The 2022–23 SFA South Region Challenge Cup was the 16th edition of the annual knockout cup competition for senior

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

clubs in the central and southern regions of Scotland. The tournament entry increased from 161 to a record 163 teams thanks to additional clubs joining the

West of Scotland Football League The West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) is a senior football league based in the west of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–10 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Founded in 20 ...

. The defending champions were Auchinleck Talbot of the West of Scotland League, who beat

Lowland League The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) and the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League for sponsorship reasons is a senior football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits a ...

champions

Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club is a Scottish football club from the town of Bonnyrigg. Formed in 1881 and nicknamed ''the Rose'', the team plays in the , having been relegated in 2024–25. Their home ground is New Dundas Park, and they have ...

3–1 in the final on 22 May 2022. However they went out of the competition at the quarter-final stage, losing 2–1 to Caledonian Braves. The Spartans lifted the trophy for a record fourth time, completing a league and cup double after also winning the

. They beat Drumchapel United 2–1 in the final.

Format

The South Challenge Cup features 163 senior non-league clubs from the

Lowland Football League The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) and the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League for sponsorship reasons is a senior football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits a ...

(16),

East of Scotland Football League The East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) is a senior association football, football league based in the east and south-east of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–9 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowlan ...

(59),

South of Scotland Football League The South of Scotland Football League (SoSFL) is a senior football league based in south-west Scotland. The league sits at level 6 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Founded in 1946, it ...

(10), and

(79). The reserve teams of

Stirling University The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airthr ...

Caledonian Braves Caledonian Braves Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football club based in North Lanarkshire. They are members of the , in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club originated from Edusport Academy, a residenti ...

, and

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

, as well as Celtic B, Heart of Midlothian B, and Rangers B, do not take part. Newburgh were debarred due to a breach of rules. The first and second rounds were regionalised, with north-east, south-east, south-west, and north-west sections each containing 40 or 41 clubs. The draws are unseeded, with matches proceeding to extra time and penalties if they were tied after 90 minutes.

Calendar

First round

The draw for the regionalised first and second rounds took place on Sunday 26 June 2022. Each zone features 9 fixtures in the first round with 23 clubs receiving a bye to the second round (except the South-West zone featuring 8 matches and 24 byes).

North-East zone

South-East zone

South-West zone

North-West zone

Second round

North-East zone

South-East zone

South-West zone

North-West zone

Third round

The majority of the third round ties took place on the weekend of 19 November 2022, reverting to an open draw with 32 fixtures being played.

Fourth round

Draw

Matches

Fifth round

Draw

The draw for the fifth round was made on 6 February 2023, live on the West of Scotland Football League YouTube channel. Teams in Italics were unknown at the time of the draw.

Matches

Quarter-finals

Draw

Matches

Semi-finals

Draw

Matches

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2022-23 South Challenge Cup

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

South Challenge Cup seasons