Sport / Largest contingent of clubs yet join draw for Highland Amateur Cup
THE LARGEST contingent of Shetland football teams yet have thrown their hats in the ring for this year’s Highland Amateur Cup.
Nine clubs from the isles will join the draw for the Highlands and Islands’ most prestigious cup competition – more than double the number of teams who entered in 2023.
A-league teams Spurs, Ness, Whitedale, Whalsay, Scalloway and Thistle have all put themselves forward for this year’s cup competition.
The only A league team not involved are invincible league champions Lerwick Celtic.
Newly formed Southside Impact and fellow independent league clubs Banks and North Isles make up the isles contingent.
Six of the nine teams will play off against each other in preliminary round ties in Shetland on 19 April.
Those three winners will then progress to play the final three isles teams in the first round of the competition on 10 May.
The three clubs who win those ties will then join the Highland Amateur Cup second round on 31 May, where they will play their games on the mainland.
Shetland Football Association has also announced that the football season will get underway in just under two weeks with the Highland Fuels Cup in Whalsay.
The draw has been made for the quarter-finals, with holders Whitedale hosting Scalloway in the first game on 24 March.
Whalsay will then meet last year’s beaten finalists Spurs the night after, before town rivals Thistle and Celtic play.
Ness United have received a bye to the semi-finals.
The draws have also been made for the Northwards Manson Cup, Jewson Madrid Cup and Blueshell Mussels Joint Cup.
Celtic and Whalsay will meet in the quarter-finals of the Manson and Madrid Cups, with the two sides the current holders of those cups.
Full fixture lists for the upcoming season are expected to be announced to clubs shortly.
This season will see the return of a three league structure, with the usual A league supplemented with an eight team reserve league – also including Delting – and a new six team independent league.
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