Scottish Challenge Cup
| Founded | 1990 |
|---|---|
| Region |  Scotland[A] |
| Number of teams | 28 (1990) 26 (1991–1993) 30 (1994–2010) 32 (2011– ) |
| Current champions | Ross County (2nd time) |
| Most successful club | Airdrieonians Falkirk (3 titles) |
| Television broadcasters | BBC Alba |
| Website | Scottish Challenge Cup |
 2011–12 Scottish Challenge Cup |
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The Scottish Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Challenge Cup, is a knockout football cup competition organised by the Scottish Football League. Entry is open to the 30 member clubs of the Scottish Football League and from 2011 the two highest ranked clubs of the Highland Football League are invited to compete. In June 2011 the cup was named the Ramsdens Cup for sponsorship reasons.
The competition was first held during the 1990–91 season with the winners being Dundee.
The current holders of the trophy are Ross County, who defeated Queen of the South 2–0 at McDiarmid Park in the 2010 final.
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[edit] Format
The competition is of a knockout format. Ties are one-legged with each game lasting 90 minutes. In the event of a tie after normal time, the game continues into extra time until a clear winner is decided. If there is no clear winner after extra time the game is decided by a penalty shootout. The competition commences early in the Scottish football season. The first round is often played on a Saturday, usually the week before the beginning of the Scottish Football League season, although in recent years SFL sides qualifying for the UEFA Cup have made this unfeasible and the round has been held midweek. The rest of the competition, up to and including the semi-finals, are also played midweek. The final usually takes place on a Saturday or Sunday in October or November, at a neutral stadium located close to the two competing clubs.
The first round is divided into two geographical areas - North/East and South/West - each consisting of 15 clubs. Up until 2010, 7 ties were drawn from each area and 1 club received a random bye to the second round. However, for the 2011–12 season, the competition included two Highland Football League clubs for the first time, Buckie Thistle and Deveronvale,[1] thus increasing the number of competing clubs to 32; this means 8 ties from each area will take place meaning no teams will receive a random bye to the second round.
[edit] Finals
[edit] Key
| * | Match decided in extra time |
| † | Match decided by a penalty shootout after extra time |
| Italics | Team from outside the top level of the Scottish Football League |
[edit] Results
Source: RSSSF
[edit] Performance by club
| Club | Wins | Last final won | Runners-up | Last final lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falkirk | 3 | 2004 | 0 | — |
| Airdrieonians[B] | 3 | 2001 | 0 | — |
| Ross County | 2 | 2010 | 2 | 2008 |
| Dundee | 2 | 2009 | 1 | 1994 |
| Hamilton Academical | 2 | 1992 | 1 | 2005 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 1 | 2003 | 2 | 2009 |
| Queen of the South | 1 | 2002 | 2 | 2010 |
| Airdrie United | 1 | 2008 | 1 | 2003 |
| St. Johnstone | 1 | 2007 | 1 | 1996 |
| St. Mirren | 1 | 2005 | 1 | 1993 |
| Alloa Athletic | 1 | 1999 | 1 | 2001 |
| Stranraer | 1 | 1996 | 0 | — |
| Stenhousemuir | 1 | 1995 | 0 | — |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 0 | — | 1 | 2007 |
| Clyde | 0 | — | 1 | 2006 |
| Brechin City | 0 | — | 1 | 2002 |
| Livingston | 0 | — | 1 | 2000 |
| Dundee United | 0 | — | 1 | 1995 |
| Greenock Morton | 0 | — | 1 | 1992 |
| Ayr United | 0 | — | 2 | 1991 |
[edit] Media coverage
One semi-final[2] and the final[3] are shown live on BBC Alba.
[edit] Sponsorship
The Scottish Challenge Cup has been known by different names due to sponsorship:[4]
- B&Q Centenary Cup (1990–91), sponsored by B&Q[5]
- B&Q Cup (1991–95), sponsored by B&Q[5]
- The Scottish Football League Challenge Cup (1995–98), no sponsor
- No competition due to lack of sponsorship (1998–99)
- Bell's Challenge Cup (1999–2002), sponsored by Bell's whisky[5]
- Bell's Cup (2002–06), sponsored by Bell's whisky[5]
- The Scottish Football League Challenge Cup (2006–08), no sponsor
- ALBA Challenge Cup (2008–11), sponsored by MG Alba[6]
- Ramsdens Cup (born 2011), sponsored by Ramsdens[7]
[edit] References
- ^ "Highland duo enter new Ramsdens Cup". BBC Sport. 6 June 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13671944.stm. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ "BBC Alba to cover Challenge Cup". BBC Sport. 9 September 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_cups/7625048.stm. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
- ^ "BBC Alba to screen live SFL games". BBC Sport. 3 February 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/7867162.stm. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
- ^ "Scottish League Challenge Cup Finals (sponsorship)". http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/scotchcuphist.html. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
- ^ a b c d News - The Scottish Football League, scottishfootballleague.com. 2005-11-02. Retrieved 2011-06-29.
- ^ "SFL Announces Sponsor of the Challenge Cup.". Scottish Football League. 30 July 2008. http://www.scottishfootballleague.com/news.cfm?curpageid=993&newsid=2430. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
- ^ Ramsdens Sponsor the Challenge Cup, scottishfootballleague.com. 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2011-06-29.
[edit] Notes
- A. ^ Berwick Rangers F.C. is based in North East England but the club is a member of the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Football League
- B. ^ Airdrieonians became defunct in 2001
[edit] External links
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