The remarkable league title you may not know about

Hibernian claimed a first SWPL title in 18 years. How did they do it and what does it mean for Scottish women's football?

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The Proclaimers said it best: “My tears are drying, my tears are drying. Thank you, thank you, thank you thank you”.

Hibernian Football Club were crowned Scottish Women’s Premier League champions on 18 May. A 1-0 win over Rangers on the final day secured a remarkable championship.

It has been eighteen years since they last won a league title and Scottish women’s football is almost unrecognisable from that 2006-07 season.

In that time, Scotland’s national team have gone to Euro 2017, beaten Spain while they were there, and made a World Cup debut in 2019. Domestically, we’ve seen the first club go full time (Celtic), then the second (Rangers), and now we're up to five with Glasgow City, Hibs and Hearts all joining the club.

This season has seen clubs across the country increase their attendances to numbers that were a pipe dream in 2007. Revenues are up and games are broadcast live on the BBC and Sky, but just like those late noughties days Hibernian are champions and Arsenal are celebrating European success. Some things refuse to change don't they?

The last few seasons had been a low point in the history of Scotland's second-most successful club. No finish higher than fourth since 2019, finishing closer to relegation than the title in three of those seasons. It had to improve, and when Grant Scott returned to the club in 2023 he made a vow to get the club back to where they “belonged”.

A turbulent summer in 2024 saw captain Joelle Murray retire, top-scorer Jorian Baucom depart for the USL Super League, and star players Shannon McGregor and Leah Eddie joining Celtic and Rangers, respectively. However, Scott turned things around and led the club to a historic title win. Ticking off “return to the top” from the to-do list, and adding “stay at the top” below.

Those departing players were replaced with some clever recruiting, identifying undervalued players across the SWPL with the specific skillset to add a new dimension to the existing squad. Kathleen McGovern and Ciara Grant's arrivals the epitome of this. Both had been released by Edinburgh rivals Hearts in the summer to make room for their new signings. McGovern assisted Linzi Taylor’s title-winning goal against Rangers and ended the season as the club's top scorer, while Grant's dead ball ability added an extra threat to give an edge in tight games.

The other change in recruitment focus last summer was one that Scott had been very open about, repeatedly referring to the winning experience and know-how that they had sought to bolster a young squad. It was a contrast to the focus on youth that is more commonly seen throughout the SWPL.

On the pitch, it may be hard to comprehend for a team that had two strikers hit over 20 goals and combine for over 50 in all competitions, but it was in defence they excelled. The antithesis of “defending is dead” as they frustrated managers across the Scottish game, and earned the best record amongst games between the top six.

Hibs claimed 43 out of 60 available points against the teams around them, 23 out of 30 post-split (where the table is split and the season finishes with a double round robin format between the top six and bottom six clubs). That is where the title was won.

Those points built on the back of a defensive unit that kept the joint-most clean sheets in the league with 19. Siobhan Hunter, stepping into her role as a leader at the back in the wake of Murray's retirement, celebrating every block and last ditch tackle with almost more enthusiasm than a goal as the final day grew nearer. Scott's 4-2-3-1 system leaning on her and Taylor making the right decisions at the right times, aggressively stepping up to challenge attackers with faith that Kirsten Reilly would drop into the back four to cover when needed.

Credit: Hibernian FC

For Scottish women's football in general it is another positive sign of growth and the competitiveness of the league. Hibernian are the fourth-different club to lift the title in the last four seasons, and every season since the reintroduction of the split has gone to a final day showdown (although this is the earliest the title has been decided in those years with Taylor's goal coming in the 74^th minute).

The excitement and unpredictable nature of the SWPL is a huge boost as the league administrators look to increase commercial revenues, and in the standing of the league within football circles.

Outside of the boardroom it it also translating to a blossoming women's football fan culture. Hibernian Women's Supporters Club sold out their bus to Ibrox on the final day and were forced to secure an even bigger bus to carry travelling supporters.

Glasgow City have seen their attendance figures double across the season and over 400 fans turned up to Montrose's final game to help spur them on to safety. More and more people are turning out on a regular basis for their women's team, passionately supporting them whether it is a regular game or a derby in a title fight. Things are obviously not perfect, and there is a long way to go before we are seeing similar sights to a packed out Wembley for England’s FA Cup final. But, there is a lot to be positive about as the excitement on the pitch inspires more dedicated fans off of it.

What does the future hold?

This was the final season in the current format of the SWPL. Just three seasons after the last restructure there will be more change as it is reduced to a 10-team league this summer. With the introduction of Uefa’s new second-tier Europa Cup and in an effort to reduce the heavy one sided score lines it was decided that a smaller league, with a top six/bottom four split was the way forward.

For the title race this will likely make little difference. Just four points were dropped this season to sides outside the top five, however, it should be noted that seventh-placed Partick Thistle drawing 1-1 with Hibernian accounts for two of those points.

The concern is that a bottom four with one club automatically relegated and another heading for a playoff will disrupt ambitious teams that are working towards competing with the top five. However, if the reduction in heavily one-sided games leads to more people taking the league seriously that could lead to more money being invested, allowing more teams to increase the number of players on part-time or full-time contracts.

This time next year it will be clearer how the restructure impacts the league, one thing is for sure though. If it is anything like this season, you won't want to miss it.