The 2022–23 Scottish Women's Football Championship was the second completed season of the SWF Championship as the third-tier division of women's football in Scotland. Due to league restructuring by Scottish Women's Football (SWF) after the 2021–22 season, a national eight-club Championship division was formed and, one level below, a new fourth tier, Scottish Women's Football League One, with 12 clubs (initially 14; two withdrew).[2][3] The Scottish women's league last had four national divisions from 1999 to 2004.
| Season | 2022–23 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Livingston[1] |
| Promoted | Livingston |
← 2021–22 2023–24 → | |
Most of the competing clubs moved from the previous season's North and South divisions. Twelve of the initial 14 clubs who entered the new League One were effectively relegated in 2022, by being moved from the third level to the fourth. The regional Scottish Women's Football League was demoted to level 5. The SWFL's most successful club in recent years, Bishopton, joined League One for 2022–23,[4] but withdrew before the season kicked off, as did Buchan Ladies.[5]
Two clubs were to be promoted from League One in 2022–23, and none relegated from the Championship.[2][5] Each division's season kicked off on 14 August 2022.[6] The season was scheduled to finish on 16 April 2023 in the Championship,[7] but the final match was played on 23 May 2023.
Overview
editIn the 2021–22 Championship, three of the 26 entrant clubs won promotion to SWPL 2 (Montrose, Gartcairn and East Fife). Four clubs withdrew during the 2021–22 season: United Glasgow,[8] Dunfermline Athletic[9] (moved to SWFL), Stonehaven[10] (moved to SWFL), and Clyde Ladies FC folded in protest when Clyde F.C. re-signed David Goodwillie, who was found guilty of rape by a civil court in 2017.[11][12]
The 2022–23 Championship had two clubs from the former Championship North and six from the South. In 2022–23 League One initially had four clubs from the North and eight from the South. Two clubs joined League One from outwith the Championship: Bishopton (from the SWFL) [4] and Giffnock SC Women (founded in 1995 as a youth football club). In July 2022, Bishopton and Buchan were withdrawn from League One before the division's fixture list was published.[5] Buchan were a former Championship North club, from Maud, Aberdeenshire.
The Championship clubs played against each other four times, totalling 28 matches per side, starting on 14 August 2022 and ending on 30 April 2023.[5] The division then split into short Promotion and relegation groups of four teams, each playing each other once more (i.e 3 rounds of matches).
League One was scheduled to play a double round-robin of the 12 clubs, each team playing 22 matches, concluding on 26 March 2023,[13] followed by a divisional "split" in League One, and an extra round-robin: "the league will split after teams have played each other home and away into a top six and bottom six for one remaining round".[5] The late change of format was necessitated by the withdrawal of Bishopton and Buchan from League One.[5]
The nationalised format was devised by SWF in reaction to the growth of women's football and to professionalise the sport.[2][14] Clubs are admitted to the third and fourth tiers based on meeting criteria related to player welfare.[2][15] The Scottish women's league last had four national divisions from 1999 to 2004: the Premier Division/Premier League, the SWFL First Division, Second Division, and Third Division. CEO Aileen Campbell of SWF said the Championship would be "an exciting and competitive contest among eight teams from right across Scotland".[2]
Teams
editChampionship
edit| Team | Location | Home ground | 2021–22 position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayr United | Alloway | Cambusdoon Sports Club | 9th (South) |
| Dryburgh Athletic | Dundee | Lochee Park | 3rd (North) |
| Hutchison Vale | Edinburgh | WHEC Education Centre | 6th (South) |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Inverness | Millburn Academy | 4th (North) |
| Livingston | Blackburn | New Murrayfield Park | 5th (South) |
| Morton | Greenock | Cappielow | 7th (South) |
| Rossvale | Glasgow | Huntershill Recreation Centre | 2nd (South) |
| Renfrew | Renfrew | New Western Park | 3rd (South) |
League One
edit| Team | Location | Home ground | 2021–22 position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airdrie | Airdrie | Excelsior Stadium | 12th (South) |
| BSC Glasgow | Clydebank | Clydebank Community Sport Hub | 14th (South) |
| Dundee City West | Dundee | Charlotte Street Pitches | 8th (North) |
| Edinburgh Caledonia | Edinburgh | Peffermill 3G | 10th (South) |
| Edinburgh City | Edinburgh | Ainslie Park | 4th (South) |
| Falkirk | Falkirk | Falkirk Stadium | 8th (South) |
| Giffnock | Giffnock | Eastwood Park | |
| Grampian | Aberdeen | Cults Academy | 6th (North) |
| Gleniffer Thistle | Paisley | Ralston Community Sports Centre | 15th (South) |
