The opening round of ScottishPower Women’s Premier League fixtures will see reigning champions Glasgow City at home to Hibernian. It means new Hibs boss, Grant Scott, will be up against his former side where he was interim Head Coach. It will be a tricky opening test for Scott with City having beaten Hibernian in the league on all four occasions last season. This will also be Leanne Ross’ first full season as Head Coach of City having taken the role permanently in March and leading her side to the title.
Newly promoted Montrose start life in the top division at home to runners-up Celtic. Fran Alonso’s side missed out on the title in dramatic fashion on the final day of last season but did qualify for the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) by finishing second. After back-to-back promotions, Links Park will be right behind Craig Feroz as his side look to cause an early shock in the campaign.
New Rangers Head Coach, Jo Potter, will take her side away to Spartans on the opening day. The Edinburgh side went unbeaten in their final 10 games of last season after the split and Debbi McCulloch will be hoping her side carry over that momentum into 2023/24. For Rangers, a positive start to the season will help to put the disappointment of finishing third behind them and get Potter’s reign off to the best possible start.
Hamilton Academical also begin life under a new Head Coach. Robert Watson, who was assistant to former boss Gary Doctor, and his side are at home to Heart of Midlothian. The Lanarkshire side maintained their status in the top-flight with victory in the play-off final against Gartcairn and Watson said they must aim to finish 10th at a minimum this season. For Hearts, Eva Olid’s side were a somewhat surprise package as they comfortably finished fourth last season. Their aim will likely be to solidify that position whilst pushing the top three as far as possible.
There will also be a new Head Coach in the dugout at the Balmoral Stadium as Aberdeen host Motherwell. Who that person will be is unknown, but the Dons will be looking to improve on a season which saw them finish eighth and just three points above the relegation play-off spot. Paul Brownlie’s Motherwell defeated Aberdeen four times last season and will be looking to repeat that form as they push for a top-six finish.
The final tie will see Dundee United at home to Partick Thistle. The Jags finished an impressive sixth last season, securing their place in the top-half in the final match before the split against United. While struggling for results in their final 10 games, they will hope to use the experience against the top teams to push them on this season. For Dundee United, they avoided the relegation play-off on the final day of the season and will hope they can avoid a similar fate in more comfortable fashion in the campaign ahead.
The first meeting between last season’s top three teams will be on Sunday 27 August as Rangers host Glasgow City. The two sides couldn’t be separated before the split in 2022/23, but both sides were victorious away from home after the split including City’s dramatic late win to secure the title at Ibrox. Celtic then host Glasgow City midweek commencing 2 October as the home side look to build upon back-to-back wins against City.
The first meeting between Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian will take place on Sunday 10 September with the reverse fixture on Sunday 19 November. The two sides drew the first three meetings last season before Hearts were 2-1 victors at Oriam in May.
Celtic and Rangers first meet on Sunday 22 October and the two teams meet again on Sunday 18 February in the penultimate round of fixtures before the split. Both sides won one match each last season and drew the remining two matches.
In ScottishPower Women’s Premier League 2, last season’s runners-up Gartcairn are at home to Queen’s Park. Despite finishing sixth last season, Queen’s Park were just nine points behind Gartcairn who were narrowly defeated by Hamilton Academical in the play-off final.
Newly promoted Livingston begin their first campaign in the elite divisions at home to Kilmarnock. The Tony Macaroni Arena will welcome Mike Ross for his first competitive game as Manager against a Killie side who missed out on the play-off spot on the final day of the season.
There will also be a new face in the Meadowbank Stadium dugout as former Hearts boss Andy Enwood takes charge of Boroughmuir Thistle. They face relegated Glasgow Women who will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing season in the top-flight.
The final opening round match is St Johnstone at home to Stirling University. The home side had a chance of reaching the play-off final on the last day of the season while Stirling University needed a 1-0 win over Rossvale in the play-off final to maintain their status in SPWPL 2.
Fiona McIntyre, Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL) Managing Director, said: “This is always an exciting day in the calendar as clubs, players, coaches, and fans start to see the new season coming to life. After such a dramatic end to the 2022/23 season and with ScottishPower as new title sponsors, there is an unprecedented level of anticipation around today’s release.
“I think we can expect two extremely competitive divisions. For the first time in a long time there is a real unknown about who the favourites are to finish as champions and to be relegated in both the SPWPL and SPWPL 2. That is what we want from our top leagues, and that competitiveness and uncertainty of outcome brings real excitement for fans as we saw at the end of last season when the levels of interest in the game increased exponentially.
“Alongside the clubs, we can’t wait to get the new campaign started and to build on the momentum and success of last season.”
Keith Anderson, ScottishPower CEO, said: “There’s nothing like the anticipation of a new season where everything is up for grabs. As the new and very proud sponsors of both leagues this year, everyone at ScottishPower can’t wait for kick off, and we wish all teams and their staff the best of luck for the season ahead.”
Click here for the ScottishPower Women’s Premier League fixtures
Click here for the ScottishPower Women’s Premier League 2 fixtures.
