Scottish Premier League 2011-12: SPL Schedule, Match Times

Another exciting weekend of the Scottish Premier League beckons, and here is a schedule to help you find out which team is playing which and at what time and on what day. Take a look at the following table, if you want to know what time it will be in your country when your favourite team’s match starts.

IMPORTANT: Enter the name of your country in the search bar, to find the information more quickly.

Twelve clubs compete in the Scottish Premier League, a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland.

The clubs for the current season are Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee United, Dunfermline Athletic, Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian, Inverness CT, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Rangers, St Johnstone and St Mirren.

Earlier, there were two divisions in Scottish league football, and in the mid-70s this became a three division structure, and later, in 1994, a four-division structure. In September 1997, the football clubs in the league decided to split from it and form the Scottish Premier League.

The season runs from July to May and is divided into two phases. In the first phase, the teams play three against each other, which could translate into two home games and one on the road, or vice-versa. During the first phase comprising 33 games, the teams get divided into two round robin groups comprising a top six and a bottom six. The round robin matches get completed in the first half of the season.

Teams carry forward their points to the second half of the season during which they play in their own section. At the end of the season, the bottom placed team gets relegated to the Scottish First Division whose winner enters the SPL in the next season, as a replacement for the relegated team.

The SPL was originally comprised of 10 teams, and the number was increased to 12 in the 2000-01 season. The split season format has come in for much criticism and there have been calls to amend the system.

A major criticism of the SPL has been its dominance by the “Old Firm”, namely Celtic and Rangers. No other team has won the league since its inception. Hearts finished behind Celtic in second place, in 2005-06, and that was the only instance when these two teams did not occupy the top two slots in the SPL.

Another cause of criticism of the SPL has been the decision to scrap the winter break after the 2000-01 season. This has meant that the teams have had to play through the month of January, regardless of adverse weather conditions.

The reigning champions are Rangers, with Celtic ending runners-up in the last season.

Tags: Celtic, Dundee, EPL, Hearts, hibernian, inverness, Rangers

Category: Football, Match Time