Scottish Women's Football Championship

The Scottish Women's Football Championship is the third league tier of women's football in Scotland. Founded in 2020, the Championship replaced the SWFL First Division (SWFL 1).[1][2] The Championship was played in North and South divisions for three seasons until 2022, when it became a single national division with eight clubs. Scottish Women's Football League One was formed in 2022 with 14 clubs (12 coming from the Championship).[3]

SWF Championship
SWF League One
Founded2020 (Championship)
2022 (League One)
CountryScotland Scotland
Number of teams8 (Championship)
14 (League One)
Level on pyramid3 (Championship)
4 (League One)
Promotion toSWPL 2
Relegation tonone[1]
Domestic cup(s)Scottish Cup
League cup(s)SWF Championship Cup
WebsiteScottish Women's Football
Current: 2022–23 SWF Championship

League One is the fourth tier of the women's football pyramid and is a single national division. Earlier, the level 4 tier was the SWFL Third Division (1999–2008), SWFL Second Division (2016–2019), and the SWFL (2020–2021), which is now level 5.

The Championship's first winners were Montrose (North) and Gartcairn (South). Teams can win promotion from the Championship to SWPL 2, and from League One to the Championship. No relegations are planned for 2022–23,[3] and there is no regular relegation from League One to the SWFL, but some clubs have moved between these levels.[4]

History

Like the SWFL First Division from 2016 to 2019, the Championship was played in North and South divisions for three seasons from 2020 to 2022. Championship North and Championship South had a total of 26 clubs. The Championship was expected to continue with Scottish Women's Football's summer calendar for its seasons (playing March–November), but that system was abandoned by the Championship and SWPL during 2020. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the leagues switched back to winter seasons in 2020–21.

The Championship's inaugural 2020 season and 2020–21 season were both abandoned, due to the pandemic, and were declared null and void by SWF.[5][6] The 2020–21 abandonment was made to allow SWF to focus on preparations for the 2021–22 season,[6] which was completed. The divisional champions were Montrose (North) and Gartcairn (South).

A national SWF Championship division was mooted in 2021.[7] It will come into effect in the 2022–23 season, as will League One as the fourth tier.[3] The Championship North and South divisions will be discontinued and their clubs mainly moved into the new divisions.

Member clubs for the 2021–22 season

Clubs in the two Championship divisions:[8][9]

North
  • Buchan
  • Cove Rangers
  • Dryburgh Athletic
  • Dundee West
  • Dunfermline Athletic
  • East Fife
  • Grampian
  • Inverness Caledonian Thistle
  • Kelty Hearts
  • Montrose
  • Stonehaven
  • Westdyke

South
  • Airdrie
  • Ayr United
  • BSC Glasgow
  • Clyde
  • Edinburgh Caledonia
  • Edinburgh City
  • Falkirk
  • Gartcairn
  • Livingston
  • Morton
  • Renfrew
  • St Mirren
  • Stenhousemuir
  • United Glasgow

Play-offs
Recreation Park, Alloa hosted the promotion play-off in 2022

The runners-up in Championship North and Championship South were intended to play-off against each other at the end of each season for a place in the promotion/relegation play-off final against the team that finished eighth in SWPL 2.[1] Due to the uncompleted seasons in 2020 and 2020–21, the North–South play-off occurred only once, in 2021–22, but no SWPL clubs were relegated, because of the SWPL's expansion to 20 clubs. The North's East Fife beat the South division runners-up, Rossvale, 3–1 in the single-match promotion play-off in Alloa in May 2022.[10]

Seasons
For previous third- and fourth-tier divisions, see SWFL First Division and SWFL Second Division.

The SWF Championship kicked off in 2020, but its first two seasons were not completed.

The following clubs have been the champions of the respective divisions:

Season Championship North Championship South Ref
2020 Null and void due to COVID-19 pandemic [5]
2020–21 Null and void due to COVID-19 pandemic [6]
2021–22 Montrose Gartcairn [10]
Season Championship League One Ref
2022–23

References
  1. "New Senior Structure for 2020 and beyond". Scottish Women's Premier League. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  2. Scottish Women’s Football announces new league structure, SheKicks.net, 20 September 2019
  3. "SWF unveil new-look women's league structure". SWF. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022.
  4. "Dunfermline Athletic Ladies withdraw from SWF league [Championship North]". Dunfermline Press. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021.
  5. Lewis, Jane (29 July 2020). "SWPL season declared null and void after one round of games". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  6. "SWF Statement – Senior Performance Arm update (29/04/21)". SWF. 5 May 2021. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  7. Henderson, Andrew (1 April 2021). "Plans afoot for Scottish Women's Football to restructure Championship into a national division, says Inverness Caledonian Thistle Women's manager Mason". The Inverness Courier.
  8. Championship North, Scottish Women's Football
  9. Championship South, Scottish Women's Football
  10. Frith, Will (9 May 2022). "Park's SWPL: Rangers Women champions for first time". Archived from the original on 9 May 2022.
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