The SWPL has announced fixtures for the 2024/25 ScottishPower Women’s Premier League season which gets underway on Sunday 11 August.
The opening round of fixtures will see reigning champions Celtic at home to Dundee United as they seek to defend the title they won for the first time in their history last season. The Glasgow side have won their last four meetings in the league against United, scoring 22 goals without conceding. It’s a tricky opening day for Suzy Shepherd’s side who secured their top-flight status with a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock in the Play-off Final.
Newly promoted Queen’s Park start life in the top division at home to Heart of Midlothian. Craig Joyce led the Spiders to the SWPL 2 title last season, finishing 23 points clear of their closest rivals. They face a Hearts side that finished fourth for the second season in a row as Eva Olid looks to break into the top three and fend off any possible challenge from below.
Last season’s runners-up, Rangers, travel away to Aberdeen. After losing out on the league title on the final day, Jo Potter will be looking to add the ScottishPower Women’s Premier League trophy to her collection after winning both the Sky Sports Cup and Scottish Cup in 2023/24. Aberdeen appointed Colin Bell as their new manager yesterday who will look to build on last season’s eighth-place finish.
2022/23 SWPL champions, Glasgow City, begin their season away to Montrose. The Mighty Mo endured a tough start to life in the SWPL following a 9-0 loss to Celtic on the opening day of last season. However, Craig Feroz’s side adapted quickly and found themselves safe from relegation, with games to spare. Leanne Ross and City finished the season without a trophy and outside the UEFA Women’s Champions League spot. They’ll look to make amends this season and close the nine point gap on Celtic and Rangers.
Partick Thistle and Hibernian meet at Petershill Park for what should be yet another fascinating tie between the sides. They met five times last season, with the Jags prevailing on three occasions. Brian Graham will hope for more success against a fellow top-six side to ensure Partick Thistle remain in the top-half come the split. For Hibernian, they’ve already made a number of signings ahead of the new season, including Thistle captain Linzi Taylor. Grant Scott will hope his side can close the gap on Edinburgh rivals Hearts who finished eight points ahead last season.
The final tie will see Spartans at home to Motherwell. The Edinburgh side were looking over their shoulder for much of the season, before eventually pulling 12 points clear of the relegation play-off spot. It’ll be Jack Beesley’s first full season in charge at Ainslie Park having taken over from Debbi McCulloch in January. The Women of Steel will look to build on their impressive end of season form as they went unbeaten from March to May. If Paul Brownlie’s side can continue that form, they will likely be seen as strong contenders for a top-six spot.
The first meeting between last season’s top three teams will be on Sunday 18 August as Glasgow City host Celtic. Celtic won two of the four league meetings last season, drawing the final match between the sides on Wednesday 1st May. Glasgow City then host Rangers on Sunday 13 October with the away side undefeated in all four league meetings last season.
The first meeting between Hibernian and Heart of Midlothian will take place on Sunday 8th September with the reverse fixture on Sunday 17 November. Hibernian won three out of four derby matches last season, including the final meeting of the season at Meadowbank Stadium on Friday 10 May.
Rangers and Celtic are scheduled to play on the same date, Sunday 8 September, but this will be moved due to both sides’ involvement in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Therefore, they will play on Wednesday 2 October with the next meeting on Sunday 17th November.
SWPL & SWPL2 Fixture List 24-25In the ScottishPower Women’s Premier League 2, last season’s runners-up Kilmarnock are away to newly promoted Rossvale. Killie were narrowly defeated by Dundee United 2-1 in the Play-off Final as Jim Chapman looks for his side to go one better in 2024/25. Rossvale enter the league as SWF Championship winners and will look to former champions Gartcairn and Livingston for inspiration. Gartcairn finished runners-up in 2022/23 and Livingston finished third in their first season, just two points behind Kilmarnock.
Ayr United were also promoted from the SWF Championship after their dramatic 4-3 win over Glasgow Women in extra-time via the SWPL 2 Play-off Final, the first side to gain promotion this way. They start life in SWPL 2 away to Boroughmuir Thistle, who finished fourth and just nine points behind a promotion play-off spot.
Academical who finished narrowly behind Dundee United in the SWPL. Bobby Watson’s side welcome Livingston who missed out on the promotion play-off spot on the final day of the 2023/24 season.
The final tie of the opening day is Gartcairn at home to St Johnstone. This will be Graeme Hart’s first full season as Head Coach at Gartcairn, who had looked certain for relegation before Christmas. Their excellent form in the second half of the season will give them hope to build on their runner-up finish in 2022/23. There is a new face in the Saints dugout as Josh Henderson takes over from Kev Candy.
Fiona McIntyre, Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL) Managing Director, said: “This is an incredibly exciting day in the calendar as clubs, players, coaches, and fans start to plan for the season ahead and can see what fixtures lie ahead as we enter into the third season of the new SWPL. After yet another dramatic end to last season, there’s a growing level of anticipation and excitement around fixture release day and the upcoming campaign.
“We can expect two extremely competitive and entertaining divisions again. We have had three different league winners in the last three years, showing how exciting the title race is. We anticipate another compelling season as clubs battle to finish in the top-six in the SWPL and fight to avoid relegation in both leagues. With three new teams in SWPL 2 for the first time, there is an element of the unknown to complement the traditionally tight league which is a fascinating prospect.
“With the upcoming changes to the league format ahead of the 2025/26 season three teams will be relegated from the SWPL this season. I have no doubt this will add to the drama of the forthcoming season and result in an even more competitive environment as we continue to develop the elite women’s game for years to come.
“Alongside our clubs, we can’t wait to get the new campaign started and to build on the momentum and success of last season.”
