The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is delighted to publish the 2023/24 fixture lists for the cinch Premiership, cinch Championship, cinch League 1 and cinch League 2.
The forthcoming campaign, which gets under way on the first weekend in August, will be the 11th season of the SPFL and the third with cinch as title sponsor.
Reigning champions Celtic will begin the defence of their cinch Premiership trophy at home to Ross County on Saturday August 5, live on Sky Sports, kick-off 12.30pm. Sky Sports will also show Kilmarnock v Rangers on the same day, with a 5.15pm kick-off at the BBSP Stadium, Rugby Park.
Further TV picks for August will be confirmed as soon as possible but three derby matches have already been selected for live coverage on Sky Sports. They are Rangers v Celtic on Sunday September 3 (ko 12 noon), Hibernian v Heart of Midlothian on Wednesday December 27 (ko 8.00pm) and Celtic v Rangers on Saturday December 30 (ko 12.30pm).
Sky Sports have the rights to screen up to 48 live matches in the cinch Premiership and BBC Scotland can show a total of 20 cinch Championship games. The 2023/24 SPFL season will kick-off with live cinch Championship action with the BBC selecting Arbroath v Dundee United on Friday August 4 as their opening fixture, with a 7.45pm kick-off at Gayfield. In addition, BBC ALBA now have the rights to broadcast up to 12 cinch League 1 matches live in season 2023/24 with selections to be announced in due course.
Dundee mark their return to the top flight with a home game against Motherwell while Dunfermline Athletic will host fellow promoted club Airdrieonians on matchday one in the cinch Championship.
Stirling Albion’s flag day in cinch League 1 is against Edinburgh City at Forthbank while Lowland League champions The Spartans welcome Clyde to Ainslie Park for their first ever SPFL fixture.
The cinch Premiership winter break begins after the fixtures on Tuesday January 2, with top-flight clubs returning to action in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup on the weekend of January 20/21. The final fixtures in the cinch Premiership are scheduled for the weekend of May 18/19 while the cinch Championship, cinch League 1 and cinch League 2 will conclude two weeks earlier on May 3/4.
SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “We know the publication of the fixtures is something that is always eagerly anticipated by clubs and fans alike and we are very much looking forward to the 2023/24 league season kicking off at the beginning of August.
“Season 2022/23 once again showcased the very best of Scottish football – with great games and drama in abundance. For the first time since the SPFL was established in June 2013, more than five million fans attended matches across our competitions, underlining the passion for the game in this country.
“I am sure that 2023/24 will prove to be another memorable season and hopefully one that ends with Scotland’s participation at the European Championships in Germany next summer.
“I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Lowland League champions, The Spartans, to the SPFL following their play-off win over Albion Rovers last month.
“I wish all 42 member clubs the very best for the forthcoming season and hope the supporters enjoy their football in the months ahead.”
Gary Hughes, Director of Football Sky Sports, said: “We’re looking forward to another exciting season of drama in the SPFL. We’re delighted to kick off the season with Celtic and Rangers both live on the opening day and pleased to confirm three fixtures including the Edinburgh derby way in advance as Sky Sports continues to be the home of Scottish football.”
The fixture card for the opening weekend of season 2023/24 is:
cinch Premiership – Saturday August 5
Celtic v Ross County (Sky Sports, 12.30pm)
Dundee v Motherwell
Kilmarnock v Rangers (Sky Sports, 5.15pm)
Livingston v Aberdeen
St Johnstone v Heart of Midlothian
cinch Premiership – Sunday August 6
Hibernian v St Mirren
cinch Championship – Friday August 4
Arbroath v Dundee United (BBC Scotland, 7.45pm)
cinch Championship – Saturday August 5
Dunfermline Athletic v Airdrieonians
Greenock Morton v Ayr United
Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Queen’s Park
Partick Thistle v Raith Rovers
cinch League 1 – Saturday August 5
Falkirk v Annan Athletic
Hamilton Academical v Cove Rangers
Montrose v Kelty Hearts
Queen of the South v Alloa Athletic
Stirling Albion v Edinburgh City
cinch League 2 – Saturday August 5
Bonnyrigg Rose v Dumbarton
East Fife v Peterhead
Elgin City v Stranraer
Stenhousemuir v Forfar Athletic
The Spartans v Clyde
Full fixture lists are available here:
Notes
• A number of cinch Premiership matches will require to be moved to Sundays in due course because of European ties on Thursday evenings.
• Two Queen’s Park matches at Hampden Park have been scheduled for Friday evenings following discussions with the Scottish FA. Queen’s Park v Arbroath on Saturday August 12 will be played at Lesser Hampden.
• FC Edinburgh were yesterday granted permission by the Scottish FA to revert their name to Edinburgh City and the change is reflected in the fixture list.
