The Southern Counties Cup is an

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 ...

cup competition for clubs in the historic counties of

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has f ...

, and

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county ...

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 founded in 1891.

Format

The competition was a

knock-out tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

contested by the member clubs of the Southern Counties Football Association, which was formed at the end of the 1890–91 season, with J. J. Cook of the 5th K.R.V. as initial president. The competition soon became the most prestigious competition in the region, supplanting the

Churchill Cup The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams (originally one and later three) from a wide arr ...

Initial entrants

* 5th K.R.V. * Annan * Dalbeattie * Dumfries St John's * Garliestown * Gladstonians * Mid-Annandale *

Moffat Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. ...

* Newton Stewart Athletic * Queen of the South Wanderers * Rising Thistle * St Cuthbert's Wanderers * Thornhill

History

The first competition, in 1891–92, was won by the 5th K.R.V., who beat Mid-Annandale 9–1 in the final. The score remains the highest margin of victory in the final. The two clubs had met in the final of the Churchill Cup two months before with the Mids winning 3–0; however, in the Southern Counties, one Mids player was sent off, three others walked off in sympathy, and the Volunteers scored three times from the penalty mark. From 1898 to 1899 there was also a Consolation Cup, for clubs eliminated before the final of the main competition. The last edition was in 1926–27, replaced by the short-lived South of Scotland Cup. The current (2023–24) holders are Caledonian Braves, who beat

Dalbeattie Star Dalbeattie Star Football Club is a Scottish association football club based in Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway. It currently competes in the . The club had previously played in the South of Scotland Football League. Home matches are played a ...

3–1 in the final at

Galabank Galabank is a football stadium in the town of Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Annan Athletic, who have played there since 1953. The ground has been shared by non-Leagu ...

thanks to two late goals.

Finals (incomplete)

Wins by club

The most successful club in the Consolation Cup was the second Mid-Annandale club, with four wins between 1909–10 and 1922–23. The only other club which won the Consolation Cup without ever winning the Southern Counties Cup was Vale of Dryfe, which won the Consolation Cup in 1901–02 and 1902–03.

External links

Results

References

{{Regional football cups in Scotland Football cup competitions in Scotland Queen of the South F.C. Recurring sporting events established in 1891 1891 establishments in Scotland Sport in Dumfries