Scottish football bosses want a British cup as part of their restructuring plans for the game north of the border. Whether there is any appetite for such a competition in English football is another matter.
Scottish football bosses want a British cup as part of their restructuring plans for the game north of the border. Whether there is any appetite for such a competition in English football is another matter.
There have been a number of such competitions in the past. For example, the Anglo-Scottish Cup ran for several years from 1975. Over the years English entrants were increasingly drawn from the lower divisions and in 1981 the Scottish clubs pulled out in the face of a lack of interest from fans. As the final winner, Chesterfield still holds the trophy.
In the 1987-8 season the competition was revived as the Anglo Scottish Challenge Cup. The first leg between Coventry and St.Mirren attracted such a poor attendance that the second leg was never played.
A meeting is to be held in Glasgow on Monday to discuss the restructuring proposals. The centrepiece of the plans is a Scottish Premier League (SPL) reduced to ten teams. However, it is thought that the necessary 11-1 majority for this proposal has not been secured. Some clubs favour a bigger SPL.