SWPL season declared null and void after one round of games

The 2020 SWPL season has been declared null and void – a decision Glasgow City team manager Laura Montgomery says “makes sense”.

Just one round of games had been played when the term was halted in March, with City aiming for a 14th title in a row.

Scottish Women’s Football are planning to revert to a winter season for the top flight, starting on Sunday, 18 October and running until June.

“I wouldn’t say it was unanimous but it was a majority,” Montgomery said.

“Perhaps those who weren’t 100% for it didn’t really have a view why they weren’t 100%. It was probably the fact the transfer windows didn’t affect them as much as it affected other clubs.

“For the good of the game it makes sense to null and void it.”

The proposed October start date for the new season is pending government guidance and the Scottish FA lifting their ban on competitions.

Rangers, who finished fourth in 2019, and Celtic, who were third, started the 2020 season as Scotland’s first professional women’s teams.

Celtic defeated defending champions City 2-1 in their opening league fixture of the new season.

Montgomery believes if City were to win the title in the new 2020-21 season, it would be “ridiculous” for anyone to suggest it would not be a 14th straight crown.

“I don’t think it’ll be like that,” she said. “That would just be a ridiculous argument because there only was one game. So I could argue against that quite well.”

The Scottish Women’s League Cup had also yet to reach the quarter-final stage, with Celtic, Hamilton Academical and Hearts having already qualified to join European representatives Glasgow and Hibernian in the last eight.

SWF confirmed a “condensed” League Cup schedule will take place in May and June.

Original article 29.07.20 on The BBC Sport website.

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