Celebrating The Scottish Cup!

Date: 23rd January 2022

Unfortunately I couldn’t go to a game this weekend due to unforeseen circumstances but that didn’t stop me enjoying the fun of The Scottish Cup. 

I honestly believe we should do more to celebrate our top national club competition.

It has plenty of tradition that we should be shouting about, like the fact it’s the oldest national trophy in world football.

It also has a rich history of cup upsets. That particular tradition continued yesterday when League Two side Kelty Hearts knocked current holders St Johnstone out of the competition! 

It was fantastic to see Auchinleck Talbot’s Beechwood Park full to the brim with fans hoping for a similar upset in Ayrshire.

While the home support were left disappointed as Hearts marched on to the next round, it was wonderful to see the Auchinleck community filling the ground and, as always, backing their team. 

What does Auchinleck Talbot mean to you? @ATFC1909 pic.twitter.com/R7Xg9sDtXL

— Supporters Direct Scotland (@SuppDirectScot) October 27, 2021

It was also fantastic to see terrestrial coverage of the Talbot Hearts tie and see a packed ground on the telly.  The Sportscene shows that involve the early rounds of our national cup are always my favourites. 

I’m not a huge fan of looking to England and taking from their game or leagues but I’m very envious that both BBC and ITV have the TV Rights to The FA Cup. 

I would love for The Scottish Cup to be exclusively covered by free to air channels. I would also love it if those TV Networks understood that our game doesn’t start and stop with Celtic and Rangers. Knowing that Premier Sports will only cover those two team’s fixtures whilst they both remain in the competition is extremely disappointing. It’s the main reason why I don’t subscribe to that particular channel. 

It should be our aim to sell the Scottish Cup as a product to the Scottish nation. Let’s not worry about any other league or country and let’s give it back to those that really support our game – the fans and local communities! 

I’d also like dedicated programming that would look at previewing the next round of fixtures in the week leading into those ties. Concentrate on all the teams and look at how football benefits those smaller clubs and their local community. 

By building a buzz around the competition and by visiting everyone involved, then I’d imagine you’ll see more fans in stadium excited about the competition and their chance of doing something in it! 

I think having as many weekend fixtures as possible especially at 3pm on a Saturday would be another great plus point for me. We know this is what fans want to see within our fixture lists. 

Clubs should also be encouraged to use the Scottish Cup as the best place to introduce new fans to grounds. Be innovative and family friendly. Hold events that will get supporters into the stadium early and host things like Q&As, live podcasts and/or live music after games that keep more people in after matches too. 

The SFA have started to realise that putting fans first can see positive results with regards to the international teams i.e. smart ticket prices has brought fans back to Hampden. They should be looking at ways in which they can rejuvenate the Scottish Cup and make it even more special. 

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