Buckie Thistle and Elgin City to be joined in SPFL Trust Trophy draw by Danske Bank Premiership Northern Ireland pair Linfield and Cliftonville and JD Cymru Wales Premier clubs Caenarfon Town and The New Saints
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Monday's SPFL Trust Trophy draw could pair a Moray club with one of the top sides from Northern Ireland or Wales.
The competition has re-introduced cross-border clubs with The New Saints and Caernarfon Town, from the JD Cymru Premier in Wales, and Linfield and Cliftonville, from the Danske Bank Premiership in Northern Ireland taking part this year.
All SPFL clubs out with the Premiership enter the tournament along with four from the Highland League, including last season's runners-up Buckie Thistle, four Lowland League clubs and 11 Premiership B teams.
Both Buckie and Elgin City enter the first round draw on Monday at 1pm, which will be streamed live on the SPFL YouTube channel.
Finishing second bottom in League 2 last season means Elgin are one of three sides from that diviosion placed in the first round draw.
The first round of the competition will be played in the midweek of August 9/10, and will involve 11 cinch Premiership B teams, the four teams from both the Highland League and Lowland League, and the bottom three clubs from last season’s cinch League 2.
The remaining seven cinch League 2 clubs join in round two in the midweek of August 23/24, alongside the bottom two cinch League 1 clubs from last season.
The ten winners of that round’s matches are joined by the other eight cinch League 1 clubs, the 10 cinch Championship clubs, and four cross-border clubs in round three on the weekend of September 24/25.
Cross-border clubs first joined the revamped set-up in 2016/17, but their involvement was paused after season 2019/20 because of the pandemic.
Four Lowland League clubs – Cowdenbeath, East Kilbride, The Spartans and East Stirlingshire – will be joined by Highland League quartet Fraserburgh, Buckie Thistle, Brechin City and Brora Rangers.
Neil Doncaster, SPFL chief executive, said: “The involvement of cross-border teams helped reinvigorate the tournament when they were first introduced, and we believe the SPFL Trust Trophy will benefit from their return.
“This tournament has been a real success story over the years, and we look forward to the action kicking off again in August.”
Nicky Reid, SPFL Trust chief executive, said: “The SPFL Trust are delighted to be able to sponsor the tournament for a second season, which is only possible with the generous support of our donors.
“Following the success of last term's competition in highlighting the community programmes we deliver across the country, we hope to build on that in the forthcoming
campaign to show that change really can be football powered.
“Alongside the matches taking place right up to the final, we hope this magnificent cross-border competition can continue to shine a light on the work being done by football clubs across the UK to serve their communities.”
There will be a reimbursement payment of £6,500 per match, for any club travelling between Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
SPFL TRUST TROPHY FORMAT FOR 2022/23
Round 1 (22 clubs - 11 ties) – Midweek of August 9/10
Seeded and regionalised (B teams kept apart)
• 11 current cinch Premiership B teams
• Top four Highland League clubs from 2021/22
• Top four Lowland League clubs from 2021/22
• Clubs 8th-10th in cinch League 2 in 2021/22
Round 2 (20 clubs - 10 ties) – Midweek of August 23/24
Regionalised but not seeded
• 11 winners from Round 1
• Clubs 1st-7th in cinch League 2 in 2021/22
• Clubs 9th-10th in cinch League 1 in 2021/22
Round 3 (32 clubs - 16 ties) – Weekend of September 24/25
Not regionalised or seeded but cross-border clubs kept apart
• 10 winners from Round 2
• Clubs 1st-8th in cinch League 1 in 2021/22
• Clubs 2nd-10th in cinch Championship in 2021/22
• Club 12th in cinch Premiership in 2021/22
• Four cross-border clubs (two from JD Cymru Premier and two from Danske Bank Premiership)
Round 4 (16 clubs – 8 ties) – Weekend of December 10/11
All-in draw – no seeding
Quarter-finals – Weekend of January 7/8
Semi-finals – Weekend of February 4/5 or midweek of February 7/8 – subject to change
Final – Weekend of March 25/26 (provisional date)
