Scottish Cup
Founded | 1873 |
---|---|
Region | Scotland England (1 team) |
Number of teams | 131 (2023–24) |
Qualifier for | UEFA Europa League |
Current champions | Celtic (41st title) |
Most successful club(s) | Celtic (41 titles) |
Website | scottishfa.co.uk |
2023–24 Scottish Cup |
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,
Although it is the
Format
The tournament starts at the beginning of the Scottish football season, in August.[6] The Scottish Cup Final is usually the last game of the season, taking place at the end of May.[6] Participating teams enter the tournament at different stages depending on their league ranking.[7] The lowest ranked clubs enter the tournament at the preliminary round whilst the highest ranked, those that compete in the Scottish Premiership, enter at the fourth round stage in January.
The competition is a
The competition has a staggered entry system. For the 2022–23 edition, the preliminary round is contested by 50 clubs. Eighteen Highland League and sixteen Lowland League clubs begin in the first round. Ten Scottish League Two clubs enter the second round. Scottish League One and Scottish Championship clubs start in the third round, while 12 Scottish Premiership clubs enter in the fourth round.[9]
Eligible clubs and players
Any club that is a full or associate member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) is entitled to compete in the tournament.[1] Full members qualify automatically, which includes every team that plays in the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), Highland League, and Lowland League. Between 1895 and 2007, clubs that were SFA members but not competitors in the country's professional football leagues could only qualify for the tournament through the Scottish Qualifying Cup.[10]
Clubs which are not full members of the SFA may still qualify for the tournament by winning one of the six leagues at tier 6 in the Scottish football league system (East, Midlands, North Caledonian, North Region, South, West) or the East, South and West of Scotland Cup-Winners Shield. Clubs that are members of the Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA) have been able to qualify since 2007 by winning the Scottish Junior Cup.[10] And since 2015, the winners of the Scottish Amateur Cup are also eligible to qualify.[11]
Players that are registered with a competing club are eligible to play, however, cannot represent more than one club during the same tournament.[1] Each club names eleven players and up to seven substitutes before every match.[1] In order to play in the final match, a player must have also been registered to compete in the semi-final round for the same club.[1] If a club fields a player that is not registered, the club may be expelled from the tournament.[1][12]
Venues
Before the semi-final and final rounds, the venue of each match is determined when the fixtures are drawn; the first club drawn in a fixture is named the home team and chooses the venue for the match, usually its own
Hampden Park also usually hosts the final match of the tournament.
European qualification
As
History
The Scottish Football Association was founded in 1873 and the Scottish Cup was created as an annual competition for its members. It was also the highest scoring professional football game recorded in history.
Trophy
The Scottish Cup trophy is the oldest national trophy and also the oldest association football trophy in the world.[24][25] It was made by silversmith George Edward & Sons in Glasgow and has been presented to the winners of the tournament since 1874.[25] The solid silver trophy is 50 cm (1 ft 8 in) in height and weighs 2.25 kg (72 ozt).[23] The original trophy is displayed at the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden Park.[26] It is removed once each year to be cleaned and presented to the tournament winners.[27] After the presentation ceremony, the trophy is returned to the museum.[28] A replica of the original trophy is given to the tournament winners after the ceremony and is also used for promotional purposes.[26]
Performances
By club
A total of 34 clubs have appeared in the final, of whom 25 have won the competition.
Club | Wins | Last final won | Runners-up | Last final lost | Total final appearances[note 1][31] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Celtic | 41 | 2023 | 18 | 2002
|
60 |
Rangers | 34 | 2022
|
18 | 2016
|
53 |
Queen's Park | 10 | 1893
|
2 | 1900
|
12 |
Heart of Midlothian | 8 | 2012
|
9 | 2022
|
17 |
Aberdeen | 7 | 1990
|
9 | 2017
|
16 |
Hibernian | 3 | 2016
|
12 | 2021
|
15 |
Kilmarnock | 3 | 1997
|
5 | 1960
|
8 |
Vale of Leven | 3 | 1879
|
4 | 1890
|
7 |
St Mirren | 3 | 1987
|
3 | 1962
|
6 |
Clyde | 3 | 1958
|
3 | 1949
|
6 |
Dundee United | 2 | 2010
|
8 | 2014
|
10 |
Motherwell | 2 | 1991
|
6 | 2018
|
8 |
Third Lanark | 2 | 1905
|
4 | 1936
|
6 |
Falkirk | 2 | 1957
|
3 | 2015
|
5 |
Dunfermline Athletic | 2 | 1968
|
3 | 2007
|
5 |
Renton | 2 | 1888
|
3 | 1895
|
5 |
St Johnstone | 2 | 2021
|
— | — | 2 |
Dumbarton | 1 | 1883
|
5 | 1897
|
6 |
Dundee | 1 | 1910
|
4 | 2003
|
5 |
