Scottish Football League Second Division

Scottish Football League Second Division
Countries  Scotland
Founded 1893
Number of teams 10
Levels on pyramid 3
Promotion to Scottish First Division
Relegation to Scottish Third Division
Domestic cup(s) Scottish Cup
League Cup
Challenge Cup
Current champions Livingston
(2010–11)
2011–12 Scottish Second Division

The Scottish Football League Second Division is the second highest division of the Scottish Football League and the third highest overall in the Scottish football league system.

The division contains ten teams and each year the top team is promoted to the First Division, while the clubs in 2nd through 4th places enter an end of season play-off with the 9th placed side in the First Division. The bottom club is automatically relegated and the 9th placed club goes into an end of season play-off with the second, third and fourth placed clubs from the Third Division.

The teams play each other four times with three points for a victory and one point each for a drawn game.

Contents

History

Before 1975 the Second Division (sometimes also called Division B) was the second highest level in the Scottish system. The division was founded in 1893 but its champions were not automatically promoted, as promotion depended on a system of ballots (election) by all League clubs. The first champions, Hibernian, were bypassed in favour of third-place finishers Clyde. Sometimes poor-performing First Division teams would not be voted out (relegated) at all; the most notorious was Queen's Park, in whose favour the rules may have been most likely devised. Automatic promotion was finally introduced when the Second Division was restarted in 1922 after a hiatus provoked by World War I, and ironically, its first victims were Queen's Park.

In 1975, to minimise the number of clubs per division, the old First and Second divisions were recombined into the new Premier, First, and new Second divisions. Accordingly, the last second-tier Second Division champions, Falkirk, were not promoted to the top flight but made up the new second tier along with bottom clubs from the old First Division and other top clubs from the old Second.

Current status

Today's Second Division contains ten teams, as does the First Division and the Third Division. Most players are part-time professionals.[1] The teams play each other four times with three points for a victory and one point each for a drawn game. In the event of two teams finishing with the same number of points, the respective teams' position is decided on goal difference. If goal difference is equal too, the team who has scored the most goals is placed higher.

Introduction of Play-Offs

Prior to season 2005–06, the top two teams were promoted to Division One and the bottom two were relegated to Division Three. From 2005–06, there is automatic promotion only for the top team and automatic relegation for the bottom placed team. The teams which are placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th enter into a play-off with the team which is 9th in the First Division, and the team which is placed 9th enters into a similar play-off with the teams which are placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the Third Division.

Sponsorship

On 20 July 2007, it was announced that Scottish Football League would be sponsored by Scottish soft drink company Irn-Bru for the next three seasons.[2]

Teams for 2011–12 season

Listed below are the teams competing in the season 2011–12 Second Division

Stadia

Team Stadium Capacity
Airdrie United Excelsior Stadium 10,171
Stenhousemuir Ochilview Park 5,027
Forfar Athletic Station Park 4,602
Cowdenbeath Central Park 4,370
Arbroath Gayfield Park 4,165
Brechin City Glebe Park 3,960
Stirling Albion Doubletree Dunblane Stadium 3,808
Dumbarton Strathclyde Homes Stadium 2,050
East Fife Bayview Stadium 2,000
Albion Rovers Cliftonhill Stadium 1,238

Winners of the Second Division

Main article: List of winners of the Scottish Second Division and predecessors
Season Winner Runner-up
1998–99 Livingston Inverness Caledonian Thistle
1999–00 Clyde Alloa Athletic
2000–01 Partick Thistle Arbroath
2001–02 Queen of the South Alloa Athletic
2002–03 Raith Rovers Brechin City
2003–04 Airdrie United Hamilton Academical
2004–05 Brechin City Stranraer
2005–06 Gretna Greenock Morton
2006–07 Greenock Morton Stirling Albion
2007–08 Ross County Airdrie United
2008–09 Raith Rovers Ayr United
2009–10 Stirling Albion Alloa Athletic
2010–11 Livingston Ayr United

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Who's for the Chop? Doomsday looms if TV tap is turned off". News of the World. 13 June 2009. http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/scottish/scottish_sport/359376/Billy-Stark-and-Campbell-Money-on-the-effects-of-Setanta-cash-on-SPL.html. Retrieved 31 July 2010. 
  2. ^ "SFL ends search for new sponsor" article from BBC Sport

External links

2011–12 teams
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