Changes to Sky Sports Cup format confirmed

The Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL) is delighted to announce some significant changes to

the format of the Sky Sports Cup, which will see the introduction of a league phase for the first time,

from the 2026/27 Season onwards.

This exciting proposal was approved by the SWPL Board following the SWPL AGM in June and was

developed by the SWPL’s Competitions Working Group over a lengthy period of research and

consultation with all clubs and stakeholders.

The key changes of note to the competition for next season (2026/27) and beyond are outlined

below:

• The first round will follow a ‘Swiss-style’ league model, involving 14 clubs;

• This will be made up of the 10 clubs entitled to participate in the ScottishPower Women’s

Premier League 2 (SPWPL 2) in that same season, as well as the four lowest-ranked teams

participating in the ScottishPower Women’s Premier League (SPWPL) during that season,

based upon the previous season’s league finishing positions;

• Each club will play four league stage matches in total in late-July and early-August, all before

the beginning of the league season, and will be drawn based on the teams being split into

two pots of seven clubs (again based on final rankings from the previous season);

• Two of those matches for each club will be against clubs from the same pot and two will be

from the alternate pot. Each club will play a total of two matches at home and two away;

• As is usual for league formats, winning clubs will earn three points and draws will result in a

point for each club. A draw however will now also result in a penalty shootout subsequently

being played in order to determine which club will receive a bonus point;

• All clubs’ results will contribute to one 14-team table where every point and every goal

could matter, come the conclusion of the four matches;

• At the conclusion of all matches, the top six will progress automatically to the second round

while teams 11 to 14 will be automatically eliminated at this stage;

• The clubs that finish from positions seven to ten will compete in a seeded knockout play-off round to decide the final two clubs who will progress to the second round;• It is at the second round stage where the teams that finished third to sixth in the previousseason’s SPWPL will enter the competition as seeded teams in this draw, alongside the top two teams from the first round league phase. Each of these six teams will be drawn to play the remaining six teams that progressed to this round and who will be the unseeded teams. Home teams will be decided on an alternate drawn basis between seeded and unseeded;

• The winners of these six second round ties will progress to the quarter-finals and will be

joined by the previous season’s top two SPWPL clubs. This round’s ties will be determined by

an unseeded draw which will continue for the remainder of the competition, in a straight

knockout format as per the current format, to eventually decide the Sky Sports Cup

champions.

Following on from the recent league reconstruction, SWPL clubs were also keen to explore a format

change in the Sky Sports Cup that would primarily increase the jeopardy and excitement in the

competition, as well as providing additional games for clubs not competing in European competition.

The key objectives of the changes to the Sky Sports Cup are:

• To ensure SWPL competitions are as competitive and attractive as possible. This format

when introduced in other competitions across the world has proven to provide enhanced

jeopardy for more teams and ensures every point and goal matters in the early stages of the

competition. This will supplement the number of games some clubs will play, particularly for

those clubs not participating in European competition;

• To improve the variety of matches in the early stages of the competition, as well as ensure

clubs have greater opportunity for progression;

• To provide a more competitive environment for clubs in the lead up to the commencement

of the league season.

The SWPL is excited to announce this new competition format which promises to add to the drama

we have seen the Sky Sports Cup deliver every season. We are proud to continue contributing to the

enduring progress and development of women’s football in Scotland and are delighted to now share

this latest development.