Premier Sports Cup extension agreed as broadcaster picks up Challenge Cup
An improved deal will see Premier Sports extend their League Cup coverage and title sponsorship until summer 2031.
The four-year extension for a competition that kicks off with group stage matches this weekend comes as the broadcaster has also secured rights for the KDM Evolution Trophy [formerly the SPFL Trust Trophy] for the first time.
Premier Sports will now show a minimum of four games from the Challenge Cup this season, with the option to show further matches.
The Premier Sports Cup deal extension comes after last season's competition welcomed record crowds of 440,697, culminating in a dramatic final which Celtic won 5-4 on penalties, following a thrilling 3-3 draw with rivals Rangers.
Neil Doncaster, SPFL group chief executive said: 'We place great value on our long-standing partnership with Premier Sports and it's brilliant news that we've agreed a major extension for the Premier Sports Cup for a further four years.
]'Premier Sports continue to be a fantastic supporter of our game, with their high-quality coverage of SPFL matches, and their ongoing commitment is a real boost for Scottish football.
'We look forward to working together to build on the success of the Premier Sports Cup in the seasons ahead.
'We're also happy to confirm that fans will now be able to enjoy coverage of the KDM Evolution Trophy on the channel for the first time as we welcome our new competition format.
'Crucially, these latest deals also underpin record prize money for clubs in the Premier Sports Cup and the KDM Evolution Trophy this season.'
Premier Sports will stream 25 group stage matches live from the competition, alongside five group stage live TV broadcasts, and live coverage of the latter stages.
The announcement also comes as the SPFL have agreed changes to its long-term broadcast deals with Premier Sports and Sky Sports to allow two post-split, bottom six matches to be shown live on Premier Sports from season 2025/26.
They signed a five-season contract last year for Premier Sports to show 20 live Premiership matches per season in the UK and Ireland, which has now risen to 22.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
27 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Hearts report and player ratings v Dumbarton: New signing debuts, injury and Premier Sports Cup seeding
Hearts coasted into the Premier Sports Cup knockout phase with four wins from four group matches after beating Dumbarton. A 4-0 result at Tynecastle Park took the Edinburgh club through after previous Group E victories against Dunfermline Athletic, Hamilton Academical and Stirling Albion. The final round of group ties take place this weekend so Hearts must wait to confirm if they have earned a seeding place for the last-16. However, 12 points from 12 and a goal difference of plus-15 means they are highly likely to be one of eight seeded sides in Sunday's draw. Their scoring form has been notable throughout this League Cup section with four goals registered against every opponent. An injury to centre-back Frankie Kent was the only negative on a balmy summer's evening in Gorgie. With midfielder Beni Baningime and right-back Christian Borchgrevink already sidelined, another fitness issue is something McInnes could have done without. Lawrence Shankland, Michael Steiwender Alexandros Kyziridis and Claudio Braga scored to complete a resounding month for Hearts under new management. There was also a debut for new Albanian winger Sabah Kerjota, who completed his move to Scotland from Italian Seie C side Sambenedettese on Tuesday. Head coach Derek McInnes has instilled an attacking mindset with goals from various areas of the team. A more stern examination of their credentials will come in the opening Premiership match against Aberdeen a week on Monday, but Hearts are certainly playing with confidence under McInnes. League Two Dumbarton arrived at their Premiership hosts knowing they were already eliminated from this tournament. As expected, Hearts dominated possession and hemmed the visitors in their own half when play commenced. They were playing a new 3-4-1-2 system with midfielders Sander Kartum and Blair Spittal as wing-backs. It took less than 17 minutes for a breakthrough when Stephen Kingsley found space for a precise deep cross which Shankland stooped to head past the Dumbarton goalkeeper Shay Kelly. Frankie Kent would have made it 2-0 but miscued his effort following a corner, allowing Kelly to save on the goal line. As home pressure continued, albeit in a fairly languid opening period, Dumbarton centre-backs Mark Durnan and Morgyn Neill found themselves repeatedly heading balls clear inside their own penalty area. The part-time side did break forward just before half-time for a 25-yard attempt by midfielder Scott Honeyman which Hearts goalkeeper Ryan Fulton held. Hearts made time for a second goal just before the interval. Kartum's corner landed near the six-yard line and Steinwender appeared to get a touch to force it over the goal line. If that should have made the locals more comfortable, the away side had