Scottish Football Pyramid Explained: Structure, History & Non-League Game

The Scottish football pyramid is a connected structure of football leagues linking Champions League regulars Rangers and Celtic with the amateur and local games.

The Scottish Professional Football League administers senior, top-level football. Below that, it gets a bit more complicated.

The Top Four Divisions

The SPFL oversees four divisions, containing 42 clubs. There are 12 clubs in the Scottish Premiership followed by 10 in each of the Scottish Championship, Scottish League One, and Scottish League Two.

They play 38 matches per season in the Premiership and 36 per campaign in the next three divisions.

Each of the top three leagues have one automatic relegation spot and a relegation playoff spot. The Championship, League One, and League Two have one team that earns automatic promotion and three teams that go into a playoff with the team that finished second bottom in the division above.

Non-League in Scotland

The fifth tier of the pyramid contains 51 clubs across the Highland Football League, Lowland Football League East, and Lowland Football League West.

Each of these divisions have one promotion playoff spot. The bottom team in League Two enters a playoff with those three teams to decide which club will compete in the next season of the SPFL.

There are six leagues in the sixth tier of the Scottish football pyramid, containing 92 clubs. These clubs are as follows (number of clubs):

• North Caledonian Football League (13)
• North of Scotland Football League Premier Division (16)
• East of Scotland Football League Premier Division (16)
• Midlands Football League (19)
• South of Scotland Football League (12)
• West of Scotland Football League Premier Division (16)

Scottish Football Pyramid: It’s All Connected

In theory, a team in the North Caledonian Football League could reach the Scottish Premiership in less than a decade. The same applies to teams in lower tiers, though it would obviously take longer to make their way to the top.

There is a direct path from regional, amateur football to the highest level of the professional game.