glasgow Girls & Women FC - Boroughmuir Thistle". SWPL. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022.
- ^ "Boroughmuir Thistle boss Suzy Shepherd explains her surprise to see her team in mix for promotion to SWPL1". Scotsman. 22 April 2022. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022.
- ^ "Boroughmuir Thistle fall short in quest to secure promotion to SWPL 1". Scotsman. 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022.
- ^ a b "SWPL top flight expanding to 12 teams for next season". BBC Sport. 1 Apr 2022.
- ^ "New Senior Structure for 2020 and beyond". SWPL. 19 Sep 2019. Retrieved 19 Feb 2020.
- ^ "SWPL to be administered by the SPFL for season 2022/23". Scottish Women's Football. 15 Feb 2022. Archived from the original on 15 Feb 2022.
- ^ a b "Scottish Women's Premier League". Scottish Women's Premier League. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ "Summary – SWPL1". SWPL Website. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Summary – SWPL1". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- ^ a b c "Summary – SWPL2". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
External links
edit- Official website Archived 2022-09-20 at the Wayback Machine