SPFL confirm major boost for Celtic, Rangers and Scotland's other European representatives next season

Scottish Premiership clubs who qualify for Europe will be able to request a free weekend to assist their bid to reach the league phase of their respective Uefa competition next season.

The Scottish Professional Football League has confirmed that clubs involved in the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League play-off round will have the option to reschedule their domestic fixture on the weekend of August 23-24, which falls between the first and second legs.

The title winners, which will almost certainly be Celtic given their 13-point advantage with seven matches remaining, are no longer guaranteed an automatic Champions League place which has been in place for the past three seasons.

Instead, they will need to negotiate the play-off round with the winners granted access to the Champions League and the losers dropping into the Europa League. Rangers, who will secure second place if they beat Hibs on Saturday, are set to enter the Champions League in qualifying round two.

In total, Scotland will have five representatives in Europe next term, and all of them could feasibly be involved in a play-off round. This season, Hearts lost out in a Europa League play-off against Viktoria Plzen, while Kilmarnock succumbed to Copenhagen in a Conference League play-off.

Celtic Park pictured before the Champions League knock-out play-off round between Celtic and Bayern Munich in February. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group

An SPFL statement on Tuesday read: “The SPFL’s Competitions Working Group had been exploring how the league could best support clubs aiming to reach the league phase of UEFA competitions amid an extremely congested fixture calendar, due to the additional dates required for UEFA club competitions from this season.

“The Competitions Working Group – which includes a number of top-flight clubs – has now unanimously made a recommendation to the SPFL Board to introduce a policy allowing any club participating in a match in a UEFA club competition play-off round to apply to the SPFL for a postponement of its William Hill Premiership round-three match without the consent of its opponent.

“To date, any such postponement would have required the agreement of the opposing club and the league. The new policy, which has the support of the SPFL’s broadcast partners, has been approved by the SPFL Board for season 2025/26.”

As well as the top two entering next season's Champions League qualifiers, the Premiership's third-placed team will start in a Europa League play-off if the Scottish Cup is won by Celtic, while there will be two further representatives in Europa League qualifying round two and Conference League qualifying round two.

SPFL chief operating officer Calum Beattie added: “We are understandably very keen to support our clubs in qualifying for the league phase of UEFA competitions.

“There are huge benefits in having our clubs in the latter stages of European football. Not only does it help Scotland’s UEFA coefficient ranking and the reputation of our league, but there are clear commercial benefits for the competing clubs, as well as important solidarity payments for our non-participating clubs.”