The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the
Scottish Cup, is an annual association football knock-out cup competition for
men's football clubs in Scotland. The competition was first held in 1873–74.
Entry is open to all clubs with full or associate membership of the Scottish
Football Association. The competition is called the William Hill Scottish Cup for
sponsorship reasons. The trophy that is presented to the
winner of the competition 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
holder is Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who won the tournament for the first
time by defeating Falkirk 2–1 in the 2015 final.
Format The tournament starts at the beginning
of the Scottish football season in August or September. 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. The lowest ranked clubs enter the tournament at the first round
whilst the highest ranked, those that compete in the Scottish Premiership,
enter at the fourth round stage. 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. Every game lasts 90 minutes plus
any additional stoppage time. The winner of each game advances to the next round,
whilst the loser is eliminated from the tournament. If a game ends in a draw,
the fixture is replayed at the home ground of the other team at a later
date. If the replay also ends in a draw, 30 minutes of extra time is played
followed by a penalty shoot-out if there is still no clear winner. In the
semi-final and final rounds, if the game ends in a draw there is no replay; the
winner is decided either in extra time or by a penalty shoot-out.
The competition has a staggered entry system. In the 2013–14 season, 36 clubs
entered from the first round; sixteen from the Highland League, three
qualifying Junior clubs and seventeen other clubs affiliated with the Scottish
Football Association. Scottish League Two clubs entered in the second round
along with the top two clubs from the previous season's Highland League and
the winners of both the South of Scotland League and the East of Scotland
League. Scottish League One and six Scottish Championship clubs started in
the third round, while the remaining four Championship clubs and all 12
Scottish Premiership clubs entered in the fourth round.
= Eligible clubs and players= Any club that is a full or associate
member of the Scottish Football Association is entitled to compete in
the tournament and qualifies automatically. Every team that plays in
the Scottish Professional Football League is therefore eligible. 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 by
winning the Scottish Qualifying Cup. Clubs that are not members of the SFA
may still qualify for the tournament by winning the Highland League, Lowland
League, East or South of Scotland football leagues. Clubs that are members
of the Scottish Junior Football Association have been able to qualify
since 2007 by winning one of the three regional Super League divisions or by
winning the Scottish Junior Cup. Three junior clubs, Banks O' Dee, Girvan and
Linlithgow Rose are also SFA members and therefore qualify automatically. From
2015, 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, players are not entitled to
play for more than one club during the same tournament. Each club names eleven
players and up to five 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 to play, the club may be expelled from the tournament.
= 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; usually Hampden Park in Glasgow.
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 semi-finals have been hosted at
Celtic Park and Ibrox Stadium, also in Glasgow.
Hampden Park also usually hosts the final match of the tournament. The venue
has hosted the majority of finals including the first in 1874. Other
venues that have hosted the final in the tournament's early years are Hamilton
Crescent, Kinning Park and Cathkin Park; all in Glasgow. 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 in Edinburgh.
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 and Celtic attracted a crowd of 147,365 spectators which was a world
record for a national cup final and remains a European record.
= European qualification= As Scotland is a member of the Union of
European Football Associations, 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 along with
winners of other domestic cup competitions across Europe before it was
abolished. The Scottish Cup winners now qualify to compete in the following
season's UEFA Europa League. It is possible for the Scottish Cup winners to
have already qualified for a UEFA competition through their league ranking
in the Scottish Premiership. 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. 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. The first Scottish Cup match
took place on 18 October 1873 when Renton defeated Kilmarnock 2–0 in the
first round. In its early years the competition was dominated by Queen's
Park who won the final 10 times in the first twenty years. Vale of Leven,
Dumbarton and Renton were also successful during this period. In 1885,
the record margin of victory in the tournament was recorded when Arbroath
defeated Bon Accord 36–0 in a first round match.
= Trophy= The Scottish Cup trophy is the oldest
national trophy and also the oldest association football trophy in the
world. 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
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.
After the presentation ceremony, the trophy is returned to the museum. 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 Celtic with 36 wins from 55. Celtic has also finished runners-up on
more occasions than any other club with 18 defeats in the final. The most recent
winner is Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who defeated Falkirk 2–1 in the 2015
final. = 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. Rangers have completed the double on 18
occasions followed by Celtic on 15. Aberdeen achieved the feat once in 1984.
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. Rangers
have achieved this on seven occasions followed by Celtic's three.
= Cup "shocks"= Some clubs have become renowned for
eliminating higher ranked clubs from the tournament despite being underdogs.
Division Two club East Fife won the tournament in 1938 by defeating Division
One club Kilmarnock, the first team from outside the top-tier of league football
to win the trophy. East Fife had previously reached the final in 1927
after eliminating three higher ranked clubs in the preceding rounds. 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 final. Seven other clubs
have reached the final whilst competing outside the top-tier of league football
but were defeated in the final: Dumbarton, Kilmarnock, Airdrieonians,
Falkirk, Gretna, Queen of the South and Ross County.
In the rounds before the final some notable shocks have occurred. In 1959,
Dundee were eliminated by Highland League club Fraserburgh despite having
Scotland international footballers in their squad. A season later, Eyemouth
United reached the quarter final stage of the tournament after defeating two
higher league clubs. In 1967, Berwick Rangers eliminated defending champions
Rangers in the first round. Other results regarded as shocks include
Stenhousemuir's win against Aberdeen in 1995 and Albion Rovers' defeat of
Motherwell in 2013. Celtic's shock defeat by Inverness Caledonian Thistle
in 2000 led to the famous newspaper headline "Super Caley go ballistic,
Celtic are atrocious". 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.
1983–1988: Scottish Health Education Group
1989–2007: Tennent's Lager 2008–2010: Backed by the Scottish
Government 2012–present: William Hill
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. The partnership was praised for the
promotion of a healthy lifestyle linked with football. The deal ended in 1989
when Tennent Caledonian Breweries 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 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 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 to 2014 as the
competition's official beer. The current title sponsor is bookmaker William Hill.
Media coverage Scottish Cup matches are currently
broadcast live by both BBC Sport Scotland in Scotland and Sky Sports
across the rest of the United Kingdom and also into Ireland.
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 Setanta Sports
Australia. Premium Sports hold the rights for the United States, Canada and
the Caribbean. 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.
Notes ^ Tally includes the appearance of
Celtic and Rangers in the 1909 final 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 List of Scottish Cup winning managers
Football records in Scotland References
External links Tournament home page
The Scottish Cup at the Scottish FA website
The Scottish Cup Archive at the Scottish FA website
The Scottish Cup Final Archive at the Scottish FA website