The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Rules of the Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup
,

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

. Retrieved 2 September 2014. commonly known as the Scottish CupScottish Cup
,

. Retrieved 2 September 2014. ( sco, Scots Cup; gd, Cupa na h-Alba), is an annual

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

knock-out cup competition for men's football clubs in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The competition was first held in 1873–74. Entry is open to all 122 clubs with full membership of the

(SFA), along with up to eight other clubs who are associate members.Archives - The Cup
,

. Retrieved 2 September 2014. Although it is the second oldest competition in association football history, after the English

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, the Scottish Cup trophy is the oldest in association football and is also the oldest national trophy in the world. It was first presented to Queen's Park, who won the final match of the inaugural tournament in March 1874. The current holders are

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

, who won the tournament for the 34th time by defeating Heart of Midlothian 2–0 in the 2022 final.

Format

The tournament starts at the beginning of the Scottish

football season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

, in August. The Scottish Cup Final is usually the last game of the season, taking place at the end of May. Participating teams enter the tournament at different stages depending on their league ranking.William Hill Scottish Cup Format & Composition 2014-15
, ''scottishfa.co.uk''.

. Retrieved 5 June 2015. The lowest ranked clubs enter the tournament at the preliminary round whilst the highest ranked, those that compete in the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

, enter at the fourth round stage in January. Hearts vs

The competition is a knock-out tournament. In each round of games the teams are paired at random, with the first team drawn listed as the

home team In sports, home is the place and venue identified with a team sport. Most professional teams are named for, and marketed to, particular metropolitan areas; amateur teams may be drawn from a particular region, or from institutions such as sch ...

. Every game lasts 90 minutes plus any additional

stoppage time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. The winner of each game advances to the next round, whilst the loser is eliminated from the tournament. In prior seasons, if a game ended in a draw before the fourth round, the fixture was replayed at the home ground of the other team at a later date, before the fourth round. If the replay also ended in a draw, a penalty shoot-out took place to decide the winner. From the fourth round onwards, if the game ended in a draw there was no replay; 30 minutes of

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

would be played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if there is still no winner. Following a vote by the Scottish FA's member clubs in August 2022, it was decided that, for the 2022-23 competition, there would be no replays following the Preliminary Round, extra time and penalties will be used to decide the winner of drawn games from Round One onwards. The competition has a staggered entry system. For the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

edition, the preliminary round is contested by 50 clubs. Eighteen Highland League and sixteen

Lowland League The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) is a senior association football, football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, actin ...

clubs begin in the first round. Ten

Scottish League Two The Scottish League Two, known as cinch League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League Two was ...

clubs enter the second round.

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was e ...

and

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland Scotland (, ...

clubs start in the third round, while 12

clubs enter in the fourth round.

Eligible clubs and players

Any club that is a full or associate member of the

(SFA) is entitled to compete in the tournament. Full members qualify automatically, which includes every team that plays in the

Scottish Professional Football League The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As ...

(SPFL), Highland League, and

. 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. Bonnyrigg Red Rose 0 Brechin City 6

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 The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

, North Caledonian, North Region,

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

) 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 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

by winning the Scottish Junior Cup. And since

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, the winners of the Scottish Amateur Cup are also eligible to qualify. Players that are registered with a competing club are eligible to play, however, cannot represent more than one club during the same tournament. Each club names eleven players and up to seven substitutes before every match. 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. If a club fields a player that is not registered, the club may be expelled from the tournament.Buckie reinstated in Scottish Cup after East Stirlingshire expulsion
, ''sport.stv.tv''. STV Sport. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2015.

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 home ground. In the event of a game ending in a draw, the venue for the replay is the home ground of the second club drawn. The semi-final ties are played at a

neutral venue In team sports, the term home advantage – also called home ground, home field, home-field advantage, home court, home-court advantage, defender's advantage or home-ice advantage – describes the benefit that the home team is said to gai ...

; usually

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

.Celtic Park and Ibrox announced as Scottish Cup venues
, ''www.scottishfa.co.uk''.

. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2014. On occasions when Hampden has been unavailable, such as when it was being renovated in the late 1990s and when it was being transformed into an athletics stadium for the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

, the semi-finals have been hosted at Celtic Park and

Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of . O ...

, also in Glasgow.SFA defends early decision on Scottish Cup venues
, ''www.scotsman.com''. ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

''. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2014. Hampden Park WP EN

Hampden Park also usually hosts the final match of the tournament. The venue – across three sites in close proximity bearing the name – has hosted the majority of finals including the first in

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndas ...

. Other venues that have hosted the final in the tournament's early years are

Hamilton Crescent Hamilton Crescent is a cricket ground in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club. Hamilton Crescent hosted the first international football match, between Scotland and England, played on 30 ...

, Kinning Park and the first Cathkin Park; all in Glasgow (although just outside the city boundaries at the time). The last game of the 1896 tournament is the only final that has been hosted outside Glasgow when rivals Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian played at

New Logie Green New Logie Green was a football ground in the Powderhall area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the home ground of St Bernard's from 1889 until 1899, and was also used to host the 1896 Scottish Cup final, the only time the Scottish Cup final has b ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

.Logie Green: the final Edinburgh didn't want
, ''scotsman.com'', ''

''. 31 March 2006. Retrieved 2 May 2015. Hampden Park has held world and European records for the highest attendance, some of which were recorded at Scottish Cup games. The 1937 final played between

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

attracted a crowd of 147,365 spectators"On this day – 17th April 1937"
, ''scottishfootballmuseum.org.uk''. Scottish Football Museum. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015. which was a world record for a national cup final and remains a European record.

European qualification

is a member of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the winner of the Scottish Cup qualifies to compete in European-wide competitions organised by UEFA. Between 1960 and 1998, the Scottish Cup winners qualified for the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

along with winners of other domestic cup competitions across Europe before it was abolished.UEFA Cup Winners' Cup - Competition format
, ''uefa.com''.

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

. 13 July 2005. Retrieved 2 May 2015. The Scottish Cup winners now qualify to compete in the following season's

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

(formerly known as the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

).Regulations for the UEFA Europa League 2015-18 Cycle
, ''uefa.com''.

. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2015. It is possible for the Scottish Cup winners to have already qualified for a UEFA competition through their league ranking in the

. In this scenario, the qualification spot passes to the highest ranked team in that competition not yet qualified, rather than to the Scottish Cup runners-up.Strategic talks in Dubrovnik
, ''uefa.org''.

. Retrieved 2 May 2015. Until 2014, the Scottish Cup runners-up qualified for European competition if the cup winners had also qualified for the Champions League.

History

The Scottish Football Association was founded in 1873 and the Scottish Cup was created as an annual competition for its members.Brief History of the Scottish FA
''scottishfa.co.uk''. Scottish Football Association. Archived fro
the original
on 1 July 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2015. The first Scottish Cup match took place on 18 October 1873 when Renton defeated

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

2–0 in the first round.The Scottish Cup - Then and Now
''scottishfa.co.uk''. Scottish Football Association. Archived fro
the original
on 27 June 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2015. In its early years the competition was dominated by Queen's Park who won the final 10 times in the first twenty years.Tennent’s Scottish Cup Previous Winners
''scottishfa.co.uk''. Scottish Football Association. Archived fro
the original
on 27 June 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2015.

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven (Scottish Gaelic: ''Magh Leamhna'') is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning '' ...

, Dumbarton and Renton were also successful during this period. In 1885, the record margin of victory in the tournament was recorded when

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

defeated Bon Accord 36–0 in a first round match.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.Oldest Association football trophy
, ''guinnessworldrecords.com''. ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

''. Retrieved 2 September 2014.After 137 years, it's official: Scottish Cup is world football's oldest trophy
, ''scotsman.com''. ''

''. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2015. It was made by silversmith George Edward & Sons in Glasgow and has been presented to the winners of the tournament since 1874. The solid

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

trophy is 50 cm in height and weighs 2.25 kg. The original trophy is displayed at the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden Park. It is removed once each year to be cleaned and presented to the tournament winners.Scottish Cup named oldest national football trophy
, ''eveningtimes.co.uk''. ''

Evening Times The ''Glasgow Times'' is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Called ''The Evening Times'' from 1876, it was rebranded as the ''Glasgow Times'' on 4 December 2019.The Scottish Cup Preparation for the Final
, ''scottishfootballmuseum.org.uk''. Scottish Football Museum. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015. A replica of the original trophy is given to the tournament winners after the ceremony and is also used for promotional purposes.

