The second oldest football competition in the world behind the FA Cup, the Scottish Cup was first held way back in 1873/74.
Celtic are the most successful club in the history of the competition and secured a 43rd success with a comfortable victory over Dunfermline in the 2025/26 final.
Dates
It has been confirmed the 2026/27 Scottish Cup final will take place on 22nd May 2027.
Format
Participating teams in the Scottish Cup enter at different stages in relation to their league ranking, with the lowest ranked clubs entering in the preliminary round whilst Scottish Premiership clubs enter in the fourth round.
As of the 2022/23 season, 50 non-league teams contest the preliminary round, with 34 clubs from the Highland and Lowland Leagues entering at the first round stage.
The 10 Scottish League Two clubs join in the second round, League One and Championship clubs start in the third round, whilst Premiership clubs are introduced in the fourth round.
The Scottish Cup is a knockout tournament, with matches now going straight to extra-time and penalties following the preliminary round following a vote to abolish replays ahead of the 2022/23 edition of the tournament.
History
Although the FA Cup is officially the oldest football competition in the world, the oldest national trophy is the Scottish Cup.
First held in the 1873/74 season in Scotland, Queen's Park beat Clydesdale 2-0 in the inaugural Scottish Cup final.
The record margin of victory recorded in the Scottish Cup arrived back in 1885, when Arbroath defeated Bon Accord by a scoreline of 36-0.
Celtic are the most successful club in Scottish Cup history, winning 43 titles and appearing in the final on 62 occasions in total.
Rangers have won the Scottish Cup the second most times with 34 titles to their name, with 54 final appearances in total.
The first ever Scottish Cup winners Queen's Park have 10 titles, all of which arrived in the first 20 years following the tournament's establishment in 1873.
