The Scottish football league system is a series of generally connected leagues for Scottish football clubs.
The Scottish system is more complicated than many other national league systems, consisting of several completely separate systems or 'grades' of leagues and clubs. As well as senior football, there is junior football, and also amateur football and welfare football.
In senior football in Scotland, there is one national league, the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), which has four divisions. There are also several regional leagues (most notably the Highland Football League and since 2013 the Lowland Football League). From 2014–15, a promotion/relegation play-off between the two regional leagues and the SPFL national league was introduced.
Two clubs based in England play in the senior Scottish system - Berwick Rangers in the Lowland League and Tweedmouth Rangers in the East of Scotland League. A small number of English amateur clubs in the lowest levels of the game, based on or around the Anglo-Scottish border, also compete in Border Amateur Football League for geographical and travel reasons.
Men's system
Until 2013, Scottish football had no pyramid league system, and as a result it was impossible for clubs in regional leagues to progress into the national leagues, unless a vacancy opened in the Scottish Football League. The final example of this was ahead of the 2008–09 season, where Gretna's demise allowed Annan Athletic to take their place. Overall, the structure of men's football in Scotland was among the most fractured and multi-faceted in Europe, being unique in having a plurality of adult male governing bodies (with Seniors, Juniors, Amateurs, and Welfarers - see below). It was not uncommon for a given town or county to have clubs in as many as three or four separate systems.
Moves towards creating a pyramid system began in 2008 under the tenure of Scottish Football Association (SFA) chief executive Gordon Smith, with discussions between the SFA and the regional and junior leagues. As part of the 2012–13 reconstruction process, Scottish Premier League clubs unanimously agreed on 7 May 2013 to introduce a pyramid structure, merge the national league organisations, revise financial distribution and introduce the possibility of a promotion/relegation play-off between the top two divisions.
Senior football
The current system has been in place since 2013–14, when the Scottish Professional Football League was formed by a merger of the Scottish Premier League (tier 1) and the Scottish Football League (tiers 2–4). At the same time, the Lowland Football League (tier 5) was founded, and from 2014 to 2021 the leagues below (tier 6) began to be incorporated as each joined the system. For each division, its official name, number of clubs, number of games, and promotion/relegation spots are given:
TierTotal Clubs (294) League(s) / Division(s)42Scottish Professional Football League 112Scottish Premiership 12 clubs playing 38 games ↓ 1 relegation spot + 1 relegation playoff spot 210Scottish Championship 10 clubs playing 36 games ↑ 1 promotion spot + 3 promotion playoff spots ↓ 1 relegation spot + 1 relegation playoff spot 310Scottish League One 10 clubs playing 36 games ↑ 1 promotion spot + 3 promotion playoff spots ↓ 1 relegation spot + 1 relegation playoff spot 410Scottish League Two 10 clubs playing 36 games ↑ 1 promotion spot + 3 promotion playoff spots ↓ 1 relegation playoff spot252Non-League / Regional Leagues 551Highland Football League 18 clubs playing 34 games ↑ 1 promotion playoff spot ↓ 1 relegation playoff spotLowland Football League East 16 clubs playing 30 games ↑ 1 promotion playoff spot ↓ 2 relegation spotsLowland Football League West 17 clubs playing 32 games ↑ 1 promotion playoff spot ↓ 2 relegation spots692North Caledonian Football League 13 clubs playing 24 games ↑ 1 promotion playoff spot North of Scotland Football League Premier Division 16 clubs playing 30 games ↑ 1 promotion playoff spot ↓ 2 relegation spots + 1 relegation playoff spotEast of Scotland Football League Premier Division 16 clubs playing 30 games ↑ 1 promotion spot ↓ 3 relegation spotsMidlands Football League 19 clubs playing 36 games ↑ 1 promotion spotSouth of Scotland Football League 12 clubs playing 22 games ↑ 1 promotion spotWest of Scotland Football League Premier Division 16 clubs playing 30 games ↑ 1 promotion spot ↓ 3 relegation spots746 North of Scotland Football League Championship 14 clubs playing 26 games ↑ 2 promotion spots + 3 promotion playoff spotsEast of Scotland Football League First Division 16 clubs playing 30 games ↑ 3 promotion spots ↓ 3 relegation spotsWest of Scotland Football LeagueFirst Division 16 clubs playing 30 games ↑ 3 promotion spots ↓ 3 relegation spots839East of Scotland Football LeagueSecond Division Conferences North West 12 clubs playing 33 games South East 11 clubs playing 32 games ↑ 1 promotion spot each ↑ 2 promotion playoff spots eachWest of Scotland Football LeagueSecond Division 16 clubs playing 30 games ↑ 3 promotion spots ↓ 3 relegation spots916West of Scotland Football LeagueThird Division 16 clubs playing 30 games ↑ 3 promotion spots ↓ TBC relegation spots108West of Scotland Football LeagueFourth Division 8 clubs playing 28 games ↑ TBC promotion spots
The leagues below level four are classed as "non-league football", meaning they are outside the Scottish Professional Football League and are played on a regional not a national basis. The Lowland League was created in 2013–14 and runs in parallel with the Highland League to form level five on the pyramid. Since 2014–15 the two league winners have played off against each other, with the winner then playing the team finishing 10th in League Two in a promotion/relegation play-off for a place in the SPFL. From 2026–27 season, the Lowland League split into Lowland League East and Lowland League West. Subsequently, three league winners will play-off to earn the chance to play the team finishing 10th in League Two, promotion subject to (bronze level) SFA club licencing criteria.
