The Scottish Premiership has one of the most unique schedules in European football, but how exactly does the Scottish season “split” work?

What is the Scottish Premiership split?

Simply put, the “split” is when the Scottish Premiership table is split in two after 33 games have been played by each club.

The Scottish Premiership expanded from 10 to 12 teams in 2000, and prior to this expansion, each team played each other 4 times for a total of 36 matches. However, this created an issue following the expansion because each team would then be required to play 44 league games.

To work around this issue, the current split system was introduced at the time of the expansion and allows each team to play each other 3 times, then after 33 games, the table is split into two groups. They are called the Championship Group and the Relegation Group, each with six teams. Each team within a section will then play the other teams in their section once, for a total of 5 additional games. This brings the total number of games in a season to 38.

It is also important to note that once the split occurs — and strangely enough — a team from the bottom six cannot finish ahead of a team in the top six even if they have more points at the end of the season.

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Why was the split introduced to the Scottish Premiership?

As previously mentioned, the split was introduced to reduce the number of league games played each season, but it was not the only reason. The split was also introduced to theoretically make the end of the season more competitive. With the table being split, the top teams will have to continue to perform well against the best teams in the league if they wish to win the league, and conversely, it gives bottom table teams more of a chance of avoiding relegation and makes the relegation battle more exciting.

However, it has had plenty of critics who voiced their opinions against the fixture disparity which leads to fewer home games, and for the fact that teams in the lower half of the table can finish with more points than teams in the top half.

Groundhopper Guides sells Scottish Premiership tickets at Rangers FC.

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Is There Another Old Firm Match in 2024?

From a neutral standpoint, the split in the 2023-24 Scottish season does mean there is another Old Firm game to be played this season. Rangers will visit Celtic on Saturday, May 11.

So yes, we have Celtic v Rangers tickets for that one.

Watch the 2024 Scottish Premiership

In the United States, Scottish Premiership games can be streamed through Paramount+.

Watch soccer, including the Scottish Premiership, on Paramount+

Final Scottish Premiership Fixtures Are Now Confirmed

The remaining fixtures for the 2023-24 Scottish Premiership have now been confirmed. (Here they are on the BBC website). Below we have listed the games where we will have tickets available.

Remaining Celtic Fixtures 2023-24

Celtic vs Hearts May 5, 2024

Celtic vs Rangers May 11, 2024

Celtic vs St Mirren May 18, 2024

Remaining Rangers Fixtures 2023-24

Rangers vs Kilmarnock May 5, 2024

Rangers vs Dundee May 14, 2024

There will be one final Old Firm Derby between Celtic and Rangers played on May 11 at Celtic Park in Glasgow. For tickets to any of the remaining Celtic or Rangers home games fill out the form below.

Buy Scottish Premiership Tickets

Groundhopper Guides is an authorized reseller at Celtic and Rangers. You can see more about our different Scottish Premiership ticket options here.

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