2024–25 Scottish Challenge Cup

The 2024–25 Scottish Challenge Cup, known as the SPFL Trust Trophy due to sponsorship reasons, is the 33rd season of the competition. The total number of participating clubs will be 52. The competition began on 30 July 2024 with the first round and the final will take place on either the weekend of 22/23 or 29/30 March 2025.

2024–25 Scottish Challenge Cup

Tournament details
Country	Scotland England
Dates	30 July 2024 – 30 March 2025
Teams	52
Defending champions	Airdrieonians
Tournament statistics
Matches played	33
Goals scored	108 (3.27 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Paul McLean (3 goals)
All statistics correct as of 7 September 2024.

Thirty teams from the Championship, League One and League Two compete, along with five teams from the Highland Football League and six from the Lowland Football League. In addition to this, Under-21 teams from 11 of the 12 clubs competing in the Scottish Premiership are represented.

Format

Round	Date	Fixtures	Clubs	New entries
First Round	30–31 July 2024	11	52 → 41	6 teams from 2023–24 Lowland Football League (East Kilbride, Bo'ness United, Albion Rovers, Cowdenbeath, Berwick Rangers & East Stirlingshire) 5 teams from 2023–24 Highland Football League (1st–5th) 11 U21 teams from 2024–25 Scottish Premiership
Second Round	13–14 August 2024	9	41 → 32	7 teams from 2023–24 Scottish League Two (4th–10th)
Third Round	7–8 September 2024	16	32 → 16	1 team from 2023–24 Scottish Premiership (12th) 9 teams from 2023–24 Scottish Championship (2nd–10th) 10 teams from 2023–24 Scottish League One 3 teams from 2023–24 Scottish League Two (1st–3rd)
Fourth Round	12–13 October 2024	8	16 → 8
Quarter-finals	12–13 November 2024	4	8 → 4
Semi-finals	28–29 January 2025	2	4 → 2
Final	22/23 or 29/30 March 2025	1	2 → 1

First round

The first round featured 5 clubs from the 2023–24 Scottish Highland Football League, 6 clubs from the 2023–24 Scottish Lowland Football League and 11 of the 12 under-21 teams of the 2024–25 Scottish Premiership, with Ross County not entering an under-21 team.

The draw was made on 8 July 2024 at 13:00 and broadcast live on the SPFL YouTube Channel. The draw was regionalised and all non-Under 21 teams were seeded. The matches were played on 30 & 31 July 2024.

North Section

Draw

Teams that entered the competition in the first round.

Seeded Teams	Unseeded Teams
Buckie Thistle Brechin City Fraserburgh Banks O'Dee Formartine United	Aberdeen B Dundee B Dundee United B Heart of Midlothian B St Johnstone B

Matches

Fraserburgh v Heart of Midlothian B

30 July 2024	Fraserburgh	1–1 (5–4 p)	Heart of Midlothian B	Fraserburgh
19:30	Butcher 73'		Ross 29'	Stadium: Bellslea Park Attendance: 211 Referee: Jamie McCunnie
	Penalties
	Simpson Butcher West Wood Buchan Hay		Sandilands Forrester Ross Stevenson Plank Lister

Banks O'Dee v Aberdeen B

30 July 2024	Banks O'Dee	1–0	Aberdeen B	Aberdeen
19:45	Philipson 33'			Stadium: Spain Park Attendance: 460 Referee: Steven MacDonald

Dundee B v Formartine United

30 July 2024	Dundee B	2–0	Formartine United	Brechin
19:45	Mohammed 14' Sweenie-Rowe 19'			Stadium: Glebe Park Attendance: 145 Referee: Ryan Kennedy

Buckie Thistle v Dundee United B

30 July 2024	Buckie Thistle	1–3	Dundee United B	Buckie
20:00	Peters 54'		Stirton 18' Cameron 81' O'Donnell 88'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 640 Referee: Michael McCart

St Johnstone B v Brechin City

31 July 2024	St Johnstone B	2–1	Brechin City	Perth
19:45	Essel 50' Smith 90'		Robertson 28'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 259 Referee: Connor Ashwood

South Section

Draw

Teams that entered the competition in the first round.

Seeded Teams	Unseeded Teams
East Kilbride Bo'ness United Albion Rovers Cowdenbeath Berwick Rangers East Stirlingshire	Celtic B Hibernian B Kilmarnock B Motherwell B Rangers B St Mirren B

Matches

Berwick Rangers v St Mirren B

30 July 2024	Berwick Rangers	3–0 (awarded)	St Mirren B	Berwick-upon-Tweed, England
19:45	McNamara 34' Devers 50'		Sutherland 4' Mooney 7' McCormick 12'	Stadium: Shielfield Park Attendance: 288 Referee: Keiran Trayner

Cowdenbeath v Kilmarnock B

30 July 2024	Cowdenbeath	4–2	Kilmarnock B	Cowdenbeath
19:45	McLean 11', 74' McDonald 72' Kerr 90'		McLean 37' (o.g.) Cooper 41'	Stadium: Central Park Attendance: 171 Referee: Andrew Craven