Below the Highland League is the North Caledonian Football League (12 teams, including one reserve team); and the North of Scotland Football League (30 clubs, 2 divisions). Below Lowland League East is the East of Scotland Football League (55 clubs, including one reserve team, 3 divisions); and the Midlands League (19 clubs). Below Lowland League West is the South of Scotland Football League (12 clubs, including one reserve team); and the West of Scotland Football League (72 clubs, 5 divisions). Promotion to Tier 5 is contingent on (entry level) SFA club licensing criteria.
At the start of the 2026–27 season, this totalled 294 teams across 20 divisions.
Cup competitions All clubs in tier 5 and above automatically enter the Scottish Cup, along with clubs in other divisions who are full members of the Scottish Football Association. Up to three non-SFA members can qualify for the Scottish Cup each season by winning the East, South or West leagues, or the East, South and West Cup-Winners Shield. All 42 SPFL clubs compete in the Scottish League Cup, along with the Highland and Lowland champions, and one additional invited team. The Scottish Challenge Cup features 30 SPFL clubs from outside the Premiership, Under 21s teams, and four from the Highland and Lowland leagues.
The SFA South Region Challenge Cup is for all 164 non-league clubs in the Lowland area (excluding reserve or B teams). The SFA North Region Challenge Cup existed between 2007 and 2009. There are also a variety of smaller cup tournaments at league and regional level.
Junior football
Of late, the Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA) managed two regions: the SJFA East Region of 19 clubs; and the SJFA North Region of 34 clubs (4 clubs withdrew for 2022–23). This represented a total of 53 teams across 3 divisions. The term 'junior' refers not to the age of the players but the level of football played.The dutiful game: Welcome to the world of junior football in Scotland , The Scotsman, 23 May 2010The Rise of the Juniors , Craig Anderson, In Bed with Maradona, 2 November 2010Why Junior football should never grow up , Scott Fleming, Nutmeg Magazine, 1 December 2016 These two regions joined the pyramid system at tier 6 below the Highland League in 2021–22.
Members of the SJFA, consisting of 114 teams in total from the two regions as well as the East of Scotland League and West of Scotland League (5 teams are in abeyance for 2022–23), participate in the Scottish Junior Cup (now Scottish Communities Cup). Up to three non-SFA members can qualify for the Scottish Cup each season by winning the Midlands League, North Superleague, or the Junior Cup. Banks O' Dee also enter senior tournaments in the Aberdeenshire Cup and Shield, and run an Under-20s team in the Senior development structure (the Aberdeenshire & District League).
In 2020, as part of a long process to form an integrated footballing pyramid structure, all 63 West Region Junior clubs decided to depart and join the newly founded West of Scotland Football League, a feeder to the Lowland League. Between 2017 and 2020 more than half of the East Region clubs departed the junior ranks, joining the senior East of Scotland Football League which is also below the Lowland League. The remaining clubs in the East Premiership South made the same move to the East of Scotland League for season 2021–22, and the East Premiership North clubs formed the Midlands League at tier 6 below the Highland League. The North Region also joined the pyramid structure at the same level. The northern leagues at that level entered the pyramid later in July.
In February 2025, the SJFA acknowledged the request of teams participating in the East and North Regions to become autonomous within the Scottish Football Association structure, which would leave the organisation responsible for the Junior Cup only. The Junior Cup has subsequently been rebranded to the Scottish Communities Cup.
Amateur football
Again separate from the above, and generally agreed to lie 'below' the senior and junior levels, are the hundreds of clubs in membership of the Scottish Amateur Football Association which oversees 50 leagues - although this includes Sunday League football and futsal competitions. Prestige centres around the historic Scottish Amateur Cup. A number of Senior and Junior clubs run reserve teams in Amateur football. Student and Police football is also affiliated to the SAFA.
As of 2022–23, there are 360 teams – in 12 geographic leagues containing a total of 31 league divisions – playing Saturday football under a regular August–May season. In addition, there are 137 teams playing in four specialist Saturday Morning leagues (including one for Glasgow Colleges Amateur Football Association) in Dundee and Glasgow, plus 22 teams playing in Strathclyde Evangelical Churches Football League.
There are also 90 teams playing in the Summer Saturday leagues (season 2022), most of which are located in the Highland; 244 teams are in the Sunday League system. Saturday Leagues (Winter) Leagues Divisions Aberdeenshire Amateur Football Association 60 clubs1 Premier Division 14 clubs
↓ TBC relegation spots2Division One (North) 14 clubs
↑ TBC promotion spots
↓ TBC relegation spotsDivision One (East) 14 clubs
↑ TBC promotion spots
↓ TBC relegation spots3Division Two (North) 9 clubs
↑ TBC promotion spotsDivision Two (East) 9 clubs
↑ TBC promotion spots Ayrshire Amateur Football Association 37 clubs1 Premier League 12 clubs↓ 2 relegation spots2Division 1 11 clubs
↑ 2 promotion spots
↓ 2 relegation spots3Division 2 14 clubs
↑ 2 promotion spots Border Amateur Football League 28 clubs1 A League 13 clubs
↓ 2 relegation spots + 1 relegation playoff spot2B League 14 Clubs
↑ 2 promotion spots + 1 promotion playoff spot Caledonian Amateur Football League 23 clubs1 Premier Division 14 clubs↓ 3 relegation spots2First Division 9 clubs