How Edinburgh is taking the SWPL battle to Glasgow
Hearts and Hibernian's resurgence means just five points separate five teams in the Scottish top division so far this season. This is the story of how it's happened...
Few are talking about it, but just north of the English border, one of the closest and most competitive domestic top divisions anywhere in the world right now is shaping up as we approach the end of the first half of the season for those who kicked off their usual winter league schedules back in the autumn.
Yes, the Scottish Women’s Premier League currently has its top five teams separated by just five points, and that’s not something often seen in a nation where Glasgow’s big three of Glasgow City, Celtic and Rangers have dominated the landscape.
But this season, Edinburgh duo Hearts and Hibernian are right there, with the former just four points off leaders Glasgow City and local rivals Hibernian just a point further behind, level with current champions Celtic.
Elena Sadiku’s side have struggled to keep up the pace amidst a busy debut Champions League campaign and lost 1-0 to Hearts earlier in the season, while for so long the country’s dominant side, Glasgow City have also come roaring back this season to currently lead the way.
Last season, Hearts finished 14 points off third place, with Hibernian a further three points back, but two different development pathways have seen the whole pack close right up this season, and it’s making for a breath-taking domestic campaign in a country which is also developing some top players on the European landscape.
This is not to diminish past achievements from history books, because Hibernian are three-times Scottish champions and have a combined total of 15 domestic cups too, but the last time anyone outside Glasgow won the league title was the Hibs themselves all the way back in 2007.
For the green side of Edinburgh, it’s been a progressive journey back to the top, while for the Jambos, it’s been more about rapid and innovative progression since hiring young Spanish head coach Eva Olid in 2021.
Working alongside assistant Sean Burt, who has now taken on the role of Head of Recruitment, the pair have worked diligently to ensure Hearts become a regular challenger at the top end of the SWPL.
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“This is our fourth season working together,” says Burt. “When we first came in, the team was practically amateur. The club had a long-term strategy to turn us into a full-time team and every player now has some form of a paid contract.
“You can argue the investment has increased, but if I’m being transparent, the infrastructure we have is now on the level of a Women’s Super League team in terms of facilities, staff, the way the whole club is structured.
“You’ve now got myself in a dedicated Head of Recruitment role rather than doing both, it’s the things that give us the best chance off the pitch to be better on it. It’s been a great start, the progress has been great, going from trying to stay up to top four finishes and a cup final. It’s been a long-term thing.”
39-year-old Olid was an intriguing appointment when hired in 2021 after previous experience back home in Spain, as well as the USA, but stability earned her a new two-year deal in 2023 which will expire at the end of this season.
She guided Hearts to a first cup final which ended in a 2-0 defeat to Rangers last season, but now in the midst of a genuine title race, she is pleased to be able to see the hard work being done off the pitch come to fruition on it.
“We had a process, some transition years,” says Olid. “The previous three years we had a lot of changes and this season we had the right things in place. We don’t quite have the resources of the top three, but we are a professional team now. The objective is bigger than previous years, we are no longer happy being fourth, we really want to break that top three and I think we’ve shown we can do that.
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