2019–20 Scottish Challenge Cup
The 2019–20 Scottish Challenge Cup known as the Tunnock's Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup due to sponsorship reasons, is the 29th season of the competition. The total number of participating clubs is 58. The competition began on 6 August 2019 with the First Round and was due end on 28 March 2020 with the final at McDiarmid Park in Perth. However, the final had to be pushed back due to the SPFL postponing all fixtures due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Thirty teams from the Championship, League One and League Two compete, along with four teams from the Highland Football League and four from the Lowland Football League. In addition to this, Under-21 teams of the clubs competing in the Premiership are represented. This season there will be again two clubs from Northern Ireland's NIFL Premiership, two clubs from the Welsh Premier League, two clubs from the Republic of Ireland's League of Ireland and for the second time two entrants from the English National League entered into the competition.
Ross County are the cup holders after they beat Connah's Quay 3–1 in the 2019 final but they are ineligible to defend their title following their promotion to the Premiership for the 2019–20 season.
Format
First round
The first round featured 4 clubs from the 2018-19 Scottish Highland Football League, 4 clubs from the 2018-19 Scottish Lowland Football League, 4 clubs from 2018-19 Ladbrokes League Two and the 12 Under 21 teams of the 2019-20 Scottish Premiership.The draw was made on 26 June 2019 at 12:30 in the Tunnock's factory in Uddingston and was broadcast live on the . The draw was regionalised and all non-Under 21 teams were seeded. The matches were played on 6 and 7 August 2019.
North Section
Draw
Teams in bold advanced to the second round.| Seeded Teams | Unseeded Teams |
|
Matches
South Section
Draw
Teams in bold advanced to the second round.| Seeded Teams | Unseeded Teams |
|
Matches
Second round
The draw was also made on 26 June 2019 at 12:30 in the Tunnock's factory in Uddingston and was broadcast live on the SPFL YouTube Channel. The draw was again regionalised but not seeded. Matches were played on 13 August 2019.North Section
Matches
South Section
Matches
Third round
The 14 winners of the Second Round are joined by the 10 clubs from the Scottish Championship and two teams from the National League, the NIFL Premiership, the Welsh Premier League and the League of Ireland Premier Division.A pre-draw determined which country was allocated to Pot A, Pot B, Pot C and Pot D to avoid 2 cross-border teams from the same country playing each other. Pot E had the remaining 24 Scottish teams. Games will be played Saturday 7 September or Sunday 8 September 2019.
The draw was made on 14 August 2019 at 12:30 and was broadcast live on the .
Teams in bold advanced to the fourth round.
Matches
Fourth round
The draw was made on 10 September 2019 at 12:30, live on the .Teams in Italics were not known at the time of the draw. Teams in Bold advanced to the quarter-finals.
| SPFL | Teams from other countries |
Championship
| National League
|
Matches
Quarter-finals
The draw was made on 16 October 2019 at 13:00, live on the .Teams in Italics were not known at the time of the draw. Teams in Bold advanced to the semi-finals.
| SPFL | National League |
Championship
|
Matches
Semi-finals
The draw was made on 20 November 2019 at 12:00 and was broadcast live on the .The fixtures were played from 14–16 February 2020.
| SPFL |
Championship
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Matches
Final
- Note: This match is currently postponed as a result of the coronavirus situation.
Broadcasting rights
| Round | BBC Alba | S4C | Premier Sports | BT Sport |
| Third Round | Connah's Quay Nomads v Cove Rangers | |||
| Fourth Round | Stenhousemuir v Waterford | Partick Thistle v Connah's Quay Nomads | ||
| Quarter-Finals | Raith Rovers v Elgin City | |||
| Semi-Finals | Partick Thistle v Raith Rovers Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Rangers U21s | |||
| Final | Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Raith Rovers |