EK set for cash rewards
East Kilbride FC will face an early but lucrative start to their 2017/18 campaign – if they win the Lowland League this season.
Should Kilby lift the trophy in April, one of their first games of next season will be against Scottish Premiership opposition.
The Scottish Professional Football League last week announced the fixture dates for season 2017/18 and matches will get underway from July 15, 2017 with the group stages of the Betfred League Cup.
The competition was revamped at the start of this season with eights groups of five teams featuring in the first stage of the cup, instead of a straight knockout format. Penalty shootouts were also introduced for drawn games, with winners earning a bonus point for a shootout victory.
The eight group winners and four best runners-up advance to the last 16 where they will be joined by clubs featuring in European qualifiers. This season those clubs were Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs.
Each of the 40 participating clubs in the group stage, which will include the winners of the Lowland and Highland Leagues, will play four fixtures across five dates - July 15, 19, 22, 26 and 29.
All groups will include one Premierships side with teams in the top flight seeded for the group stage draw.
And if EK can secure the Lowland crown, regardless of the outcome of the pyramid playoff to League Two, they stand to pocket at least £15,000, based on this season’s figures.
In the 2016 competition, won by Celtic, teams who finished fifth/bottom of the group each received £15,000; fourth-placed clubs pocketed £17,000 and third-placed sides each netted £19,000. The four worst runners-up earned £23,000.
On top of that, teams in the group stages who had their match televised by broadcast partners BT Sport, earned £10,000 for each game shown.