Fixtures Q&A with SPFL Chief Operating Officer Calum Beattie
What are your thoughts on the 2026/27 fixture lists?
This was my sixth year in charge of the process and, as I’ve said before, unfortunately there is no such thing as a perfect fixture list! Clubs and supporters understandably focus on their own games, but our job is to try to produce the most balanced set of fixtures for each of the four divisions. Overall, I’m content with the process and where we got to.
Who produces the fixtures?
This is our 11th season working in conjunction with GotSport, who are based in the United States. They work with a number of other European including France, Switzerland, Poland, Denmark, and Greece, as well as CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, Liga MX, the CBF in Brazil, and many other leagues around the world. GotSport use optimisation software to come up with a set of fixtures based on the information and constraints (‘fixture recipe’) we provide. A number of versions will be produced and refined before a final decision is made on each division. As ever, I would like to thank GotSport for their help, expertise and patience during the fixturing process.
What are some of the biggest challenges when compiling the fixtures?
The changes to UEFA competitions a couple of years ago added to the congested schedule, with a total of 10 fixture rounds set aside for the league phase. That loss of four fixture slots means that unfortunately a winter break is not possible. To highlight the lack of room for manoeuvre in the William Hill Premiership schedule, the first midweek that is completely clear is December 22/23 – which won’t be a very popular slot for postponed matches!
Is there anything different of note this season?
Season 2026/27 will be the first that incorporates the new FIFA international calendar which combines the September and October windows. That means there will be no William Hill Premiership matches scheduled for September 26 or October 3. The quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup have been brought forward a week to September 12/13 to ensure there is a round of William Hill Premiership matches on September 19/20 before the extended break. Fixtures have been scheduled so William Hill Premiership clubs will play home/away or away/home either side of that international window. The revised international dates mean the midweek of September 1/2 is now available for SPFL matches while matchday one of the Champions League has been brought forward a week to September 8-10, with the league phase draw at the end of August.
Has there been any impact from the Commonwealth Games?
The event is not on the same scale as 2014 when both Barclays Hampden Park and Celtic Park were venues, so the impact on SPFL fixtures is more limited this time. However, the closing weekend of the 2026 Commonwealth Games coincides with our opening weekend and there are events scheduled at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. As a result, and following discussions with relevant stakeholders including Police Scotland, Celtic’s opening game against Dundee will be played on Monday August 3, live on Sky Sports at 7.30pm.
What goes into the fixture recipes?
There’s a lot, particularly in the William Hill Premiership, which has the most constraints. All clubs are guaranteed to have three home and three away games in their first six fixtures. Celtic/Rangers, Dundee/Dundee United and Heart of Midlothian/Hibernian are all opposites in the fixture list, as are Clyde and Hamilton Academical due to their groundshare at New Douglas Park.
For the William Hill Premiership midweeks, we have ensured all clubs have two or three home games across the five dates. There are no midweek dates required in the other divisions although, following consultation with clubs, William Hill Championship fixtures have been scheduled for Friday September 25 to avoid a direct clash with Slovenia v Scotland in the Nations League the following day, kick-off 2.00pm.
Following discussions with the Competitions Working Group, and to provide more flexibility in the William Hill Premiership fixture list, not all pairings from last season have been flipped. Previously all matches in Rounds 1-11 etc were reversed for the following year but in 2026/27 that has only been guaranteed for the Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow derbies. However, we have still ensured that William Hill Premiership clubs who had 16 home games before the split last season will have 17 this season and vice versa.
We consider club request dates and Police Scotland may ask us to avoid other major events. We also try to avoid Heart of Midlothian’s fixtures clashing with the Six Nations rugby and have moved their Remembrance weekend game with Falkirk at Tynecastle to the Sunday as Scotland are playing New Zealand at Murrayfield on the Saturday.
Ayr United generally won’t be at home on the same day as big meetings at the nearby racecourse and other requests for 2026/27 included Stirling Albion being away from home on the day of the Highland Games, which take place adjacent to Forthbank, and Raith Rovers playing away on an April date because of the Links Market in Kirkcaldy.
The close season is a key period for clubs to conduct crucial pitch renovations ahead of the new season. Clubs also use this period to replace artificial pitches with some clubs requesting to start away from home. Kilmarnock are returning to a grass surface at Rugby Park for 2026/27 while Dumbarton are going the opposite way and are installing an artificial pitch.
Queen’s Park will again be playing their home games at the City Stadium (Lesser Hampden) in the forthcoming season so need to avoid clashes with major events on the same day at Barclays Hampden – for example the Calvin Harris concert on the opening weekend and the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals on October 31/November 1.
William Hill Championship clubs have two home and two away games across the four international dates to balance and minimise disruption to home clubs in the event of postponements due to international call-ups.
Why are clubs not at home one week and away the next?
It’s a fair question but it is actually not mathematically possible, even without all the other fixture constraints. We do try to limit instances of H-H or A-A (‘doubles’) as much as we can and that is one of the metrics that we use when determining what is a ‘good schedule’.
When are the derby matches in 2026/27?
