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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Gabriel McKay

Nicola Sturgeon Scottish Cup decision welcomed as SFA give 'as soon as possible' fixture update

The SFA have promised that new dates to complete this season's Scottish Cup will be announced "as soon as possible".

The third round was originally scheduled to take place on the weekend of 30 January but the competition was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A lack of testing below the Premiership and Championship caused concern about the spread of Covid-19.

However the Scottish Government has now announced that football below the top two divisions can resume, including the Scottish Cup.

The final was originally scheduled to be played on May 8, with Hampden hosting matches at Euro 2020 in the summer.

While there has been speculation about moving the tournament that's still scheduled to go ahead as things stand, meaning the Scottish Cup will need to be squeezed into the next two months or played next season.

The governing body has assured that revised fixture dates "will be announced as soon as possible", as they liaise with different stakeholders.

SFA president Rod Petrie said: "We are pleased that the First Minister has again recognised the importance of football in Scotland. The decision to temporarily suspend parts of the professional game played by predominantly part-time teams was not an easy one to take.

(SNS Group)

"None the less, given the sharp rise in infection rates caused by new strains of the virus at the start of the year, it was the right thing to do to assist the national effort to reduce its prevalence during lockdown.

“The preparatory work undertaken with representatives of affected leagues and their commitment to the inclusion of weekly PCR testing, has given ministers the confidence to permit the return of SWPL 1 and SPFL League One and Two.

(SNS Group)

“While we are pleased to see the return of these leagues, there remain significant numbers unable to return to play, including the remaining levels of the professional pyramid, elite youth football, club youth football and our amateur and grassroots clubs across both the male and female game.

“We are acutely aware of the desire within those levels of football to return to playing football and we will continue to work with the Scottish Government to ensure they are able to as soon as it is safe to do so."

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