East Kilbride v Celtic B

30 July 2024	East Kilbride	3–0	Celtic B	East Kilbride
19:45	Elliott 5' Robertson 22' Leitch 61'			Stadium: K-Park Training Academy Attendance: 330 Referee: Ross Menzies

Hibernian B v Albion Rovers

30 July 2024	Hibernian B	3–3 (2–4 p)	Albion Rovers	Edinburgh
19:45	McAllister 21' McMurdo 72', 79'		McMahon 18' Home 53' Paton 90'	Stadium: Ainslie Park Attendance: 140 Referee: Harry Bruce
	Penalties
	McAllister Megwa Davidson Landers		Duncan McCaw Prince Home Paton

Motherwell B v East Stirlingshire

30 July 2024	Motherwell B	0–0 (7–8 p)	East Stirlingshire	Motherwell
19:45				Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 338 Referee: Ross Birrell
	Penalties
	Booth Ferrie Ross Nelson Lawson Tomany Flatman McDermott Marshall Williamson		Spence Flynn Gomis Reilly O'Neill Curtis Pyper Campbell Liddell Brown

Rangers B v Bo'ness United

30 July 2024	Rangers B	3–1	Bo'ness United	Greenock
20:00	Nsio 24' Stevens 32' Curtis 43'		Malcolm 1'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 266 Referee: Jamie Wilkie

Note

Second round

The second round featured the 11 winners from the previous round, along with 7 clubs from 2023–24 Scottish League Two.

The draw for the second round was made on 8 July 2024 along with the first round draw. The draw was regionalised, but not seeded. The matches were played on 13 and 14 August 2024.

North Section

Draw

Teams that entered the competition in the second round.

East Fife Forfar Athletic Elgin City

Matches

Dundee United B v Dundee B

13 August 2024	Dundee United B	0–0 (3–1 p)	Dundee B	Dundee
18:30				Stadium: Tannadice Park Attendance: 681 Referee: Peter Stuart
	Penalties
	O'Donnell Mwangi Dewar		Lorimer Richardson Clark Graham

East Fife v St Johnstone B

13 August 2024	East Fife	2–1	St Johnstone B	Methil
19:45	Austin 49' Shepherd 51'		Kirk 9'	Stadium: Bayview Stadium Attendance: 295 Referee: Joel Kennedy

Elgin City v Banks O'Dee

13 August 2024	Elgin City	2–1	Banks O'Dee	Elgin
19:45	Dingwall 56' (pen.) Gavin 65'		Antoniazzi 22'	Stadium: Borough Briggs Attendance: 370 Referee: Ryan Lee

Fraserburgh v Forfar Athletic

13 August 2024	Fraserburgh	2–1	Forfar Athletic	Fraserburgh
20:00	Barbour 76' Wood 86'		Reekie 19'	Stadium: Bellslea Park Attendance: 254 Referee: Daniel Graves

South Section

Draw

Teams that entered the competition in the second round.

Dumbarton Bonnyrigg Rose Clyde Stranraer

Matches

Albion Rovers v Cowdenbeath

13 August 2024	Albion Rovers	3–4	Cowdenbeath	Coatbridge
19:45	Reid 22' Kennedy 65', 68'		Fernie 58' (o.g.) Sutherland 64' Docherty 83' (pen.) McLean 88'	Stadium: Cliftonhill Attendance: 158 Referee: Andy Gamble

Dumbarton v Berwick Rangers

13 August 2024	Dumbarton	4–0	Berwick Rangers	Dumbarton
19:45	McGuffie 7', 31' Ruth 23' Wilson 37'			Stadium: Dumbarton Football Stadium Attendance: 240 Referee: Gary Hanvidge

Stranraer v Bonnyrigg Rose

13 August 2024	Stranraer	2–1	Bonnyrigg Rose	Stranraer
19:45	Russell 32' Ross 57'		Ross 84' (o.g.)	Stadium: Stair Park Attendance: 341 Referee: Alex Shepherd

Clyde v Rangers B

14 August 2024	Clyde	2–3	Rangers B	Hamilton
19:45	Dunachie 43' (pen.) Leitch 85'		Lowry 59', 90' Burnside 69'	Stadium: New Douglas Park Attendance: 607 Referee: Gary Hanvidge

East Stirlingshire v East Kilbride

14 August 2024	East Stirlingshire	2–2 (1–3 p)	East Kilbride	Stenhousemuir
19:45	Spence 18' Penker 55'		Elliott 43' Spence 47'	Stadium: Ochilview Park Referee: Alastair Grieve
	Penalties
	Murray Spence Penker Curtis		McDonald Spence Boyd Robertson Lockie

Third round

The third round will feature the nine winners from the previous round, along with all ten clubs from both the Championship and League One, and three clubs from League Two.

The draw was made on 19 August 2024 at 15:00 and broadcast live on the SPFL YouTube Channel.

