Scottish Women's Premier League: 'Record' payments to clubs up almost four times
Glasgow City won the Scottish Women's Premier League last season; Montrose won promotion to the top-flight; Rangers claimed the Sky Sports Cup with victory over Hibernian; Celtic won the Scottish Cup thanks to a win against their Old Firm rivals
Tuesday 7 November 2023 11:28, UK
Scottish Women's Premier League clubs received 'record' payments last season - with figures almost up four times compared to the previous campaign.
A total of £344,154 was issued to clubs, with almost £260,000 of that coming through club fees and the remaining £85,000 through prize money for the Sky Sports Cup.
New broadcast deals, including at least five games live on Sky Sports - plus record attendances towards the end of last season - saw history made in the women's game in Scotland.
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"These are exceptionally strong figures for the first full season of the SWPL and are a testament to the hard work of our clubs to advance women's football in Scotland," said SWPL managing director Fiona McIntyre.
"Driving value back to our member clubs is a vital part of our strategy to continue the current growth trajectory we are seeing in women's football."
McIntyre also said broadcast partners had "collectively driven both financial growth and increased visibility of the SWPL".
Clubs are also receiving licence fee payments from new match ball partner PUMA, while Park's Motor Group were named the first-ever title sponsor of the league, while ScottishPower acquired the title rights to the SWPL.
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More than 100,000 fans attended women's games in Scotland last season while the domestic record attendance for a single game was also broken on three occasions.
Just over 8,000 watched Hibernian host Hearts in the Edinburgh derby before Celtic Park hosted 9,553 fans for Celtic vs Glasgow City.
Celtic broke the record again on the final day of the season, with 15,822 turning out to watch their 2-0 win over Hearts.
The campaign also saw a thrilling finale where Glasgow City, Celtic and Rangers all went into the last day with a chance of becoming champions before City secured the title with a dramatic late goal.
Speaking to Sky Sports News ahead of this season, McIntyre said: "A few people have said to me the second album is always the hardest and that's pretty much what it feels like.
"The records we brought last year, a lot of firsts and that's the challenge for us going forward.
"How do we get more people into grounds, more games on television and make sure that everyone's talking about the SWPL?
"We hope we get a similarly competitive competition league this year. That's what we're here to do, to try and make sure we deliver the best competitions that we can.
"We want to tell the stories about the players and the people behind the players and the coaches, that's a big part for us.
"Making sure that people aren't just talking about the SWPL at a cup final or on the final day of the season, making sure that we're really visible throughout the season and that everyone's talking about us."
Scottish Premiership and SWPL on Sky Sports
Sky Sports - This season up to 48 cinch Premiership games will be available across Sky Sports' flagship channels, including Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event, plus at least five SWPL matches. From 2024/25, up to 60 cinch Premiership will be live on Sky Sports, in addition to the SWPL.
Sky Sports News - Running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Scottish football fans can enjoy Sky Sports News' (channel 409) rolling editorial coverage of the cinch Premiership and SWPL throughout the season.
Sky Sports Digital - Follow all the latest from Scottish football across SkySports.com and app, including exclusive features and interviews, plus dedicated live blog coverage, in-game clips from matches live on Sky Sports and free highlights.
Sky Sports Social - Alongside coverage and visibility for the league across all Sky Sports' main social media channels, the bespoke Twitter channel @ScotlandSky will continue to be the home of all Scottish football content on Sky Sports.
Highlights show - Tune in for a dedicated round-up from the cinch Premiership every week on Sky Sports Football.
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Sky Sports is the home of domestic football in the UK and Ireland, with action from the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Women's Premier League, Premier League, WSL, EFL, and more.
