Challenge Cup revamp calls on Welsh and Irish
THE SPFL have announced a radical overhaul of the Challenge Cup that will see teams from Wales and Northern Ireland join the best kids in Scotland in the competition from next season. Previously a tournament solely for Scottish lower-league outfits, Premiership clubs will now enter their Under-20 sides from the first round. Four teams from the Highland and Lowland Leagues will also take part for the first time. And, in a bold move, the SPFL has been given the green light from UEFA to invite Welsh champions The New Saints and runners-up Bala Town. Northern Ireland league winners Crusaders and secondplaced Linfield will join the teams from Wales in entering the cross-border competition in the fourth round. New broadcast deals have been struck with S4C in Wales and Premier Sports, who — alongside the Challenge Cup’s long-standing Scottish broadcast partner BBC Alba — will televise selected matches. The SPFL had hoped elite English clubs would also allow their youth sides to participate but Premier League teams down south are instead pursuing similar plans to introduce their Under-21 teams into the Football League’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. The changes to the Challenge Cup follow the recent revamp of the Scottish League Cup. Known from next season as the Betfred Cup, the new look competition will feature regionalised group stages. Penalty kicks will decide drawn games with the winner being awarded a bonus point. The Betfred Cup Final has also been brought forward from March to November. In a document sent to member clubs about the new Challenge Cup format, SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster described the tournament as being used to test the water for ‘cross-border competition with a view to future developments in the game across Europe’. Last night, Doncaster hailed the latest cup innovations, saying: ‘This is another exciting day for Scottish football, with the announcement of this exciting new format of the Scottish Challenge Cup demonstrating further innovation and forwardthinking for the game in this country. ‘The introduction of Premiership Under-20 teams will give young players a taste of competitive football at senior level, while extending the number of Highland and Lowland League clubs taking part further strengthens the pyramid system and their place within Scottish professional football. ‘We are also very pleased to be supported by UEFA in delivering an element of cross-border competition through the invitation to our colleagues in Northern Ireland and Wales, which brings a completely new dimension to the Challenge Cup and the levels of excitement and interest in it’ Andrew Howard, head of competitions at the Welsh FA, also welcomed the move. ‘We are both really delighted and excited to have two Welsh representatives included in this competition for the 2016/17 season,’ he said. ‘We are confident that this new format will generate a great deal of interest from Welsh football fans and we believe that the quality of the clubs in the Dafabet Welsh Premier League will be showcased for all to see. ‘We hope that this is the start of something quite special for all parties and especially the Welsh clubs concerned.’ Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) managing director Andrew Johnston added: ‘We are delighted that two of our member clubs will participate in this competition next season and I have no doubt that it will prove to be a success both on and off the pitch.’ The development means holders Rangers will send out their Under-20s side to defend the trophy they won by beating Peterhead 4-0 in April at Hampden in the last year of the competition’s sponsorship by Petrofac. Ibrox boss Mark Warburton has previously welcomed the plans to widen the reach of the Challenge Cup. ‘You are always looking to provide a quality of challenge,’ said Warburton in January. ‘If any new measures and innovative ideas bring about an increase in the quality of challenge, then I’ll always support it.’