The Scottish Women’s Football pyramid is set for its first fully-aligned season, as fixtures for 2023/24 season of the regional SWFL are published.
This will be the first full season the regional leagues will play in the winter calendar, as clubs compete for promotion to the national divisions.
As more teams have joined the leagues some re-organisation has taken place, leaving North and East with 12 teams each and the latest move sees Bishopton move to South to keep that league and West at ten teams each.
The opening fixtures take place on the 13 August, with North short-season runners-up Inverurie Locos hosting Stonehaven. In East, much of the squad of short-season champions Livingston Development make up new club Armadale Thistle, who visit Glenrothes Strollers on the opening day.
Winners of the West league in the short season were Harmony Row, who lost out in promotion in the play-offs and now move to South, where first up they host Nithsdale Wanderers. Meanwhile, West runners-up Dunipace visit Glasgow’s Flip the Mindset, who have moved from the South league into West for their second season.
Commenting ahead of the new season, SWF CEO Aileen Campbell said: “The phenomenal growth in women’s football is being felt at the grassroots level, with our regional SWFL looking forward to its first full season aligned within the pyramid.
“The short season was so exciting, and this was reflected in more interest in the game, both in the media and among fans. We can now look forward to more of the same as teams compete for promotion to the national leagues, following in the footsteps of Queen of the South, Forfar Farmington and Bonnyrigg Rose who have made the step up to League One.
“With entry into the cup competitions too, it is set to be an amazing season across Scotland and I wish all the teams the best of luck with the new season.”
The winners of all four leagues will be eligible for promotion unless they are the development team of a club who players higher up the pyramid.
The full fixtures can be found on the Scottish Women’s Football website: https://scotwomensfootball.