| St Mirren | Linwood | Mossedge Football Pitch[16] | 13th (South) |
| Stenhousemuir | Stenhousemuir | Ochilview Park | 11th (South) |
| Westdyke | Westhill | Lawsondale Pitches | 7th (North) |
Withdrawn clubs (League One):
| Team | Location | Details | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buchan | Maud | Withdrew before 2022–23 season | [5] |
| Bishopton | Bishopton |
League table (Championship)
editRegular season
edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Livingston | 28 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 80 | 31 | +49 | 68 | Qualification for the Promotion Group |
| 2 | Renfrew | 28 | 19 | 3 | 6 | 68 | 45 | +23 | 60 | |
| 3 | Rossvale | 28 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 72 | 43 | +29 | 57 | |
| 4 | Ayr United | 28 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 60 | 51 | +9 | 45 | |
| 5 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 28 | 11 | 3 | 14 | 65 | 70 | −5 | 36 | Qualification for the Relegation Group |
| 6 | Dryburgh Athletic | 28 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 44 | 60 | −16 | 26 | |
| 7 | Morton | 28 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 30 | 79 | −49 | 16 | |
| 8 | Hutchison Vale | 28 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 42 | 82 | −40 | 15 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
Promotion Group
edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Livingston (C, P) | 31 | 22 | 6 | 3 | 85 | 36 | +49 | 72 | Promotion to SWPL 2 |
| 2 | Rossvale | 31 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 80 | 44 | +36 | 66 | Qualification for the SWPL 2 Play-off Final[18] |
| 3 | Renfrew | 31 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 72 | 54 | +18 | 61 | |
| 4 | Ayr United | 31 | 15 | 3 | 13 | 63 | 56 | +7 | 48 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Relegation Group
edit- Note: It was agreed at the start of the season that no relegation would take place with the league due to expand to 10 teams,[20] but a mini-group of this nature was still played.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 31 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 75 | 74 | +1 | 45 |
| 6 | Dryburgh Athletic | 31 | 9 | 5 | 17 | 51 | 64 | −13 | 32 |
| 7 | Hutchison Vale | 31 | 6 | 0 | 25 | 47 | 91 | −44 | 18 |
| 8 | Morton | 31 | 4 | 4 | 23 | 35 | 89 | −54 | 16 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
References
edit- ^ Livingston Champions, FC Edinburgh invincible, Westdyke promoted and Dundee West stay up, Scottish Women's Football, 9 May 2023
- ^ a b c d e "SWF unveil new-look women's league structure". SWF. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022.
- ^ Henderson, Andrew. "Inverness Caledonian Thistle to compete in new-look National Championship for 2022/23 as Scottish Women's Football unveil restructure of remaining leagues". Inverness Courier. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022.
- ^ a b Ramage, Ben (16 June 2022). "Dream Come True". Paisley Daily Express.
Next season marks a new era for Bishopton Ladies as they make the step up to the SWF League One.
- ^ a b c d e f g "New SWF Championship and League One launch with 2022/23 fixture list". SWF. 22 July 2022. Archived from the original on 1 August 2022.
- ^ "Competitive, local and affordable: New Scottish Women's Football leagues kick off". SWF. 11 August 2022.
- ^ "Scottish Women's Championship: Season 2022/2023".
- ^ "Perform and Win Committee Update". SWF. 3 March 2022.
- ^ "Dunfermline Athletic Ladies withdraw from SWF league [Championship North]". Dunfermline Press. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021.
- ^ "Stonehaven Ladies football club". Facebook. 20 February 2022.
SWF have accepted the club's request to move from the Championship North league to the SWFL North/East league
- ^ "SWF statement on Clyde Ladies FC". SWF. 3 March 2022.
- ^ "Clyde women's team quit club over signing of David Goodwillie". The Guardian. 3 March 2022.
- ^ "Scottish Women's League One: Season 2022/2023". SWF.
- ^ "Women's Football: Warriors re-sign four key players". Falkirk Herald. 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Stonehaven Ladies look to establish competitive presence in SWF Championship North". The Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021.
- ^ "About Us - St. Mirren's WFC". St. Mirren Football Club.
- ^ "Summary – Women's Championship 2022/2023 Regular Season". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ Stirling University narrowly win SWPL 2 play-off, SheKicks, 5 June 2023
- ^ "Women's Championship 2022/2023 Promotion Round". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ New structure for the Scottish Women’s Football leagues announced, Phyllis Stephen, The Edinburgh Reporter, 3 June 2022
- ^ "Women's Championship 2022/2023 Relegation Round". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 May 2024.