FA Cup Live Scores, Fixtures, Results & Statistics

FA Cup, in this context, refers to the Scottish FA Cup, officially the Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup: Scotland’s national men’s knockout competition. Governed by the Scottish Football Association (Scottish FA), it brings together clubs from across the Scottish football pyramid to contest the country’s principal domestic cup and a place in Scottish football history.

Identity and purpose

Established in 1873, the competition is the second-oldest association football competition in the world. Its historic trophy was first presented in 1874 and is widely regarded as the world’s oldest association football trophy still associated with the game. That heritage gives the Scottish Cup a distinctive place in the national sporting calendar, while its open structure allows clubs outside the professional divisions to compete for the same prize as Scotland’s leading teams.

The competition exists to crown Scotland’s national knockout champion. Unlike a league, where success is built over a long programme of fixtures, the Scottish Cup is decided through a sequence of individual ties: one difficult result can eliminate a club, while a single upset can transform the season of a lower-ranked side. Celtic are the competition’s record winners, underlining the long-standing success of Scotland’s most prominent clubs, but the format continues to create opportunities for less established teams.

Governance and access

The Scottish FA organises and regulates the tournament. Entry is open to eligible full and associate members of the association, with the Scottish Professional Football League providing the automatic route for its 42 clubs. Non-SPFL clubs can also reach the competition through qualifying routes connected with the Scottish football pyramid and the wider grassroots game.

These routes include success in the Highland League or Lowland League at the relevant level, as well as winning competitions such as the Scottish Junior Cup or Scottish Amateur Cup. The exact composition of the field and the qualifying arrangements can vary between editions, so the applicable Scottish FA regulations remain decisive for each season.

Players must be registered with their club and be at least 16 years old. A player who has represented one club in that season’s Scottish Cup cannot normally play for another club in the same edition, reflecting the competition’s cup-tie rules. Squad and substitution provisions are also governed by the regulations for the relevant season.

Knockout format and progression

The Scottish Cup uses a pure knockout format with staggered entry. Preliminary rounds give smaller non-league and amateur clubs a route into the tournament proper. The early rounds then introduce clubs progressively according to their level in the Scottish system:

* Highland League and Lowland League clubs enter at the first-round stage;
* Scottish League Two clubs join in the second round;
* Scottish League One and Championship clubs enter in the third round;
* the 12 Scottish Premiership clubs enter in the fourth round.

The draw is generally unseeded and fixtures are decided at random. The first club drawn usually receives home advantage, although the Scottish FA’s regulations determine the arrangements in particular circumstances. As the competition advances, the quarter-finals lead to the semi-finals and then the final. Semi-finals and the final are played at neutral venues, with Hampden Park the traditional setting for the showpiece stages.

Match rules and resolving tied games

Each match consists of two 45-minute halves. Since the format changes introduced in 2022, traditional replays have largely been removed from the competition from the first round onwards. When a tie is level after 90 minutes, the teams play 30 minutes of extra time. If the scores remain level after extra time, the winner is decided by a penalty shootout.

This approach places greater emphasis on managing a single match. Home advantage, extra-time fitness and the pressure of penalties can all determine which club progresses, particularly when a lower-division team faces a Premiership opponent.

Season calendar and sporting stakes

The competition normally begins with preliminary and early rounds in August. Lower-league and non-league clubs feature prominently during the autumn, while the principal rounds involving the leading professional sides are typically played during the winter. The quarter-finals and semi-finals follow in the spring, with the final generally held in May as one of the closing fixtures of the Scottish domestic season.

Winning the Scottish Cup brings major domestic prestige and secures a place in the following season’s UEFA Europa League under the applicable European qualification arrangements. If the cup winner has already qualified for European football through its league position, the available place passes according to the relevant allocation rules. The trophy can therefore provide both a historic honour and a significant route into continental competition.

Xtra-Stats records Scottish FA Cup seasons from 2019 through 2025, covering seven recorded seasons. Across that statistical span, the competition’s defining character remains consistent: a national, open-entry knockout tournament in which clubs from different levels of Scottish football compete for one of the sport’s most historic prizes.