Caledonia Cup

[RabidAl]

Basically, it'd be all teams from League One and League Two plus the top 6 from each of the Highland and Lowland leagues (32 in all) in a straight-forward knock-out competition. The idea is to have a national trophy that senior, part-time clubs can win without the full-timers in the Championship involved...

It'd give smaller clubs in the national leagues an excellent chance at winning a trophy, which most are starved of each season;

it'd give the best clubs from the regions a fair chance at winning a national trophy and some new fixtures for fans;

it'd provide some added interest to the end of season for smaller clubs whose league campaigns may have fizzled out;

it'd give some continuity across tiers 3, 4 and 5 of the game and support implementation of the pyramid system.

You may be struggling for dates, so it could possibly piggy-back on the weekends used for the latter stages of the League Cup and Scottish Cup, which may also give it some added attention.

For example:

Round 1 (League Cup Semi-Final weekend), Round 2 (LCF weekend), Quarter-Finals (Scottish Cup Quarter-Final weekend), Semi-Finals (SCSF weekend) and Caledonia Cup Final on Scottish Cup Final weekend - possibly as a 12.30pm kick-off on Final day itself (as a sort of warm-up to the SCF?)...

A Caledonian Cup may also add a (very) wee bit extra to Highland and Lowland leagues if the top 6 finishers in each qualified for the competition; alternatively, you could have the top 6 of the HL and LL at Christmas qualifying for the competition, which wouldn't begin until the new year anyway, to get the most on-form regional sides into the competition (although points average might be needed if uneven numbers of game had been played)....

Any thoughts??

--------Edit----->>

Alternatively, you could expand the Challenge Cup out a wee bit, to include some more regional senior sides:

Round 1: (8 teams from League Two; (6) Highland League; (6) Lowland League (20 teams; 10 progress).

Round 2: (10) from Round 1; (2) League Two; (10) League One; (10) Championship (32 teams; 16 progress), etc.

It would make the Challenge Cup a bit more interesting, with some new fixtures, etc....

[Sergeant Wilson]

Basically, it'd be all teams from League One and League Two plus the top 6 from each of the Highland and Lowland leagues (32 in all) in a straight-forward knock-out competition.

It'd give smaller clubs in the national leagues an excellent chance at winning a trophy, which most are starved of each season;

it'd give the best clubs from the regions a fair chance at winning a national trophy and some new fixtures for fans;

it'd provide some added interest to the end of season for smaller clubs whose league campaigns may have fizzled out;

it'd give some continuity across tiers 3, 4 and 5 of the game and support implementation of the pyramid system.

You may be struggling for dates, so it could possibly piggy-back on the weekends used for the latter stages of the League Cup and Scottish Cup, which may also give it some added attention.

For example:

Round 1 (League Cup Semi-Final weekend), Round 2 (LCF weekend), Quarter-Finals (Scottish Cup Quarter-Final weekend), Semi-Finals (SCSF weekend) and Caledonia Cup Final on Scottish Cup Final weekend - possibly as a 12.30pm kick-off on Final day itself (as a sort of warm-up to the SCF?)...

A Caledonian Cup may also add a (very) wee bit extra to Highland and Lowland leagues if the top 6 finishers in each qualified for the competition; alternatively, you could have the top 6 of the HL and LL at Christmas qualifying for the competition, which wouldn't begin until the new year anyway, to get the most on-form regional sides into the competition (although points average might be needed if uneven numbers of game had been played)....

Any thoughts??

Aye, hand yourself in

[Booker-T]

so the challenge cup??????????

[Jacksgranda]

so the challenge cup??????????

The Diddier Challenge Cup

[Hillonearth]

The Challenged Cup...

[mrman2011]

Nice ideas mate