Professional exemption has been granted to almost 300 male teams in Scotland. This exemption has been applied right down to the 7th tier in men's football. In the Women's game ONLY 18 WOMEN'S TEAMS have been granted the same exemption.

The Scottish Women's Championship North and South (a total of 24 teams) which represent the 3rd tier of women's football in Scotland, have been excluded from this exemption to play and have only just returned to non contact training this week. There has been a distinct lack of explanation as to why the line was drawn where it was and given the decision that has subsequently been made to the lower echelons of the men's game, it is difficult to understand or justify the rationale used.

It has been established that the vast majority of the male players who have been granted exemption to play are part time or non-professional, just like the female players currently suspended from participating in their sport. To put these numbers in a broader context, it means that the women's teams currently allowed to play make up less than 6% of the total senior teams permitted to play football in Scotland under the exemption rule. When faced with these figures it is difficult to avoid seeing anything but broad brush gender discrimination.

Help us petition for the right to play as we believe we are just as entitled to play within the Covid restrictions and that women's sport is just as important as their male counterparts.