# Scottish Championship

The Scottish Championship (Scottish Gaelic: Farpais Lìg na h-Alba), known as the William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Championship was established in July 2013, after the Scottish Professional Football League was formed by a merger of the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League.

## Format

Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned league champion. If points are equal, the goal difference determines the winner. If this still does not result in a winner, the tied teams must take part in a playoff game at a neutral venue to determine the final placings.

### Promotion and relegation

The champions are directly promoted to the Scottish Premiership, swapping places with the bottom club of the Premiership. The clubs finishing 2nd, 3rd and 4th then enter the two-legged Premiership play-off. The 3rd-placed club plays the 4th-placed club, with the winner then playing the 2nd-placed club. The winner of that game then plays against the 11th-placed Premiership club. If the Championship play-off winner prevails, the club is promoted and the Premiership club is relegated; otherwise, the Premiership club remains in its league while the Championship club is not promoted.
For promotion and relegation, the Championship play-off system closely mirrors its Premiership counterpart—the bottom-ranked club in the Championship is automatically relegated while the 9th-placed club undergoes a play-off with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed clubs from League One.

## Teams

Listed below are all the teams competing in the 2024–25 Scottish Championship season, with details of the first season they entered the second tier; the first season of their current spell in the second tier; and the last time they won the second tier.
| Team | Position in 2023–24 | First season in second tier | First season of current spell in second tier | Last second tier title |
| Airdrieonians | 4th, Scottish Championship | 2004–05 | 2023–24 | — |
| Ayr United | 7th, Scottish Championship | 1910–11 | 2018–19 | 1965–66 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 6th, Scottish Championship | 1912–13 | 2023–24 | 2010–11 |
| Falkirk | 1st, Scottish League One (promoted) | 1902–03 | 2024–25 | 2004–05 |
| Greenock Morton | 5th, Scottish Championship | 1893–94 | 2015–16 | 1986–87 |
| Hamilton Academical | 2nd, Scottish League One (promoted) | 1897–98 | 2024–25 | 2007–08 |
| Livingston | 12th, Scottish Premiership (relegated) | 1987–88 | 2024–25 | 2000–01 |
| Partick Thistle | 3rd, Scottish Championship | 1893–94 | 2021–22 | 2012–13 |
| Queen's Park | 8th, Scottish Championship | 1922–23 | 2022–23 | 1955–56 |
| Raith Rovers | 2nd, Scottish Championship | 1902–03 | 2020–21 | 1994–95 |
    $^{note1}$ as Meadowbank Thistle

## Stadiums

| Airdrieonians | Ayr United | Dunfermline Athletic | Falkirk | Greenock Morton |
| Excelsior Stadium | Somerset Park | East End Park | Falkirk Stadium | Cappielow Park |
| Capacity: 10,101 | Capacity: 10,185 | Capacity: 11,480 | Capacity: 7,937 | Capacity: 11,589 |
| Hamilton Academical | Livingston | Partick Thistle | Queen's Park | Raith Rovers |
| New Douglas Park | Almondvale Stadium | Firhill Stadium | Hampden Park | Stark's Park |
| Capacity: 6,018 | Capacity: 8,716 | Capacity: 10,102 | Capacity: 51,866 | Capacity: 8,867 |

## Statistics
### Championships

| Season | Winner | Runner-up | Top scorer | Top scorer | Players' Player of the Year (Championship) | SPFL Championship Player of the Year |
| Season | Winner | Runner-up | Player | Goals | Players' Player of the Year (Championship) | SPFL Championship Player of the Year |
| 2013–14 | Dundee | Hamilton Academical | Rory Loy (Falkirk) | 20 | Kane Hemmings (Cowdenbeath) | Not awarded |
| 2014–15 | Heart of Midlothian | Hibernian | Jason Cummings (Hibernian) | 18 | Scott Allan (Hibernian) | Not awarded |
| 2015–16 | Rangers | Falkirk | Martyn Waghorn (Rangers) | 20 | Lee Wallace (Rangers) | John McGinn (Hibernian) |
| 2016–17 | Hibernian | Falkirk | Jason Cummings (Hibernian) Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) | 19 | John McGinn (Hibernian) | John McGinn (Hibernian) |
| 2017–18 | St Mirren | Livingston | Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) | 18 | Lewis Morgan (St Mirren) | Lewis Morgan (St Mirren) |
| 2018–19 | Ross County | Dundee United | Lawrence Shankland (Ayr United) | 24 | Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) | Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) |
| 2019–20 | Dundee United | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Lawrence Shankland (Dundee United) | 24 | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 2020–21 | Heart of Midlothian | Dundee | Liam Boyce (Heart of Midlothian) | 14 | Liam Boyce (Heart of Midlothian) | Charlie Adam (Dundee) |
| 2021–22 | Kilmarnock | Arbroath | Michael McKenna (Arbroath) | 15 | Michael McKenna (Arbroath) | Michael McKenna (Arbroath) |
| 2022–23 | Dundee | Ayr United | Dipo Akinyemi (Ayr United) | 20 | Dipo Akinyemi (Ayr United) | Dipo Akinyemi (Ayr United) |
| 2023–24 | Dundee United | Raith Rovers | Brian Graham (Partick Thistle) | 20 | Brian Graham (Partick Thistle) | Louis Moult (Dundee United) |

### Records and awards
#### Biggest home win

    Heart of Midlothian 10–0 Cowdenbeath, 28 February 2015

#### Biggest away win

    Dumbarton 0–6 Rangers, 2 January 2016;

#### Most points in a season

    91; Heart of Midlothian, 2014–15

#### Fewest points in a season

    4; Brechin City, 2017–18

#### Fewest goals scored in a season

    20; Brechin City, 2017–18

#### Most goals scored in a season

    96; Heart of Midlothian, 2014–15

#### Most goals conceded in a season

    90; Brechin City, 2017–18

#### Fewest goals conceded in a season

    23; Dundee United, 2023–24

#### Highest attendance

    50,349; Rangers 1–1 Alloa Athletic, 23 April 2016

#### Lowest attendance

    318; Cowdenbeath 3–0 Greenock Morton, 25 March 2014

### Top goalscorers

    As of 29 September 2023
| Rank | Player | Club(s) | Goals |
| 1 | Stephen Dobbie | Queen of the South (2016–2021) | 69 |
| 2 | Jason Cummings | Hibernian (2014–2017) Dundee (2020–2021) | 63 |
| 3 | Lawrence Shankland | St Mirren (2015–2017) Greenock Morton (2017) Ayr United (2018–2019) Dundee United (2019–2020) | 62 |
| 4 | Nicky Clark | Rangers (2014–2016) Dunfermline Athletic (2016–2018) Dundee United (2018–2020) | 54 |
| 5 | Derek Lyle | Queen of the South (2013–2018) | 51 |
Italics denotes players still playing professional football, Bold denotes players still playing in the Scottish Championship.