Winners of North Caledonian League to get entry into Scottish Cup irrespective of license starting with Invergordon in 2022/23 season
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The North Caledonian League will have greater representation in the Scottish Cup going forward as it has been confirmed that the winners will enter the national competition.
Only Golspie Sutherland and Fort William are licensed with the Scottish FA from the current crop of teams, but an agreement has been reached with all the relevant associations that irrespective of license status, the North Caley winners will enter the Scottish Cup.
The change will take effect immediately, starting with the upcoming season, seeing current champions Invergordon entering the 2022/23 competition.
North Caley president Iain Whitehead is pleased to see the move, believing it will only benefit the competition during the early rounds.
"The winners of the North Caley will go into the Scottish Cup," he confirmed.
"That was passed at our AGM. The ruling is that irrespective of their Scottish FA license, they will get in.
"We'll find out what the implications of that are – maybe Invergordon might have to play elsewhere, but they will definitely be able to play in the competition.
"That's a permanent thing. There were four teams added at amateur level, the North Caley and three others as well.
"It's a good thing going forward. Hopefully Invergordon get a favourable draw and represent us well.
“I think it’s something to be celebrated. It shows that they have included more levels of football, which I think will only be a positive thing for the Scottish Cup."