Football tournament season
2024–25 Scottish League Cup
Premier Sports Cup logo
Country Scotland Dates 13 July – 15 December 2024 Teams 45 Defending champions
Rangers
The 2024–25
Scottish League Cup , also known as the
Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, will be the 79th season of
Scotland 's second-most prestigious
football knockout competition.
Rangers are the defending champions.
Schedule
Round
First match date
Fixtures
Clubs
Group stage
13 July 2024
[1]
80
45 → 16
Second round
17 August 2024
[1]
8
16 → 80
Quarter-finals
21 September 2024
[1]
4
8 → 4
Semi-finals
2 November 2024
[1]
2
4 → 2
Final
15 December 2024
[1]
1
2 → 1
Format
The competition begins with eight groups of five teams.
[2] The five clubs initially competing in the
UEFA Champions League (
Celtic and
Rangers ),
Europa League (
Heart of Midlothian and
Kilmarnock ) and
Conference League (
St Mirren ) receive a bye to the second round. The group stage consists of 40 teams: all remaining teams that competed across the
SPFL in
2023–24 , the
2023–24 Highland Football League champions (
Buckie Thistle ) and runners-up (
Brechin City ), and the
2023–24 Lowland Football League champions (
East Kilbride ).
[2]
The winners of each of the eight groups, as well as the three best runners-up, progress to the second round (last 16). At this stage, the competition reverts to the traditional
knock-out format. The three group winners with the highest points total and the European entrants are seeded.
Bonus point system
The traditional point system of awarding three points for a win and one point for a draw is used. In addition, for each group stage match that finishes in a draw, a
penalty shoot-out takes place, with the winner being awarded a bonus point.
[3]
Group stage
The teams are seeded according to their final league positions in 2023–24 and drawn into eight groups, with each group comprising one team from each pot. The draw for the group stage took place on 29 May 2024 and was broadcast live on the Premier Sports and SPFL
YouTube channels.
[4]
Group A
First match(es) will be played: 13 July 2024. Source:
[5] Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.
[6]
Group B
First match(es) will be played: 13 July 2024. Source:
[7] Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.
[6]
Group C
Pos
Team
Pld
W
PW
PL
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification
HIB
QPA
KEL
PET
ELG
1
Hibernian
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Qualification for the
second round
—
16 Jul
—
27 Jul
—
2
Queen's Park
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Possible qualification for the second round
—
—
27 Jul
—
23 Jul
3
Kelty Hearts
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
20 Jul
—
—
23 Jul
—
4
Peterhead
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
—
13 Jul
—
—
20 Jul
5
Elgin City
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
13 Jul
—
16 Jul
—
—
First match(es) will be played: 13 July 2024. Source:
[8] Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.
[6]
Group D
First match(es) will be played: 13 July 2024. Source:
[9] Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.
[6]
Group E
First match(es) will be played: 13 July 2024. Source:
[10] Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.
[6]
Group F
First match(es) will be played: 13 July 2024. Source:
[11] Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.
[6]
Group G
Pos
Team
Pld
W
PW
PL
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification
MOT
PAR
MON
EDI
CLY
1
Motherwell
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Qualification for the
second round
—
28 Jul
—
13 Jul
—
2
Partick Thistle
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Possible qualification for the second round
—
—
13 Jul
—
23 Jul
3
Montrose
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
16 Jul
—
—
23 Jul
—
4
Edinburgh City
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
—
20 Jul
—
—
17 Jul
5
Clyde
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
20 Jul
—
27 Jul
—
—
First match(es) will be played: 13 July 2024. Source:
[12] Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.
[6]
Group H
First match(es) will be played: 13 July 2024. Source:
[13] Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.
[6]
Best runners-up
Pos
Grp
Team
Pld
W
PW
PL
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification
1
A
TBD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Qualification for the
second round
2
B
TBD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
C
TBD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
D
TBD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
E
TBD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
F
TBD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
7
G
TBD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
H
TBD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
First match(es) will be played: 13 July 2024. Source:
[14] Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.
[6]
Knockout phase
Second round
Draw and seeding
Celtic ,
Rangers ,
Heart of Midlothian ,
Kilmarnock and
St Mirren enter the competition at this stage, due to their participation in
UEFA club competitions.
[2]
Media coverage
The domestic broadcasting rights for the competition are held exclusively by
Premier Sports , who will broadcast between 12 and 16 live matches per season, as well as highlights.
[15]
The following matches will be broadcast live on UK television:
References
Domestic leagues Domestic cups European competitions Related to
national team Transfers Club seasons
Premiership Championship League One League Two
Domestic leagues Domestic cups League cups Supercups UEFA competitions International competitions