No Challenge Cup for Edinburgh City or Hearts as SPFL teams agree to shelve competition

More than 30 of Scotland’s 42 SPFL clubs agreed to postpone the tournament

The Challenge Cup trophy, which will not be contested for the first time since 1998/99

Edinburgh City and Hearts will not participate in the 2020/21 Scottish Challenge Cup after SPFL clubs agreed to cancel the competition for the 2020/21 season.

It is the first time the lower-league tournament has been suspended since the 1998/99 season, when a lack of sponsor prevented it from being held.

The tournament is open to all 42 Scottish league members, with the thirty teams from the Championship, League One, and League Two joined by Under-21 sides from the 12 Scottish Premiership clubs.

Recent editions had also been open to selected teams from the Highland and Lowland Leagues, as well as clubs from the National League in England, NIFL Premiership in Northern Ireland, League of Ireland, and the Welsh Premier League.

However, 34 of the SPFL's 42 clubs agreed that the competition should be shelved owing to the ongoing uncertainty over fans at matches and the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.

A spokesman for the SPFL said: "It is extremely concerning that so many clubs felt that they could not afford to participate in the Challenge Cup this season, given the continuing restrictions on fans coming to matches.

"Fans remain the lifeblood of the game in Scotland. Today's decision to cancel the Challenge Cup this season is a further demonstration of the urgent need to get fans back into stadia safely, as they are in other countries.

"A continuing ban on fans threatens the very future of many of our clubs which have been mainstays of local communities across the country for generations."