The 2012 Women's Premier League was the eleventh season of the Scottish Women's Premier League, the highest division of women's football in Scotland since the SWPL's inception in 2002.
A total of twelve teams contested the league. Aberdeen won the 2011 Scottish Women's First Division and returned to the Premier League after one season away. First Division runners-up Hibernian 2000 were unable to be promoted, as league rules stipulated each club could field only one team in the Premier League. Because the third-placed side in the First Division, Toryglen, folded over the close season, FC Kilmarnock were spared relegation and competed in 2012.
Glasgow City won the championship by a 16-point margin and qualified for the 2013–14 Champions League. This was Glasgow City's sixth title in a row, and their seventh overall. They also won the 2012 Scottish Women's Premier League Cup and the 2012 Scottish Women's Cup to complete the 'treble' (the second in their history after 2008–09), and would have completed a second consecutive perfect season in the SWPL but for having fielded an ineligible player in a match against Forfar, with the result amended from a 5–0 victory to a 3–0 defeat. Forfar Farmington were runners-up, finishing one point in front of both Celtic and Hibernian. Inverness City and FC Kilmarnock were relegated.
New format The SWPL ran in a new format from this season, with a split division. The 12 clubs faced each other once (11 games per club), after which the league split into top-six and bottom-six sections, based on league position. Each club then played home and away against clubs in their respective sections to give a total of 21 games.
Teams
Stadia and locations
The most regular home ground is shown though some clubs play matches at other venues throughout the season.
Team Location Home ground Head coachFinishing position 2011 Aberdeen Aberdeen Aberdeen Sports Village Jockie Lawrence SWFL First Division, 1st Celtic Glasgow Celtic Training Centre, Lennoxtown Robert Docherty 4th Falkirk Falkirk Westfield Park, Denny Alan Palmer 10th Forfar Farmington Forfar Station Park Mark Nisbet 5th Glasgow City Glasgow Petershill Park Eddie Wolecki-Black 1st Hamilton Academical Hamilton John Cumming Stadium, Carluke Kevin Murphy 6th Hibernian Edinburgh Albyn Park, Broxburn Willie Kirk 3rd Hutchison Vale Edinburgh Saughton Enclosure Ian Macdonald 9th Inverness City Inverness Bught Park Sandy Corcoran 8th FC Kilmarnock Ladies Kilmarnock Blair Park, Hurlford Martin Kirkland 11th Rangers Glasgow Petershill Park John Joyce 7th Spartans Edinburgh Spartans Academy Debbi McCulloch 2nd
League standings
Results
Matches 1–11 Clubs play each other once.
Matches 12–21 After 11 matches, the league splits into top six and bottom six sections. Clubs will play every other club in their section twice (home and away).
Top six
Bottom six
Forfar Farmington's awarded 3–0 win over Glasgow City was the champion club's first League defeat since 2008–09.
Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Jane RossGlasgow City202 Suzanne GrantCeltic18 Emma MitchellGlasgow City Leanne RossGlasgow City5 Lisa EvansGlasgow City166 Natalie BodiamInverness City137 Hayley CunninghamCeltic128 Jennifer Callaghan1Rangers / Glasgow City119 Sarah Ewens Spartans10 Laura GavinHutchison Vale Joanne LoveGlasgow City Katherine SmartHutchison Vale 1 9 goals for Rangers, 2 goals for Glasgow City.
References
External links Season on soccerway.com Women's League Competitions at Scottish Football Historical Archive