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Scottish Premier League |
Country > Scotland
Foundation Year > Founded in 1998
EPFL Affilation > 1997 Founder Member
No.ofAffiliated Clubs >Scottish Premier League: 12 Clubs
Official Website > www.scotprem.com
E-mail Address > enquiries@scotprem.com
Phone > +44 141 620 4140
Fax > +44 141 620 4141
Non-Executive Chairman > Ralph Topping
Chief Executive > Neil Doncaster
General Secretary > Iain Blair
Media/Press Office > Greig Mailer
President Message
History
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was established in time for the 1998/99 campaign after the leading clubs broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL) in an effort to modernise the top flight, increase commercial revenues and promote youth development. Initially, there were 10 member clubs but that was increased to the current membership of 12 in 2000/01. A total of 18 clubs have so far played in the SPL. Rangers are the reigning champions, having won the title on the last day of 2008/09 to end Celtic's three-year grip on the championship.The season runs from early August until mid May, with no winter break at present. Clubs initially play each other three times. The league then splits into a top and bottom six for the final five fixtures, giving a total of 38 matches. At the end of the season the bottom club are relegated and replaced by the leading club from the SFL. Aggregate attendances have been around 3.6m in recent years, meaning that almost 100,000 people watch SPL football every weekend. That equates to around 1 in 50 of the Scottish population – a ratio that is among the highest in Europe. Two SPL clubs have reached UEFA Cup finals in the past six years and Scotland is now in 13th place in the country ranking list for European competitions, having been 26th when the SPL began. Clydesdale Bank are the title sponsors of the league, with Sky Sports and ESPN broadcasting 60 live matches (30 each) in the UK and Ireland on an exclusive basis for five seasons, starting in 2009/10. Scottish football can be seen in over 100 countries in partnership with German-based Sportfive.
