Scottish Cup 2015/2016

[invergowrie arab]

'Pub team' a little disrespectful - they have players who have appeared at a decent level throughout the team. The pub teams don't enter the Scottish Amateur Cup.

I'm sure the eventual winners are a good side but I don't think calling some of the teams in round 1 pub teams is that much of a stretch.

I really like the fact now that it's a truly national competition and the boys playing in the park could theoretically make hampden.

[HibeeJibee]

It means that virtually every club which plays 'regular' football (i.e. Saturday afternoon, XI-aside, July/August to May/June) can conceivably qualify.

Only a handful of Welfare FA clubs, and the clubs in the North Caledonian League, still have no possible route in.

Harestanes will be decent quality.

They'd almost certainly be considered favourites against the likes of Burntisland, Hawick, St Cuthbert, Girvan, Golspie, Glasgow University, etc., IMO.

[RobRoyGuy]

I play football on the astro next to where Harestanes Amateurs play, and have to agree with RobRoyGuy, theres no way in hell they can play a Scottish cup tie at their home, just a shame for the town of Kirkintilloch that Adamslie (Rob Roys old ground) isnt in use anymore or they couldve played there.

Still cant believe the pub team so close to where I live are in the senior Scottish Cup! hibeejibee, do they play in the qualifying round or are they straight into R1?

You are doing this a massive disservice calling them a pub team, though i suspect you didn't mean for it to sound disrespectful. They have players who have played senior and a good level at juniors. They are a good side for sure.

[NoPapacNoParty]

Yip - you've missed the context of his comment.

Ah, read it again. Misunderstood I apologise

[mrman2011]

Hopefully the North Caledonian league and Welfare cup winners will qualify too

[HibeeJibee]

SFA press release today:

http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=2986&newsID=14993&newsCategoryID=1

As the dates and participating clubs for the 2015/16 William Hill Scottish Cup were announced this week, one club had extra reason to be excited. Harestanes Amateur Football Club will enter at the preliminary round stage after historic criteria changes – announced at this month’s Scottish FA AGM - granted entry to the Scottish Amateur Cup winners.

Edinburgh side Lothian Thistle HV and Dumfriesshire’s Wigtown & Bladnoch have also benefitted from the changes that will see the East of Scotland, South of Scotland and Amateur Cup champions enter at the qualifying stages from this year onwards.

Aside from the fact that

(1) the East and South league champions have actually been able to qualify since 2007 (and have done so on several occasions)

(2) Wigtown didn't qualify, they're guaranteed participants being SFA full members and therefore haven't benefited from any changes

(3) Wigtown is, unsurprisingly, in Wigtownshire and not infact Dumfriesshire

we should all congratulate them on his highly informative piece, IMO.

[Poet of the Macabre]

SFA slapped down by HJ. That'll teach them.

[HibeeJibee]

I just find it disrespectful to the clubs and the competition when the SFA press office specifically puts out something on the subject but get more wrong than they get right.

Confusing the counties is not important, but Wigtown are long-standing members and Lothian Thistle actually qualified this season - and reached R1.

[lichtie23]

So Harestanes away is the dream draw.

[footiefanboy]

From a poster on Fitba North:

The draw for Preliminary Rounds One and Two of the 2015-16 Scottish Cup will be made at Hampden
Park on Friday 10 July at 3.00 p.m. by Scottish FA President, Alan McRae, and Real Sociedad Manager, David Moyes.

[ExileShrimp]

Not wishing to defend the indefensible SFA press office but I wonder if there is actually genuine news hiding in there with that announcement that the EoS / SoS winners will be in cup "from this year onwards".

Assuming that the new "Only licensed teams rule in Cup" is brought in as planned from 2016/17, perhaps this announcement is actually telling us that unlicensed teams who qualify by virtue of winning EoS / SoS will continue to be allowed to enter.

The Amateur Cup winners entry being added would seem to support this theory, as presumably the winners will never be licensed and it would be odd to introduce it for one season only.

If I'm right this has the implication that they're also planning to continue to allow the 3/4 Junior Champions / Cup Winners to enter next year even if unlicensed.

So preliminary round to consist of a maximum of 7 teams in 2016/17, less if Linlithgow / BoD / Coldstream go on a rampage.

(First time poster, please be nice ;-) ).

[HibeeJibee]

Their proposal to exclude qualifiers was defeated last year. There are 10 unlicensed members in it this year (including Wigtown). They just got their facts wrong, IMO. I suspect the rule about qualifiers was simply reworded and perhaps tidied-up, e.g. to include the Amateur Cup winners, but no-one in the press office was aware the EOS/SOS champions had been qualifying since 2007 or that Wigtown were already members. It was the same on AGM day, they were confused (see p1).

I imagine there will hardly be any unlicensed non-members next season anyway.

Of the 10 you've got 2 in HL/LL and others like Civil Service Strollers and St Cuthbert who are said to be on the cusp.

I was at Hawick in April who are apparently also close after doing works. Almost all if not all of the 10 are underway with licensing in some form.