Scottish League Cup to become the Betfred Cup

The Scottish League Cup, won this season by Ross County, is to become the Betfred Cup in a new sponsorship deal. Picture: John Devlin

The tournament will become known as the Betfred Cup.

It means all three major domestic tournaments are sponorsed by bookmakers.

Ladbrokes backs the Scottish leagues and William Hill is the Scottish Cup sponsor.

Betfred has agreed a three-year deal, beginning at the start of next season when the League Cup will be relaunched with a group stage in July and a new TV deal which will see 13 matches shown live on BT Sport.

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “On behalf of the SPFL I’d like to offer a very warm welcome to everyone at Betfred as new title sponsors of The Betfred Cup and the latest major brand to support Scottish football. We’re absolutely thrilled to have them on board for what is another significant vote of confidence – and investment – in the game.

“The exciting new format for next season’s Betfred Cup has truly captured the imagination of supporters, clubs and media, as well as our broadcast partner BT Sport and now Betfred. By building on our strong points and proud heritage as well as daring to be a little bit different we have shown Scottish football’s enduring popularity and growing reputation for innovation.

“We know Betfred share in our ambitious vision and we are really looking forward to working with them to bring this proud and popular competition to life for the benefit of Scottish football supporters across the country.”

Betfred was established in 1967 and has 1,400 betting shops and a vast online business. It also sponsors the World Snooker Championship.

John Haddock, the company’s chief executive said: “We are very pleased to become sponsors of the Scottish League Cup at the inception of its new and exciting format. The SPFL have shown us great enthusiasm and we look forward to a continued and successful relationship.”

Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said: “BT Sport is looking forward to deepening its connection with Scottish football through our exclusively live coverage of the competition from mid-July. BT Sport is going to be the place to head to for Scottish football fans seeking live football this summer.”

Ross County are the holders of the League Cup. They defeated Hibs 2-1 in the final at Hampden in March.

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