The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from

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 ...

, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules) competed for between the senior teams of

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

, Partick Thistle and Queen's Park and the youth teams of Celtic and Rangers, and has used both knockout and round robin formats to determine the finalists. The cup was dominated by the city's

Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...

rivals, Rangers and Celtic, who won the competition 44 times and 29 times respectively (including one shared win) while it was a senior competition. Only five times did the final not feature either Rangers or Celtic (1889, 1915, 1946, 1947, and 1989). The advent of European football led to the Glasgow Cup becoming less valued, and the tournament did not take place at all or was not finished several times in its later years. Since it was reinstated for youth teams, Rangers have won a further 13 editions, ahead of Celtic with 11 (following the 2019 final). In season 2022-23 The Glasgow F.A. started a City of Glasgow Women’s Cup. Two teams contested the final at

Excelsior Stadium The Excelsior Stadium, is a Association football, football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of Airdrieonians F.C., Airdrieonians of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Since the 2021–22 season ...

, Airdrie. Rangers won the match 2-1 against Celtic The Glasgow Cup should not be confused with the

Scottish Youth Cup The Scottish Youth Cup (also known as the SFA Youth Cup) is an annual Scottish football competition run by the Scottish Football Association for under-18 teams,

, which is open to youth sections of clubs across Scotland but has featured a Celtic v Rangers final nine times since its inception in 1983, often played within a few weeks of the Glasgow Cup final.

History

The Glasgow Football Association Cup was once seen as an important competition, on a par with the League or the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Celtic and Rangers, but the others,

, Partick Thistle, Queen's Park and the now defunct

Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...

all enjoyed relative success. The competition's status diminished after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, with European competitions seeming more attractive and important, and the nationwide

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 ...

providing a new distraction for clubs and supporters and a rival for fixture dates. The competition was normally played early in the season, until 1960. After the demise of the similar Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup, the Glasgow Cup fixtures would be put in any available space with the final being played at the end of the season. After 1971, the Glasgow Cup was not played until it was re-introduced for the 1974–75 season, but it was generally seen as unappealing, and was even left incomplete on occasion; otherwise the final was often held over until the beginning of the following season. In the event of a Celtic v Rangers final, both would still usually put out full-strength first teams. This remained the case up to 1986 when a crowd of over 40,000 saw Rangers take the trophy with a 3–2 win over Scottish champions Celtic, courtesy of an

Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist, (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former footballer who has since worked as a manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Johnstone before moving to English side Sunderland in ...

hat-trick, to give manager Graeme Souness his first trophy days after taking charge. After that, it essentially became a

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

tournament. Rangers retained the trophy the following season in another old rivals final; only 15,000 were there to watch what were effectively two reserve teams. The following season's contest was never completed. Officially there were no suitable dates available to fit in ties; in reality, the competition had become irrelevant. In 1988 the competition was abandoned, and the final edition was played out in 1989 with Partick Thistle becoming the final winners of the competition in its original format. The Glasgow Cup was subsequently relaunched in 1990 as an Under-19 tournament competed for by the youth teams of Celtic, Clyde, Partick Thistle, Queen's Park and Rangers. It then became an Under-17 tournament in 2008, competed for by the same teams as previously (although Clyde, once based in

Rutherglen Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...

on the city boundary, had since relocated to

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...

some distance outside Glasgow). From the 2019 competition, the age limit was raised to Under-20, with several players involved in the Celtic v Rangers final that year having already featured for the clubs' senior teams in domestic and European competitions; the match itself, played at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

, did not involve any public ticket sales due to concerns regarding spectator disorder as had occurred in previous years. The format was changed again for 2019–20, with the Old Firm clubs now fielding under-21s plus two overage players, and the other three clubs using their first teams with two trialists, in a home-and-away league basis followed by a final between the top two.Exciting New format for The City of Glasgow Cup
Glasgow Football Association, 19 August 2019 In the opening round of fixtures, Clyde's 50-year-old manager

Danny Lennon Danny Lennon (born 6 April 1969) is a Scottish football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Scottish League One club Clyde. In his playing career he is best known for his spells at Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle. ...

drew attention in the media when he brought himself on as a substitute in a win over Celtic's 'colts'. That edition was delayed then eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland,The City of Glasgow Cup 2019-20
Glasgow Football Association. Retrieved 18 January 2022. with no competition in 2020–21 and a shorter version (one round of fixtures rather than two) in 2021–22.The City of Glasgow Cup Season 2021-22
Glasgow Football Association. Retrieved 18 January 2022.

Finals

Key

Performance by club

Senior competition

(118 finals played including one walkover win and one shared title)

Notes

Women's football

The first edition of the City of Glasgow Women's Cup was played in July 2022.

References

External links

Glasgow Cup
at Scottish Football Historical Archive

at RSSSF
Celtic Glasgow Cup results (til 1989)
FitbaStats
Clyde Glasgow Cup results (til 1989)
FitbaStats
Partick Thistle Glasgow Cup results (til 1989)
FitbaStats

QPFC.com
Rangers Glasgow Cup results (til 1989)
FitbaStats
Third Lanark Glasgow Cup results (til 1967)
FitbaStats {{Regional football cups in Scotland Football cup competitions in Scotland Football in Glasgow 1887 establishments in Scotland Recurring sporting events established in 1887 Youth football in Scotland Youth football competitions Annual sporting events in the United Kingdom