2002–2009 , the SWPL's most successful club, playing
Arsenal in a 2014
Champions League match; L-R,
Rachel Corsie,
Dan Carter and
Eilish McSorley From the
Scottish Women's Football Association national and regional leagues dating from
1972, the SWFA and clubs formed the
Scottish Women's Football League (SWFL) in 1999, with four national divisions. Its top division broke away to form the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) in 2002, with the aim of introducing a more professional attitude and increasing media interest. The twelve founder members of the SWPL were Ayr United, Cove Rangers, Dundee, Giulianos,
Glasgow City,
F.C. Hamilton,
Hibernian, Inver-Ross,
F.C. Kilmarnock, Lossiemouth, Raith Rovers and Shettleston. In the
2002–03 season, Kilmarnock became the champions, after a title race with Hibernian. Kilmarnock Ladies had formed from the 1971
Scottish Women's Cup-winners Stewarton Thistle,
Joanne Love and Linda Brown. Hibernian Ladies were the most successful club in the League's first five years. The title in 2003–04 went to Hibs, 14 points ahead of Glasgow City, and Hibernian added further titles in
2005–06 and in
2006–07 (winning every game that season). The Hibs squad included Scotland's
Pauline Hamill,
Kirsty McBride,
Suzanne Grant,
Joelle Murray and
Kim Little. Glasgow City won the Scottish championship for the first time in 2004–05, In 2007, the running of the League was taken over by the
Scottish Football Association 2009–2019 The women's leagues' move from a winter to a summer schedule (March–November), from
2009, saw a rise in attendances in its first seasons, and far fewer match postponements. with the SWPL 2 trophy in
2018 In the 11-year era of the summer schedule in Scottish women's football, Glasgow City won every title and became one of the most dominant clubs in any national league in world football. Between the
2007–08 and
2015 seasons, City lost only four matches in the League (including one match awarded against them retrospectively for an ineligible player); their squads included
Jane Ross,
Denise O'Sullivan (each a winner of the
SWPL Players' Player of the Year), and
Leanne Ross, who ultimately scored 250 goals in 12 seasons at the club. Glasgow City also won the domestic Treble in
2012,
2013,
2014 and
2015. Glasgow City considered applying to join the English league in 2013. Club co-founder Carol Anne Stewart commented, "the FA are investing seriously in women's football. This is where the SFA are miles behind. They don't recognise the potential". The issue of competitive imbalance was the catalyst for the separation of the top Scottish clubs into two reduced divisions, SWPL 1 and SWPL 2, in
2016. The first professional contracts in the SWPL were signed at
Glasgow Girls (Glasgow Women) in 2016, by Lauren Coleman and Lauren Evans. The next full-time contracts were offered later by Rangers and Celtic.
2020–present There were fears for the league's survival when the
2020 season was halted and eventually voided due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with other Scottish football organisations, the SWPL and
SWF Championship received donations from the philanthropist James Anderson and from an anonymous donor: "The focus was to buy time so the women's game could survive the COVID crisis until it was safe for football to return." The
2020–21 season was completed, as Glasgow City won their 14th title in a row. after months of negotiations between those parties and the SFA, and an SFA review from April 2020 until mid-2021, which resolved to improve governance of elite competitions. The decision was aimed at improving the league's commercial profile and broadcasting deal. The league maintained its two divisions and expanded to 20 clubs. The top two tiers of women's football are run within the SPFL by a separate board that includes the clubs' representatives. == Trophies ==