Non-league Cup

[AsimButtHitsASix]

With the pyramid in it's infacy is there any plans, or desire from fans, for a national cup below League 2? Either with HL/LL only or with EoS/SoS involved too (or plus Jnrs/NCL/etc..)

[HibeeJibee]

There is already the South Challenge Cup which embraces LL EOS and SOS clubs, whose seasons are already pretty well filled... and HL is maxed-out with its current 34-game format and a knockout League Cup, plus a couple of local cups (played midweek). Such a tournament would therefore have to replace not supplement existing competitions, and could require finance/sponsorship to subsidise travel.

Ideally: the Juniors would integrate into the pyramid, the HL would shrink to 16, and the Junior Cup would be reformed (e.g. no replays and not scheduled during mid-winter) as a Scottish Trophy for all 200-odd non-league clubs. EDIT: similarly the Amateur Cup, with Welfare FA clubs included, would be like the Scottish Vase.

In my eyes the perfect set-up is for each club to have the Scottish Cup, an inter-league cup (ideally a Scottish Trophy), a League Cup, and a Local Cup. In the LL from this season, and in the East and North Juniors, this is - with limited variations - already the pattern.

There was a document relating to the Lowland League and the pyramid system posted on the Junior sub-forum in the spring of last year, that included a bullet-point touching on your idea. Obviously the Juniors aren't "in" the pyramid yet, so I doubt this has progressed either:

• It is proposed that when/if the full pyramid structure is in place the South Challenge Cup is merged with the Scottish Junior Cup to create a single “Non League” national cup trophy including LL, SHFL, EoS and SoS teams – the Scottish Junior Cup title can be retained. The Cup would need to be partially streamlined to manage the fixtures throughout the season