The History of the Scottish Premier League
During the late 1890's an increasing number of football clubs began forming throughout Scotland as the game grew more popular. And, the Scottish Football League was established to give these clubs a structured system for playing games.
The league proved to be a very successful endeavor and over the years separate divisions were both added and suspended several times. In 1893 the first divisions were put into place with the split of the league to add the Second Division.
With the outbreak of World War I the Second Division was temporarily suspended. But, with the addition of the Central Football League in 1921, the Second Division was once again reinstated.
The Third Division was added in 1923, but the experienced high financial losses and the division folded after just three short years. And, for the next twenty years the league would once again only consist of a First Division and a Second Division.
After the war was over the league once again went back to three divisions, but they were now called the A, B and C Divisions. Yet again changes were made and in 1955 and the league reverted back to having only two divisions.
The league would remain the same over the next twenty years at which time the Premier Division was formed in 1975. The league now consisted of 38 clubs and this lineup would remain the same until the addition of a fourth division in 1994.
By this time two more clubs had been added to the roster and were divided evenly among the four divisions. But, in September of 1997, the Premier Division began making plans to form a league of their own.
The Scottish Premier League is one of Europe's youngest leagues in professional football. The SPL was established in 1998 by ten of Scotland's top professional football clubs, but two more clubs were added in 2000.
The clubs wanted more control over their games and wanted to keep more of the money being made from their games. After months of negotiations between the Scottish Football Association, the Scottish Football League and the ten teams the Scottish Premier League was born!
The newly formed league was in ready in time for the beginning of the 1998-90 football season. And, Roger Mitchell who had experience in the media industry became the leagues chief executive.
There were many objectives that the Scottish Premier League set out to accomplish. They wanted to build a reputable football league competition that would become known all across Europe and adhere to certain set regulations and rules.
The league also wanted to make sure that the interests of the members were met. They wanted to create a support system and bring the structure of the league up to more modernized state.
Another goal of the Scottish Premier League was to capitalize on the earning potential of the football clubs. By taking full advantage of their commercial value, members could also make more money.
But, the league wasn't only concerned about it's members. The SPL wanted to make improvements in the games quality and take part in youth development. They also wanted to make the games entertaining and more attractive to the public.
Before the formation of the Scottish Premier League, any money generated from the sponsorships were divided among the clubs from all four of the divisions.
After the SPL was established the revenues were all put together. The support payments to the Scottish Football League and any newly relegated football clubs are the first funds to be taken from the total amount.
Then the funds that are needed to keep the Scottish Premier League operating are taken out. And, the remaining revenue is divided between the clubs in two parts.
A little over half of the money that is left over is given out in equal shares to the 12 clubs that now belong to the SPL. The remaining amount is divided out to the football clubs depending on their ranking position in the league finals.
Not just any football club can join the SPL, there's a long list of criteria that each club has to meet. Standards are set in order to not only protect the club members, but to also protect the fans and spectators at the games.
In order to become members of the league, clubs have to meet the safety requirements included in the Stadia Handbook. Each club must also provide at least 6,000 seats that are covered for fans.
These seats have to be in place by March 31, before the football season begins.
Clubs must also have protection during the winter, such as an underground heating system. And, any club that chooses to play on grounds that belong to another club must have the grounds inspected and approved by the Scottish Premier League.
Inside the Scottish Premier League all of the decisions and the policies adopted are arrived at with input from all of the club members. A goal which the founding members had set out to reach, giving each of the clubs some input into the leagues future as well as theirs.
Today the SPL is at the top level of football in Europe, it even sits above the Scottish Football League. Thousands of fans flock into stadiums to watch the games and cheer for their favorite clubs.
Since 1999 two of the leagues clubs have dominated both the winning slot and the runner-up slot, with the exception of one year! The two final spots have been passed between the Rangers and the Celtics, except for the 2006-07 season when Hearts won runner-ups!
The SPL had been sponsored by the Bank of Scotland since 1999, but the sponsorship wasn't renewed at the end of the season in 2007. The SPL is now sponsored by the Clydesdale Bank, they have signed a four year contract.
