Scottish Football League First Division


The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013.

History

The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as the top flight of the Scottish Football League was renamed from Division One to Premier Division.
In 1998, the Premier Division clubs broke away from the Scottish Football League to form the Scottish Premier League. The First Division remained the second tier of the Scottish league system, but was now the top tier of the Scottish Football League. In July 2013, the Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League merged to form the Scottish Professional Football League. The SPFL named its second tier as the Scottish Championship, which effectively replaced the First Division.

Competition

From 1994 until 2013, the First Division consisted of ten teams. From 1998, only the winner of the First Division was promoted to the Scottish Premier League, subject to that club meeting the SPL stadium criteria. From 2007, the bottom club in the First Division was automatically relegated to the Second Division and the second bottom club went into an end of season play-off with the second, third and fourth placed clubs in the Second Division.
The ten teams in the First Division played each other four times with three points for a victory and one point each for a drawn game.

Winners of the First Division

SeasonWinnerRunner-up
1998–99HibernianFalkirk
1999–00St MirrenDunfermline Athletic
2000–01LivingstonAyr United
2001–02Partick ThistleAirdrieonians
2002–03FalkirkClyde
2003–04Inverness Caledonian ThistleClyde
2004–05Falkirk St Mirren
2005–06St Mirren St Johnstone
2006–07GretnaSt Johnstone
2007–08Hamilton AcademicalDundee
2008–09St JohnstonePartick Thistle
2009–10Inverness Caledonian Thistle Dundee
2010–11Dunfermline AthleticRaith Rovers
2011–12Ross CountyDundee
2012–13Partick Thistle Greenock Morton