The traditional city derbies will again take place over the festive period. Heart of Midlothian will face Hibernian at Tynecastle on Boxing Day, with Rangers v Celtic and Dundee v Dundee United on the weekend of January 2/3. The first meeting of Celtic and Rangers is scheduled for Sunday September 20 (live on Sky Sports at 12 noon) – later than usual, in part, due to the new international window. The first Edinburgh derby is due on the midweek of September 1/2 at Easter Road and the opening Dundee derby is set for Tannadice on the weekend of August 22/23. Festive derbies across the William Hill Championship, League 1 and League 2 will take place on Saturday December 26.
Do last season’s champions start at home?
Traditionally the champions are given a home start and that is again the case. Celtic will begin the defence of their William Hill Premiership trophy against Dundee at Celtic Park on Monday August 3, live on Sky Sports at 7.30pm. St Johnstone’s top-flight return is against Kilmarnock at McDiarmid Park on Sunday August 2, live on Sky Sports, kick-off 2.00pm. In the William Hill Championship, Inverness Caledonian Thistle will mark their flag day with a home game against Dunfermline Athletic while League 1 newcomers East Kilbride kick off against Queen of the South at K-Park.
How many live TV games will be shown this coming season?
Last season more SPFL matches were shown live than ever before, with our main broadcast partner Sky Sports showing 53 games in the William Hill Premiership and Premier Sports covering 22. BBC Scotland will continue to showcase the William Hill Championship on Friday evenings, and BBC ALBA can again cover 12 matches in William Hill League 1. In a first for Scottish football, Sky Sports are covering all six William Hill Premiership games live on the opening weekend of the season and have also selected Kilmarnock v Celtic in round 2. Their coverage of 2026/27 will kick off with Dundee United v Rangers on Friday July 31, kick-off 8.00pm, and the opening weekend will end with Celtic v Dundee on Monday August 3, kick-off 7.30pm. Sky Sports will also show Falkirk v St Mirren (Saturday, 3.00pm), Aberdeen v Heart of Midlothian (Saturday, 5.30pm), St Johnstone v Kilmarnock (Sunday, 2.00pm) and Hibernian v Motherwell (Sunday, 4.30pm). BBC Scotland’s first selection in the William Hill Championship is Partick Thistle v Livingston on Friday August 7, kick-off 7.30pm. Further TV picks for August will be announced as soon as possible, and we will also endeavour to publish the festive period broadcast games in early course.
What’s the situation with European football for 2026/27?
Champions Celtic enter the Champions League at the play-off stage while runners-up Heart of Midlothian join in the second qualifying round of the same competition. Rangers go into qualifying round three of the Europa League while both Motherwell and Hibernian enter the Conference League in qualifying round two. A number of domestic fixtures will require to be moved to Sundays because of clubs playing in Europe on Thursdays. Our usual approach is to await UEFA confirmation as occasionally those fixtures can change. As such, clubs and supporters should be prepared for some late notice fixture amendments during August. Looking further ahead, we will only have four clubs in UEFA competitions in 2027/28, which is based on Scotland’s UEFA country ranking of 18 at the end of 2025/26. On that basis, next season’s champions will enter the Champions League in qualifying round two and the Scottish Cup winners join in the first qualifying round of the Europa League. The clubs finishing second and third in the William Hill Premiership will be in the Conference League and join in qualifying round two.
What about the postponement policy for European entrants?
Clubs involved in the play-off round of a UEFA competition next season will again be able to postpone their William Hill Premiership round three fixture without requiring the agreement of their opponents. There was unanimous support for the continuation of this policy from the Competitions Working Group to support our clubs reaching the prestigious league phase of UEFA competitions. However, clubs must confirm their position by Friday July 24 to provide clarity ahead of the 2026/27 season kicking off. Postponed matches will be rescheduled for the first exclusive match week of the UEFA competition that neither club in question qualified for.
Can you remind us of the dates for the post-split William Hill Premiership games?
Fixture rounds 34-38 will be played on the weekends of April 24/25, May 1/2, May 8/9, the midweek of May 11/12 and the weekend of May 15/16.
Anything else to look out for?
We are very much looking forward to season 14 of the SPFL following an incredible 2025/26 campaign which saw a thrilling top-flight title race and three of the four divisions going the distance against a backdrop of record attendances.
We appreciate the current focus is rightly on Scotland’s first World Cup appearance since 1998 and we wish Steve Clarke’s squad all the very best for the huge games against Morocco and Brazil as they seek to make history by reaching the knock-out stages for the first time.
It’s not long until domestic football resumes on Saturday July 11 when the Premier Sports Cup gets under way, while fixtures for the 2026/27 KDM Evolution Trophy will be announced on Thursday July 16. Meanwhile, our colleagues at the SWPL are publishing their own fixture lists on Friday June 26, with Hearts Women the reigning champions.
I’d like to take this opportunity to wish our 42 clubs all the very best for the forthcoming season and hope supporters enjoy their football in 2026/27. If it is anything like last season, it can’t come soon enough!
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