Draw

Teams that enter the competition in the third round.

Airdrieonians Alloa Athletic Annan Athletic Arbroath Ayr United Cove Rangers Dunfermline Athletic Edinburgh City Falkirk Greenock Morton Hamilton Academical Inverness Caledonian Thistle Kelty Hearts Livingston Montrose Partick Thistle Peterhead Queen of the South Queen's Park Raith Rovers Stenhousemuir Stirling Albion The Spartans

Matches

Hamilton Academical v Dundee United B

3 September 2024	Hamilton Academical	4–0	Dundee United B	Hamilton
19:45	O'Hara 4', 49' MacDonald 7' Shaw 89'			Stadium: New Douglas Park Attendance: 308 Referee: Stewart Luke

Stranraer v Annan Athletic

7 September 2024	Stranraer	1–5	Annan Athletic	Stranraer
15:00	Dunlop 29'		Smith 7', 90' Gibson 38' (pen.) Wood 42' Dixon 61'	Stadium: Stair Park Attendance: 469 Referee: Alastair Grieve

East Fife v Dunfermline Athletic

7 September 2024	East Fife	0–2	Dunfermline Athletic	Methil
15:00			Comrie 53' McCann 58'	Stadium: Bayview Stadium Attendance: 1,264 Referee: Iain Snedden

Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Stirling Albion

7 September 2024	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	3–0	Stirling Albion	Inverness
15:00	Brooks 29', 38' MacKinnon 60'			Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Referee: Ryan Lee

East Kilbride v Cove Rangers

7 September 2024	East Kilbride	3–2	Cove Rangers	East Kilbride
15:00	Livingstone 3' Leitch 87' Boyd 90'		Megginson 14' Gaffney 84'	Stadium: K-Park Training Academy Attendance: 253 Referee: Joel Kennedy

Peterhead v Dumbarton

7 September 2024	Peterhead	1–0	Dumbarton	Peterhead
15:00	Barry 66'			Stadium: Balmoor Stadium Attendance: 586 Referee: Greg Soutar

Kelty Hearts v Elgin City

7 September 2024	Kelty Hearts	3–1	Elgin City	Kelty
15:00	Johnston 32', 40' Williamson 58'		Cameron 84'	Stadium: New Central Park Attendance: 268 Referee: Sean Murdoch

Partick Thistle v Alloa Athletic

7 September 2024	Partick Thistle	1–3	Alloa Athletic	Glasgow
15:00	Graham 14'		Cawley 65', 76' Taggart 90' (pen.)	Stadium: Firhill Stadium Attendance: 1,969 Referee: Duncan Williams

The Spartans v Livingston

7 September 2024	The Spartans	0–2	Livingston	Edinburgh
15:00			May 65' Smith 81'	Stadium: Ainslie Park Referee: Steven Kirkland

Arbroath v Montrose

7 September 2024	Arbroath	3–0	Montrose	Arbroath
15:00	O'Brien 23' (pen.) Stewart 29' Callaghan 82'			Stadium: Gayfield Park Attendance: 1,051 Referee: George Calder

Cowdenbeath v Greenock Morton

7 September 2024	Cowdenbeath	0–1	Greenock Morton	Cowdenbeath
15:00			Garrity 62'	Stadium: Central Park Attendance: 379 Referee: Duncan Nicolson

Stenhousemuir v Falkirk

7 September 2024	Stenhousemuir	1–1 (5–4 p)	Falkirk	Stenhousemuir
15:00	Alston 84' (pen.)		Miller 89'	Stadium: Ochilview Park Referee: Gavin Duncan
	Penalties
	Alston Aitken O'Reilly Taylor Meechan		Donaldson MacIver Tait Miller Oliver

Queen of the South v Airdrieonians

7 September 2024	Queen of the South	0–3	Airdrieonians	Dumfries
15:00			Frizzell 8' Mochrie 64' McGregor 71'	Stadium: Palmerston Park Referee: Lloyd Wilson

Ayr United v Raith Rovers

8 September 2024	Ayr United	v	Raith Rovers	Ayr
13:00				Stadium: Somerset Park

Queen's Park v Edinburgh City

8 September 2024	Queen's Park	v	Edinburgh City	Glasgow
15:00				Stadium: Lesser Hampden

Rangers B v Fraserburgh

17 September 2024	Rangers B	v	Fraserburgh	Stirling
19:45				Stadium: Forthbank Stadium

Fourth round

The draw will be made on 10 September 2024 at 13:00 and broadcast live on the SPFL YouTube Channel.

Championship	League One	League Two	Lowland League	To Be Decided
Airdrieonians Ayr United Dunfermline Athletic Greenock Morton Hamilton Academical Livingston Queen's Park	Alloa Athletic Annan Athletic Arbroath Inverness Caledonian Thistle Kelty Hearts Stenhousemuir	Peterhead	East Kilbride	Rangers B or Fraserburgh

External links

• Official website