Any rebrand of a football club, logo or stadium can reach deep-rooted emotions in fans that can cause outpourings of hate, or of love. Last year’s Wolverhampton rebrand was overwhelmingly supported by Wolves fans, yet this year’s Everton crest’s cleanup caused consternation among the Merseyside faithful.

Now, Scottish football has a new face and name in a merger and rebrand that serves draw it closer in line with the English football leagues. Chief executive of the new Scottish Professional Football League, Neil Doncaster adds that despite the new organisation’s recent birth, it’s branding allows it an appealing clarity and certainty for investors. He points to the brand as the beginning of partnerships with media organisations and others in the world of British sport.

What was previously known as the Scottish Professional League has merged with the Scottish Football League under the conjoined moniker of Scottish Professional Football League. The subsequent rebrand was released this week.

Doncaster adds, “A mountain of work has been done over the summer to get to this point and I believe there is much more that can be done. The new branding sets a new identity for the future of Scottish professional league football. The new league set-up reflects very much the recommendations Henry McLeish made in his report for the future of Scottish football.”

The visual identity follows the new name with a conjoined logo comprised of the SFL’s lion and the SPL’s stylised football/swoosh combination. The new organisation will now have subbrands that mirror its English counterparts – premier, championship and league 1.