SFA hopes to woo new cup sponsor

Peat says the Scottish Cup is still attractive to clubs and fans

The Scottish Cup has lost none of its appeal among clubs and fans, according to Scottish Football Association president George Peat.

Peat added that he is hopeful the competition will attract a new sponsor for the forthcoming season.

"It's as healthy as ever and the romance is still there," the SFA president told BBC Scotland.

"We're talking to many sponsors and we're hopeful of having one in place for next season."

Interview: SFA President George Peat

This year's Scottish Cup has been dogged by problems, leading to some questioning its relevance.

The fourth round was blighted by a raft of postponements - partly due to some clubs refusing to use their undersoil heating systems.

Many clubs don't include Scottish Cup games in their season ticket prices and some fans are reluctant to pay more Scottish FA president George Peat

The fifth round was witness to low attendances, with only 40,000 fans attending the seven ties played.

Brechin City were also expelled for fielding two ineligible players against Hamilton Accies.

And St Mirren tried to have the match officials changed for their fifth round replay against Dundee United.

However, Peat insists the Scottish Cup still holds interest across the board.

"This year was exceptional because all 70 clubs participated in the cup proper, and in addition, we had three junior teams who showed up very well," he said.

The competition has been dragged out because of call-offs and replays, and Peat says the national body has taken steps to reduce the resulting disruption in the future.

"We were unlucky with postponements," he said.

"Some clubs would like to remove the replays and we've agreed to do away with them at the semi-finals.

"But clubs themselves prefer replays financially, and they have voted to keep them for the earlier rounds at the moment."

And Peat highlighted the SFA had already ordered pitch inspection decisions to be taken four hours prior to kick-off, as late postponements had inconvenienced fans.

However, the fans have not turned out in large numbers so far.

"One of the problems is that many clubs don't include Scottish Cup games in their season ticket prices and some fans are reluctant to pay more," Peat explained.

"We hope more clubs will do so as it helps them as well."