Scottish Women's Football League
The Scottish Women's Football League (SWFL) is a women's association football league in Scotland. Formed in 1999 as the country's top women's football league, it now comprises the third and fourth tiers of the Scottish league system, following the breakaway of its top division to create the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) in 1999 and the subsequent expansion of the SWPL to two divisions. The league is owned and managed by Scottish Women's Football (SWF), an affiliated body of the Scottish Football Association (SFA).
Organising body | Scottish Women's Football |
---|---|
Founded | 1999 |
First season | 1999–2000 |
Country | Scotland |
Confederation | UEFA |
Divisions | 6 |
Number of teams | 67 |
Level on pyramid | 3–4 |
Promotion to | SWPL 2 |
Domestic cup(s) | Scottish Women's Cup |
League cup(s) | SWFL Division 1 Cup SWFL Division 2 Cup |
Current champions | Central Girls (North) F.C. Kilmarnock (South) (2017) |
The SWFL has operated with its current format since 2015. The upper tier, the First Division or SWFL 1, is split into two regionalised leagues (North and South), while the lower tier, the Second Division or SWFL 2, has three regionalised leagues (West, Central and East).
History
The Scottish Women's Football League was formed in 1999. At that time it was the highest level league for women in Scotland. In 2002, the SWFL's twelve-team top division broke away to form the Scottish Women's Premier League, leaving the remaining thirty clubs in the SWFL.[1] In 2016, the SWPL expanded to sixteen teams in two divisions, meaning the SWFL was now at the third and fourth tiers of the league structure.
Clubs
Champions
The following teams were SWFL champions during the period that it constituted the top division in Scottish women's football:[2]
Season | Champions |
---|---|
1999–2000 | Cumbernauld United |
2000–01 | Ayr United |
2001–02 | F.C. Kilmarnock |
2018 | Dundee United |
2018 clubs
The following teams played in the SWFL during the 2017 season:[3] As well as first teams, the SWFL structures also incorporates a number of development or youth teams of other SWPL and SWFL clubs.
SWFL 1
North
|
South
|
SWFL 2
North
|
West
|
Central
|
East
|
- Withdrew during the season, results removed
Cup competition
SWFL teams compete in the national cup competition, the Scottish Women's Cup, along with teams from the SWPL. There are also league cup competitions specifically for teams at each level of the SWFL, the SWFL Division 1 Cup and Division 2 Cup.
References
- "Scottish women's league kicks off". BBC Sport. 9 August 2002. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- "Scotland (Women) - List of Champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- "Fixtures, Results & League Tables". Scottish Women's Football. Retrieved 22 November 2017.