Highland League consultation over 2020/21 Scottish Cup format
Get the Courier and Groat sent to your inbox every week and swipe through an exact replica of the day's newspaper
The Highland League is holding a consultation process with all 17 clubs regarding participation in the 2020/21 Scottish Cup after it was proposed to reduce the number of teams for one season.
The Scottish Football Association is looking to cut the number of teams from 112 to 52 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
All 42 Scottish Professional Football League clubs will take part in next season’s tournament, meaning that if the proposal gets the go-ahead only 10 places will be available to non-league teams.
Highland League secretary Rod Houston said: “We have decided at Highland League level to send out a consultation paper to all clubs to respond to. We will pull the responses together for a co-ordinated response to the SFA.
“We want to get the views of all clubs in the Highland League on the matter.”
Mr Houston added: “Anybody involved in scheduling next season understands how difficult it will be to get everything fitted in.
“Not only have you got problems of how to get started, there are also issues of will there be a Covid spike and what the weather will be like?
“We have so many variables so we completely understand the difficulties that the SFA faces."
No date has been set for the Highland League to start next season.
The Scottish Premiership season starts this weekend. The Championship, League One and League Two start on October 17, with the League Cup commencing on October 6.
“We are still trying to work out what kind of season the Highland League will have next season,” Mr Houston said.
“We don’t know when we are able to start, we don’t know when we will be able to finish, or what will hit us in between."