Performances

By club

A total of 34 clubs have appeared in the final, of whom 25 have won the competition. The most successful club in terms of wins and appearances in the final is

, with 40 wins from 59.Scottish FA Cup Honours
, ''statto.com''. Retrieved 5 September 2014. Celtic and

have finished runners-up on more occasions than any other club with 18 defeats each in the final. The most recent winner is Rangers, who defeated Heart of Midlothian 2–0 in the 2022 final.

Domestic double and treble

Clubs that win the Scottish Cup can complete a domestic "

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

" by becoming Scottish league champions in the same season. Only three clubs have won both competitions in the same season.Doing the Double! - Total Number of Domestic Doubles
, ''rsssf.com''.

RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around the ...

. Retrieved 5 June 2015. Celtic have completed the domestic league and Scottish Cup double on 19 occasions, followed by Rangers on 18. The only other Scottish club to achieve this feat was Aberdeen, in 1983–84. Since the creation of the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

in 1947, clubs can complete a domestic

treble Treble may refer to: In music: *Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass *Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range *Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands *T ...

by also winning this tournament in the same season. Rangers and Celtic have achieved this feat on seven occasions. 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.

Division Two NCL Division Two The NCL or National Conference League Division Two (known as the Kingstone Press NCL Division Two) League winners {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - , colspan=4 style="text-align:center;" , NCL DIVISION TWO , ...

club East Fife won the tournament in

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

by defeating

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

club

, the first team from outside the top-tier of league football to win the trophy. East Fife had previously reached the final in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

after eliminating three higher ranked clubs in the preceding rounds.Scottish Cup Shocks
, ''londonhearts.com''. London Hearts Supporters' Clubs. Retrieved 16 May 2015. Hibernian became the second second-tier side to win the cup as they defeated

, who were also then in the second tier, in the 2016 final. Only one other club from outside the top-tier of league football has won the competition; non-league Queen's Park defeated Celtic in the

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

final.The

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...

was founded in 1890, seventeen years after the Scottish Cup, so all competitors between 1873 and 1890 were technically non-league. Several other clubs have reached the final whilst competing outside the top-tier of league football, but were defeated in the final. These include Dumbarton, Kilmarnock,

Airdrieonians Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

(twice), Gretna, Queen of the South, Ross County and Hearts. In the rounds before the final some notable shocks have occurred. In 1959,

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

were eliminated by Highland League club

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; sco, The Broch or ; gd, A' Bhruaich) is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census at 13,100. It lies at the far northeast corner of Aber ...

despite having Scotland internationals in their squad.Dundee Football Club - History
, ''dundeefc.co.uk''.

Dundee F.C. Dundee Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland, founded in 1893. The team are nicknamed "The Dark Blues" or "The Dee". The club plays its home matches at Dens Park. The club was formed after a merg ...

Retrieved 16 May 2015. A season later, Eyemouth United reached the quarter-finals after defeating two higher league clubs. In 1967,

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, just south of the border with Scotland. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite hailing fr ...

eliminated defending champions

in the first round. Celtic's shock defeat by First Division club

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

led to the famous newspaper headline " Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious". In the 2020–21 competition Highland League club

Brora Rangers Brora Rangers Football Club are a Scottish football club from the village of Brora, Sutherland, in the Highland council area of Scotland. They play in the Highland Football League, of which they have been champions four times, having won thei ...

knocked out Championship leaders Heart of Midlothian, who had been runners-up in each of the two previous seasons. Cup holders

