Scottish Challenge Cup cancelled for season 2020/21

The Challenge Cup has been scrapped this season after a majority of member clubs agreed it shouldn’t go ahead.

The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) said 34 out of 42 clubs were in favour of cancelling the tournament for clubs playing in divisions below the Premiership.

In recent years, the tournament has also featured Under-21 teams from Premiership clubs, as well as clubs from the Highland and Lowland leagues.

Furthermore, clubs from Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the National League in England have been entering at the third round stage of the competition.

A spokesman for the SPFL said: “This is a sad day for a competition that has been an established and much-loved part of the footballing landscape since its inception to commemorate the centenary of the Scottish Football League in 1990.

“It is extremely concerning that so many clubs felt that they could not afford to participate in the Challenge Cup this season, given the continuing restrictions on fans coming to matches.

“Fans remain the lifeblood of the game in Scotland. Today’s decision to cancel the Challenge Cup this season is a further demonstration of the urgent need to get fans back into stadia safely, as they are in other countries.

“A continuing ban on fans threatens the very future of many of our clubs which have been mainstays of local communities across the country for generations.”

The final of the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup from season 2019/20 remains to be played between Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC and Raith Rovers FC and will be scheduled for a date later this season.