Fed’s hopes of reaching semi-finals are kept alive

Broughty Athletic look like they will still have a chance to progress to the Scottish Junior Cup semifinals.

A leaked email to the national media from SJFA chiefs has confirmed there are moves to conclude the 2020 tournament – despite all other competitions in the junior game being terminated because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Fed drew 2-2 with Ayrshire outfit Darvel in the quarter-finals and were due to play the replay before the shutdown on March 13.

However, it is far from straightforward, with the other clubs involved in the last eight having joined the new West of Scotland League set-up.

There are also doubts over when the 2020/21 season may or may not start.

The question of eligibility of players is also posing a problem.

The clubs involved will no doubt lose players but will also bring others in and there is a possibility that some may have already played in the competition for another club.

This is something that is not lost on the SJFA who, in the leaked email, stated: “For the avoidance of doubt, any player who had played in the competition this season so far will be eligible if he subsequently signs for one of the remaining teams in the competition – the outstanding games being a standalone competition as such.”

Meanwhile, a number of junior outfits are already planning a return to training around the beginning of July, with many believing that they will be able to deal with any social distance restrictions that will be placed on them.