Airdrieonians (1878) | 1 | 1924
|
3 | 1995
|
4 |
East Fife | 1 | 1938
|
2 | 1950
|
3 |
Greenock Morton | 1 | 1922
|
1 | 1948
|
2 |
Partick Thistle | 1 | 1921
|
1 | 1930
|
2 |
Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 1 | 2015
|
1 | 2023 | 2 |
St Bernard's | 1 | 1895
|
— | — | 1 |
Hamilton Academical | — | — | 2 | 1935
|
2 |
Ross County | — | — | 1 | 2010
|
1 |
Queen of the South | — | — | 1 | 2008
|
1 |
Gretna | — | — | 1 | 2006
|
1 |
Albion Rovers | — | — | 1 | 1920
|
1 |
Raith Rovers | — | — | 1 | 1913
|
1 |
Cambuslang | — | — | 1 | 1888
|
1 |
Thornliebank | — | — | 1 | 1880
|
1 |
Clydesdale | — | — | 1 | 1874
|
1 |
Domestic double and treble
Clubs that win the Scottish Cup can complete a domestic "double" by becoming Scottish league champions in the same season. Only three clubs have won both competitions in the same season.[32] Celtic have completed the domestic league and Scottish Cup double on 19 occasions, followed by Rangers on 18.[32] The only other Scottish club to achieve this feat was Aberdeen, in 1983–84.[32] Since the creation of the Scottish League Cup in 1947, clubs can complete a domestic treble by also winning this tournament in the same season. Celtic have achieved this feat on eight occasions, a world record achieved in 2023.[32] Celtic won four consecutive domestic trebles ("quadruple treble") in 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019–20. No team had previously won consecutive trebles.
Cup "shocks"
Some clubs have become renowned for eliminating higher ranked clubs from the tournament despite being underdogs.
In the rounds before the final some notable shocks have occurred. In 1959, Dundee were eliminated by Highland League club Fraserburgh despite having Scotland internationals in their squad.[34][35] A season later, Eyemouth United reached the quarter-finals after defeating two higher league clubs.[36] In 1967, Berwick Rangers eliminated defending champions Rangers in the first round.[37]
Celtic's shock defeat by First Division club Inverness Caledonian Thistle in
Drumchapel United of the West of Scotland First Division, a seventh tier league in the Scottish pyramid, defeated League One side (third tier) Edinburgh in the 2022–23 edition.[41] This was the biggest statistical cup shock in the history of the competition, with 62 places separating the teams in the leagues at the time.[41] Later in that season West of Scotland Premier Division (sixth tier) side Darvel knocked out Premiership club Aberdeen, with 56 places separating the two teams.[42][43]
Other results regarded as shocks include Stenhousemuir's win against Aberdeen in 1995[34] and Albion Rovers' defeat of Motherwell in 2013.[44]
Sponsorship
The Scottish Cup has been sponsored several times since the first organisation backed the tournament in 1983. The sponsor has been able to determine the name of the competition.[45] There have been four sponsors since 1983 as well as several name changes within the duration of each sponsorship. The competition relies on revenue earned from these agreements although it ran without a title sponsor for over 100 years until the late 1980s.[46]
Period | Sponsor | Name |
---|---|---|
1873–1982 | No sponsor | Scottish Cup |
1983–88 | Scottish Health Education Group | Scottish Cup[45][46] |
1988–89 | No sponsor | Scottish Cup |
1989–2007 | Tennent Caledonian Breweries |
Tennent's Scottish Cup[47] |
2007–08 | No sponsor | Scottish Cup |
2008–10 | Scottish Government | Homecoming Scottish Cup in 2008–09[48] and the Active Nation Scottish Cup in 2009–10[49] |
2010–11 | No sponsor | Scottish Cup |
2011–20 | William Hill | William Hill Scottish Cup[50][51] |
2020–23 | No sponsor | Scottish Cup |
2023–present | Scottish Gas |
Scottish Gas Men's Scottish Cup[5] |
The Scottish Health Education Group was the first organisation to sponsor the Scottish Cup in 1983 with the largest sponsorship package in Scottish football at the time, worth around £200,000.
Media coverage
Scottish Cup matches are currently broadcast live by both BBC Scotland in Scotland and Viaplay Sports across the rest of the United Kingdom.[54]
BBC Radio Scotland provide radio coverage including several full live commentaries with additional commentaries broadcast on Radio Scotland's local frequencies. Radio broadcasting rights are also held by BBC Radio nan Gàidheal and BBC Radio 5 Live also carry some games.
The Scottish FA sells overseas rights separately from their domestic contract. In Australia, the Scottish Cup is broadcast exclusively by Network 10, Paramount+ Sports.[55] In the United States, the tournament is broadcast by ESPN.[56]
The Scottish Cup Final is one of several events reserved for live broadcast in Scotland terrestrial television under the Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events.[57][58]
Notes
- 1909final, although neither club was declared the winner or runner-up.
- ^ The Scottish Football League was founded in 1890, seventeen years after the Scottish Cup, so all competitors between 1873 and 1890 were technically non-league.
See also
References
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