Ladies prepare for kick-off and Championship South derby days

The SWL will launch on October 18 with both teams in the Championship South and playing away from home. Falkirk head to Gartcairn who they met in an abandoned game in March when the wind forced the call-off. Stenhousemuir go west to Morton.

The big date in the diary between the sides comes on matchday nine - on December 13 when the Warriors host the Bairns. The return fixture at The Falkirk Stadium falls on April 4.

Falkirk head coach Craig Muir told The Falkirk Herald: “It’ll be good - a few players at Stenhousemuir came through the Falkirk system so are well known to us.

“We’re hoping to arrange a friendly with Dunfermline which will be another derby.

“As well as Gartcairn we also meet Livingston quite quickly - and they were our opponents twice before the season ended so we will be familiar there too.

“We have added to the group as well and looking forward to some contact training in [tonight’s] session.”

Allan Milne, his opposite number at Ochilview, added: “We are looking forward to the season now it’s been mapped out for us.

“I’ve played in derbies at amateur level and there’s a different energy in the lead up to these games. It’s one to look forward to and hopefully they’re exciting games for the supporters locally to come and watch.”

Scottish Women’s Football chair, Vivienne MacLaren, said: “We’re extremely proud to have reached this point. There was significant interest in the women’s game prior to lockdown and we anticipate this momentum will continue. I believe we will see an incredibly competitive and exciting season across both the SWPL and the Championship.

“Our enhanced broadcast agreement with BBC ALBA means we’ll have more coverage coupled with weekly live streams on BBC Scotland online.”