The fourth edition in its history, we are excited to announce our annual list of the top 30 players in the Scottish Women’s Premier League for 2024.
Celtic’s Caitlin Hayes was the winner of last year’s award, and she doubled up by playing a pivotal role in the Ghirls maiden title win May. Her win meant Glasgow City’s Hayley Lauder - winner in 2021 and 2022 - saw her winning streak come to an end. But can Hayes go on a streak of her own by winning the award in back-to-back years?
With Scottish women’s football now boasting more professional players and teams than ever before, we began to ask a panel of current SWPL players, coaches, players, ex-players and SWPL experts for their list of the top 10 best players in the league over the last year.
Each judge was given the following rules for voting:
- Only one person per SWPL club can vote.
- Your votes can not include a player from your own club, to ensure choices are not guided by club or professional loyalties.
- The players you choose must be currently playing in the SWPL.
- Your vote must remain anonymous.
- Choose your top 10 players in the SWPL.
From here, we used the metric that each player is awarded points for their ranking (ie: position one = 10 points, position two = 9 points, position three = 8 points etc.) we then add together the points from each vote to give us the definitive of the year’s best players in the SWPL.
Here is our annual list of the top 30 players in the Scottish Women's top tier for the year 2024 from 30-1.
9. 22: Samantha van Diemen - Glasgow City 🆕 (Last year: N/A)
Capped three times by Netherlands during her teenage years, the 22-year-old centre-back moved to Glasgow City in the summer following spells with Ajax and Fortuna Sittard. Strong in the tackle, van Diemen provides a high-level passing range, and is one of the league's best defenders. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
10. 21: Nicole Kozlova - Glasgow City 🆕 (Last year: N/A)
Another of Glasgow City's summer recruits, Ukrainian forward Kozlova has scored 12 goals this year and provides head coach Leanne Ross versatility in her frontline, with an ability to play through the centre, or out wide. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
11. 20: Olufolosade Ademolekun - Hearts 🆕 (Last year: N/A)
The speedy Jamaican forward has been pivotal to Hearts' progression from top four hopefuls to genuine title contenders. Comfortable on either flank, she has scored seven league goals from the wings this season and is a real handful for SWPL full-backs, | SNS Group
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12. 19: Eilidh Shore - Hearts ⬆️ (Last year: 20th)
One of a select few to have appeared in all four editions of our SWPL top 30, Shore moved to Hearts in the summer after several years with Aberdeen. One of the league's most industrious and technically gifted midfielders, she moves up one place from last year. | SNS Group