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List of Scottish football champions

Scottish football champions
The trophies awarded to the Scottish champions prior to 1998 (top) and subsequently
Founded
1890
Editions completed
127
Number of teams
12
Current champions
Celtic (2023–24)
Country
Scotland
Most titles won
Rangers
(55 times champions, including 1 shared)

The Scottish football champions are the winners of the highest league in Scottish football, namely the Scottish Football League (SFL) from 1890 until 1998, the Scottish Premier League (SPL) from 1998 until 2013 and the Scottish Premiership thereafter.

The SFL was established in 1890, initially as an amateur league until professionalism in Scottish football was legalised in 1893.[1] At the end of the first season, Dumbarton and Rangers finished level on points at the top of the table. The rules in force at the time required that the teams contest a play-off match for the championship, which finished in a 2–2 draw, and the first ever championship was thus shared between two clubs, the only occasion on which this has happened.[2] In 1893, a lower division was formed, with the existing division renamed Division One. The higher tier continued during World War I but the league was suspended altogether during World War II.[3] Although there were several short spells when a third level was created, the two-division structure remained largely in place until 1975, when a major re-organisation of the league led to a new three-tier setup and the creation of a new Premier Division at the highest level. In 1998, the teams then in the Premier Division broke away to form the SPL, which supplanted the Premier Division as the highest level of football in Scotland.[4] The SPL and SFL merged in 2013 to form the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), which branded its top division as the Scottish Premiership.[5]

Throughout its existence the championship of Scottish football has been dominated by two Glasgow clubs, Celtic and Rangers. The two rivals, who are collectively known as the "Old Firm", have claimed the vast majority of league titles and there have only been five seasons in which neither finished in the top two, most recently in the 1964–65 season. As of 2024, Rangers have won 55 titles and Celtic 54, while no other club has won on more than four occasions. No club outside the Old Firm has won the title since the 1984–85 season, when the Aberdeen side managed by Alex Ferguson won the Premier Division.[6] The current 39-year period of dominance by the Old Firm is a record; the previous longest streak was 27 years, between 1904 and 1931. Each of the Old Firm clubs has managed a run of nine consecutive championships: Celtic from 1966 to 1974 and again from 2012 to 2020,[7] and Rangers from 1989 to 1997. Each of the two clubs has also claimed the double, by winning the league and the Scottish Cup in the same season, on many occasions.[8] As of the end of the 2023–24 season, Celtic have won 21 doubles and Rangers 18. The only other club to have won a league and Scottish Cup double is Aberdeen, in 1983–84.[9] Both Old Firm clubs have completed a treble (Celtic 8 times; Rangers 7) by also winning the Scottish League Cup.[9][10] In the 1966–67 season, Celtic took all three domestic trophies, and also won the European Cup to complete the only quadruple to date.[11]

  1. ^ Davies, Hunter (2003). Boots, Balls and Haircuts: An Illustrated History of Football from Then to Now. Cassell Illustrated. p. 39. ISBN 1-84403-261-2.
  2. ^ "Scotland – List of Champions". RSSSF. 22 August 2007. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
  3. ^ "Scotland – List of Divisional Movements". RSSSF. 3 January 2007. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
  4. ^ "History". www.scotprem.premiumtv.co.uk. Scottish Premier League. Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  5. ^ "SPFL: New Scottish league brands unveiled". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 July 2013. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  6. ^ Duncan, Colin (25 April 2013). "Aberdeen stars Dougie Bell & Neil Simpson: We wouldn't have believed our SPL victory would be last for non-Old Firm team". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference ends20 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Brief history". www.celticfc.net. Celtic FC. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2013. 1988: Celtic celebrate the centenary season (1987/88) by winning the first "double" in 11 years. The accomplishment marks the 35th league title, and the 28th Scottish Cup.
  9. ^ a b "Doing the Double!". RSSSF. 18 April 2013. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  10. ^ "1946–1970 An Historic Treble". www.rangers.premiumtv.co.uk. Rangers FC. Archived from the original on 1 July 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2013. In 1948–49, Rangers became the first team to win the League, the Scottish Cup, and the League Cup in one season. It was the first glorious treble in Scottish football.
  11. ^ James Dart, Paolo Bandini and Sean Armstrong (28 February 2007). "The sulkiest football walk-offs ever". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2008.

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