| Competition: | Scottish Women's Premier League |
| Season: | 2012 |
| Winners: | Glasgow City |
| Relegated: | FC Kilmarnock Inverness City |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Glasgow City |
| Matches: | 126 |
| Total Goals: | 681 |
| Biggest Home Win: | 29 April 2012 |
| Biggest Away Win: | 3 June 2012 |
| Highest Scoring: | 29 April 2012 |
| Prevseason: | 2011 |
| Nextseason: | 2013 |
The 2012 Women's Premier League was the eleventh season of the Scottish Women's Premier League, the highest division of women's football in Scotland since the SWPL's inception in 2002.
A total of twelve teams contested the league. Aberdeen won the 2011 Scottish Women's First Division and returned to the Premier League after one season away. First Division runners-up Hibernian 2000 were unable to be promoted, as league rules stipulated each club could field only one team in the Premier League.[1] Because the third-placed side in the First Division, Toryglen, folded over the close season, FC Kilmarnock were spared relegation and competed in 2012.[2]
Glasgow City won the championship by a 16-point margin and qualified for the 2013–14 Champions League. This was Glasgow City's sixth title in a row, and their seventh overall. They also won the 2012 Scottish Women's Premier League Cup and the 2012 Scottish Women's Cup to complete the 'treble' (the second in their history after 2008–09), and would have completed a second consecutive perfect season in the SWPL but for having fielded an ineligible player in a match against Forfar, with the result amended from a 5–0 victory to a 3–0 defeat. Forfar Farmington were runners-up, finishing one point in front of both Celtic and Hibernian. Inverness City and FC Kilmarnock were relegated.
The SWPL ran in a new format from this season, with a split division. The 12 clubs faced each other once (11 games per club), after which the league split into top-six and bottom-six sections, based on league position. Each club then played home and away against clubs in their respective sections to give a total of 21 games.
The most regular home ground is shown though some clubs play matches at other venues throughout the season.
| Team | Location | Home ground | Head coach | data-sort-type="number" | Finishing position 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen Sports Village | Jockie Lawrence | SWFL First Division, 1st | |||
| 4th | |||||
| Alan Palmer | 10th | ||||
| Mark Nisbet | 5th | ||||
| 1st | |||||
| Kevin Murphy | 6th | ||||
| 3rd | |||||
| Saughton Enclosure | Ian Macdonald | 9th | |||
| Sandy Corcoran | 8th | ||||
| Martin Kirkland | 11th | ||||
| Petershill Park | John Joyce | 7th | |||
| Spartans Academy | Debbi McCulloch | 2nd |
Clubs play each other once.
After 11 matches, the league splits into top six and bottom six sections. Clubs will play every other club in their section twice (home and away).
Forfar Farmington's awarded 3–0 win over Glasgow City[3] [4] was the champion club's first League defeat since 2008–09.[5]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jane Ross | Glasgow City | 20 |
| 2 | Suzanne Grant | Celtic | 18 |
| Emma Mitchell | Glasgow City | ||
| Leanne Ross | Glasgow City | ||
| 5 | Lisa Evans | Glasgow City | 16 |
| 6 | Natalie Bodiam | Inverness City | 13 |
| 7 | Hayley Cunningham | Celtic | 12 |
| 8 | Jennifer Callaghan1 | Rangers / Glasgow City | 11 |
| 9 | Spartans | 10 | |
| Laura Gavin | Hutchison Vale | ||
| Joanne Love | Glasgow City | ||
| Katherine Smart | Hutchison Vale | ||
| 11 | 9 | ||
| 13 | Claire Emslie | Hibernian | 8 |
| Ashley McDonald | Glasgow City | ||
| Kirsty McLaughlin | Hibernian | ||
| Emily Thomson | Celtic | ||