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). The Scottish women's league last had four national divisions from 1999 to 2004.
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, but withdrew before the season kicked off, as did Buchan Ladies.
Two clubs were to be promoted from League One in 2022–23, and none relegated from the Championship. Each division's season kicked off on 14 August 2022. The season was scheduled to finish on 16 April 2023 in the Championship, but the final match was played on 23 May 2023.
Overview In 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, Dunfermline Athletic (moved to SWFL), Stonehaven (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.
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) 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 In July 2022, Bishopton and Buchan were withdrawn from League One before the division's fixture list was published. 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. 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, 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". The late change of format was necessitated by the withdrawal of Bishopton and Buchan from League One.
The nationalised format was devised by SWF in reaction to the growth of women's football and to professionalise the sport. Clubs are admitted to the third and fourth tiers based on meeting criteria related to player welfare. 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".
Teams
Championship 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 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 13th (South) Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir Ochilview Park 11th (South) Westdyke Westhill Lawsondale Pitches 7th (North)
Withdrawn clubs (League One):
Team Location Details Ref Buchan MaudWithdrew before 2022–23 season Bishopton Bishopton
League table (Championship) Regular season
Promotion Group
Relegation Group 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,New structure for the Scottish Women’s Football leagues announced, Phyllis Stephen, The Edinburgh Reporter, 3 June 2022 but a mini-group of this nature was still played.
References
External links Scottish Women's Football (SWF)