Anglo-Scottish Cup

Infobox sports league
sport=Football (soccer)
founded=1975
teams= 24 (Groups)
country=England & Scotland
champion=Chesterfield F.C.

The Anglo-Scottish Cup was a tournament arranged for teams in English and Scottish football leagues during the summer for several years during the 1970s. It was created in 1975 as a new incarnation of the Texaco Cup, with a similar format to its predecessor, but involving clubs from England and Scotland only.

The format of the competition remained fairly constant over the six years of its existence. Sixteen English clubs competed in four groups of four, with the winners of each group qualifying for the quarter-finals. In the early years, the sixteen clubs were generally the top division clubs who had not qualified for European club competitions, as European qualifiers were ineligible for the competition. Clubs played each other once, with two points awarded for a win, one for a draw, and a bonus point for each side that scored three or more goals in a single match.

Eight Scottish League clubs played a two-legged knock-out round, with the aggregate winners of each tie also progressing to the quarter-finals. For the quarters, each club was paired against a club from the other country and played a knockout competition with each tie (including the final) being played over two legs.

The competition made every attempt to maintain the status of a top-level tournament. Newcastle United were expelled from the 1976-77 competition for playing a weakened team in the first leg of their quarter-final against Ayr United [F.A. Yearbook 1977-78, p.73] . Over the years, however, English entrants were increasingly drawn from the lower divisions and in 1981 the Scottish clubs withdrew as the public showed little interest in the competition. The competition continued, with English clubs only, as the Football League Group Trophy.

In the 1987-1988 season an attempt was made to revive the competition as the Anglo Scottish Challenge Cup; however after a poor attendance for the first leg game between Coventry and St.Mirren, the competition was shelved, with the second leg never played [ [http://www.squarefootball.net/article/article.asp?aid=396 Squarefootball.net] ] .

See also

* Texaco Cup (1971-75)
* Football League Group Trophy (1982-83)
* Football League Trophy (1984-Present)

References