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

were knocked out by

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

(fourth tier) club

Kelty Hearts Kelty Hearts Football Club is a football club based in the village of Kelty in Fife, Scotland. Formed in 1975 and nicknamed ''the Hearts'', ''the Maroon Machine'' and ''the Jambos'', they play their home games at New Central Park. Their home ...

in 2021–22. Drumchapel United of the West of Scotland Football League First Division in the seventh tier of the Scottish pyramid defeated League One side (third tier)

F.C. Edinburgh Football Club of Edinburgh, formerly known as Edinburgh City F.C., is a semi-professional senior Scottish football club which plays in Scottish League One, the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. The club play at Meadowbank ...

in the 2022-23 edition, the biggest statistical cup shock in the history of the cup with 62 places separating the teams within the league system at the time. Other results regarded as shocks include

Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir (; gd, Featha Thaigh nan Clach) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in ...

's win against Aberdeen in 1995 and

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scotti ...

' defeat of

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

in 2013.

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. 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.Health row as Tennent's win the Cup
, ''The Herald''. 29 July 1989. 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.Health Group's £200,000 Scottish Cup boost
. ''

The Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

''. 23 October 1982. The partnership was praised for the promotion of a healthy lifestyle linked with football. The deal ended in 1989 when

Tennent Caledonian Breweries Tennent Caledonian is a brewery based in Glasgow, Scotland. The Wellpark Brewery is situated in the city's East End, between the Townhead and Dennistoun districts along Duke Street. It was founded in 1740 on the bank of the Molendinar Burn ...

won the sponsorship rights. Tennent's association with the tournament raised the debate about alcohol sponsorship within sports following the riots at the

1980 Scottish Cup Final The 1980 Scottish Cup Final was played on 10 May 1980 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 95th Scottish Cup competition. Old Firm rivals Celtic and Rangers contested the match, which Celtic won 1–0 after extra time. Rioting a ...

which resulted in the sale of alcohol being banned at Scottish sporting events. Despite this controversy, the partnership was largely successful and lasted 18 years until 2007. The SFA received around £25 million over the duration of the sponsorship deal. The Scottish Government in association with businessman

Willie Haughey William Haughey, Baron Haughey, (born 2 July 1956) is a Scottish businessman, philanthropist and chair of City Facilities Management Holdings Ltd. Career Haughey had attended Holyrood Secondary School followed by Langside College, and then work ...

sponsored the Scottish Cup between 2008 and 2010. The 2008–09 competition was known as the Homecoming Scottish Cup to promote Scotland's year of homecoming and tourism. The 2009–10 competition was known the Active Nation Scottish Cup to promote a healthy living through football. Carling was an additional sponsor between 2010 and 2014 as the competition's official beer.

Media coverage

Scottish Cup matches are currently broadcast live by both

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...

in Scotland and Premier Sports across the rest of the United Kingdom. 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 BBC Radio nan Gàidheal is a Scottish Gaelic language radio station owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. The station was launched in 1985 and broadcasts Gaelic-language programming with the simulcast of BBC Radio Scotland. ...

and

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...

also carry some games. The Scottish FA sells overseas rights separately from their domestic contract. In Australia, the Scottish Cup is broadcast exclusively by

Setanta Sports Australia beIN Sports is an Australian and New Zealander pay television sports network that was launched in 2007 as Setanta Sports. In late 2014, Setanta Sports Australia was acquired by the beIN Media Group. As a result, on 24 November 2014, the chann ...

. Premium Sports hold the rights for the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. In the United States, the tournament is broadcast by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. The Scottish Cup Final is one of several events reserved for live broadcast in Scotland

terrestrial television Terrestrial television or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the signal transmission occurs via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an ant ...

under the

Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events The Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed & Designated Events is a series of regulations issued originally by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) then by Ofcom when the latter assumed most of the ITC's responsibilities in 2003, which is des ...

Notes

References

External links

Tournament home pageThe Scottish Cup at the Scottish FA websiteThe Scottish Cup Archive at the Scottish FA websiteThe Scottish Cup Final Archive at the Scottish FA website
{{National football Cups (UEFA region) 1 National association football cups 1873 establishments in Scotland Recurring sporting events established in 1873