| Scottish Cup | |
| Year: | 2023–24 |
| Country: | Scotland |
| Num Teams: | 131 |
| Defending Champions: | Celtic |
| Second: | Rangers |
| Matches: | 130 |
| Goals: | 477 |
| Scoring Leader: | Bojan Miovski Daizen Maeda Cameron Ross Michael Ruth (4 goals) |
| Prev Season: | 2022–23 |
| Next Season: | 2024–25 |
The 2023–24 Scottish Cup (known as the Scottish Gas Men's Scottish Cup for sponsorship reasons)[1] was the 139th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The 2023–24 edition marked the 150th anniversary of the tournament which was established in 1873–74. The winners qualify for the 2024–25 Europa League play-off round.
Celtic were the defending champions after defeating Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the 2023 final.[2]
Following an increase in the number of entries, an additional preliminary round was added to the competition format. Replays were also removed entirely from the tournament, having been restricted to just the Preliminary Round in the previous season.[3]
| Round | Original date | Number of fixtures | Clubs | New Entries | Leagues entering at this round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary round one | 12 August 2023 | 3 | 131 → 128 | 7 | 7 qualifiers | |
| Preliminary round two | 2 September 2023 | 26 | 128 → 102 | 48 | 48 licensed clubs | |
| First round | 23 September 2023 | 30 | 102 → 72 | 34 | 18 Highland League teams 16 Lowland League teams | |
| Second round | 28 October 2023 | 20 | 72 → 52 | 10 | 10 League Two teams | |
| Third round | 25 November 2023 | 20 | 52 → 32 | 20 | 10 Championship teams 10 League One teams | |
| Fourth round | 20 January 2024 | 16 | 32 → 16 | 12 | 12 Premiership teams | |
| Fifth round | 10 February 2024 | 8 | 16 → 8 | None | ||
| Quarter-finals | 9 March 2024 | 4 | 8 → 4 | None | ||
| Semi-finals | 20 & 21 April 2024 | 2 | 4 → 2 | None | ||
| Final | 25 May 2024 | 1 | 2 → 1 | None |
The draw for preliminary round one was made on 26 July 2023.[4] The seven teams without a SFA club licence were required to be included in the first preliminary round draw – namely Abbey Vale (South of Scotland League champions), Beith Juniors (West of Scotland League champions), Carnoustie Panmure (Midlands League champions), Culter (North Region Juniors champions), Cupar Hearts (Amateur Cup winners), Loch Ness (North Caledonian League champions), and Luncarty (Cup Winners' Shield winners). They were drawn into three ties with Culter drawn to receive a bye to the second preliminary round.
Abbey Vale, Cupar Hearts, Loch Ness, and Luncarty all took part in the competition for the first time.
The draw for preliminary round two was made on 26 July 2023.[4] Carluke Rovers are taking part in the competition for the first time having gained their SFA club licence, along with Glenafton Athletic who previously competed as a qualifier.
Teams in bold advanced to the first round.
The draw for the first round was made on 3 September 2023.[5]
Teams in bold advanced to the second round.
The draw for the second round was made on 24 September 2023 at 5pm live on the Scottish Cup YouTube channel.[6] Teams in italics were unknown at the time of the draw. Teams in bold advanced to the third round.
The draw for the third round was made on 29 October 2023 at 7:30pm live on the Scottish Cup YouTube channel.[7]
Teams in italics were unknown at the time of the draw.
Teams in bold advanced to the fourth round.
The draw for the fourth round was made on 26 November 2023 during Sportscene on the BBC Scotland channel.[8]
Teams in bold advanced to the fifth round.
The draw for the fifth round was made on 21 January 2024 during Sportscene on the BBC Scotland channel.[9]
Teams in italics were unknown at the time of the draw.
Teams in bold advanced to the quarter-finals.
The draw for the quarter-finals was made on 11 February 2024 at 4:40pm live on BBC One Scotland.[10]
Teams in italics were unknown at the time of the draw.
Teams in bold advanced to the semi-finals.
The draw for the semi-finals was made on 11 March 2024 live on BBC Scotland following the Greenock Morton v Heart of Midlothian match.[11]
Teams in bold advanced to the final.
See main article: 2024 Scottish Cup final.
The Scottish Cup is broadcast by Viaplay Sports and BBC Scotland. Viaplay Sports has the first two picks of the fourth and fifth rounds, the quarter-finals as well as first pick of one semi-final and airs the final non-exclusively. BBC Scotland broadcast one match per round from the first round onwards and two matches per round from the fourth round to the quarter-finals, as well as one semi-final and the final.
The following matches were selected for live coverage on UK television:
| Round | BBC Scotland | Viaplay Sports | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First round | University of Stirling v Albion Rovers[12] | ||
| Second round | Musselburgh Athletic v Clyde[13] | ||
| Third round | Dunfermline Athletic v Raith Rovers[14] | ||
| Fourth round | Clyde v Aberdeen The Spartans v Heart of Midlothian | Dumbarton v Rangers Celtic v Buckie Thistle[15] | |
| Fifth round | Greenock Morton v Motherwell Airdrieonians v Heart of Midlothian | Rangers v Ayr United St Mirren v Celtic[16] | |
| Quarter-finals | Aberdeen v Kilmarnock Greenock Morton v Heart of Midlothian | Celtic v Livingston Hibernian v Rangers | |
| Semi-finals | Aberdeen v Celtic | Aberdeen v Celtic Rangers v Heart of Midlothian[17] | |
| Final | Celtic v Rangers | ||