other ideas when play restarted as Scott Tomlinson drifted inside from the right to shoot against the crossbar. Normal service was resumed on 52 minutes, though, when substitute Kyziridis exchanged passes with Shankland and meandered through the visiting defence to prod the third goal into the far corner of Kelly's net. McInnes had reverted to a more orthodox 4-4-2 set-up for the second half, which suited Spittal as he became a wide-left midfielder again. His exquisite reverse pass through to James Wilson 66 minutes created a clear opening for the teenager, but he lingered too long and Docherty recovered with a challenge to stifle the opportunity. Hearts' fourth goal did arrive after 72 minutes and again Kyziridis was involved. His well-timed pass allowed Cammy Devlin to cut the ball back from the touchline and give Braga a straightforward close-range finish. Kerjota entered the fray to loud applause and, although not fully fit, will have appreciated the opportunity of a Tynecastle bow. He wanted to get involved in front of a new group of fans, but the sight of Kent going off injured on 85 minutes was a concern. He appeared to tweak a groin and was replaced quickly by Stuart Findlay. Here are the Hearts player ratings from Tynecastle: 1 . GK: Ryan Fulton 6/10 One save in the first half from Honeyman, saw the ball rattle his bar from Tomlinson after the break. | SNS Group Photo Sales 2 . RCB: Michael Steinwender 8/10 A good 90 minutes for the Austrian who didn't put a foot wrong and claimed the second goal. | SNS Group Photo Sales 3 . CB: Frankie Kent 7/10 Strolled through the night in defence and was always a threat at set-pieces. | SNS Group Photo Sales 4 . LCB: Stephen Kingsley 8/10 Fine assist for the opening goal. Got forward repeatedly to angle dangerous crosses into the Dumbarton box. Needed the game time. | SNS Group Photo Sales
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
Celtic clear the decks as three near transfer exits, star makes Lennoxtown return and Kuhn eyes quickfire reunion
Brendan Rodgers has been trimming his squad but is desperately seeking new faces as he gears up for Champions League playoff Brendan Rodgers is wasting no time clearing the decks at Celtic Park this summer as three fringe men near exits. The Hoops have already offloaded unwanted trio Luis Palma, Gustaf Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki in recent weeks. Scott Bain has also joined Falkirk, while key first-teamers Greg Taylor and £17million man Nicolas Kuhn have moved to pastures new. Now, the Scottish champions are set to trim their squad even further as forgotten man Hyeokkyu Kwon gets set for a shock switch to France. The South Korean, 24, has been bombed out of Celtic's pre-season plans after returning from an underwhelming loan stint at Hibs. And it's believed the midfielder - who never played a competitive game for the Hoops - is on the brink of inking a three-year deal with Ligue 1 club Nantes. He could quickly be followed out of the door by Marco Tilio as Rapid Vienna close in on an initial loan with an obligation to buy for around £1.5m after he makes a set number of appearances. Meanwhile, Norwich City are hopeful of landing bit-part winger Hyunjun Yang on loan, with talks ongoing. The departures of Yang and Tilio would leave James Forrest and Daizen Maeda as Celtic's only fit wide players, with Jota crocked until 2026. It's an area of the team that Rodgers has made no secret of the fact that he wants to bolster, with Michel Ange Balikwisha top of the wishlist. Royal Antwerp have so far played hard ball over their £5m valuation of the left-sided attacker, who is out of contract next summer. But Celts remain keen on the 24-year-old and are hopeful that a cut-price fee can be agreed sooner rather than later. Elsewhere, Rodgers has been boosted by the return of right-back Alistair Johnston. The Canada international was spotted training at Lennoxtown on Wednesday before the Hoops jetted out to Italy for the Como Cup. Johnston, 26, was handed an extended break due to his Gold Cup commitments, where he helped his country reach the quarter-finals. The fans' favourite could be handed minutes this week as Celtic face Ajax on Thursday before a weekend clash against either Como or Al-Ahli. And he could come up against a familiar face in German ace Kuhn - if Celts land Como in the final or third-place play-off. Kuhn packed his bags for the Serie A outfit earlier this month and revealed his reasons for linking up with Cesc Fabregas' side. He told Sky Sports Italy: 'I had good talks with Fabregas. He wanted to bring me over before I went to Celtic. "So he knew about me for a couple of years and that was a big part. I think the project speaks for itself and they want to grow fast.' Kuhn waved farewell to Parkhead earlier this month but hopes for a special reunion this week in the Como Cup. He added: 'Just before I left Glasgow, we were joking. So I didn't actually say goodbye, I said see you in two weeks. "So now I'm looking forward to seeing all the lads back here. It will be nice. 'I hope we play Celtic. Obviously, I know a lot of players from Ajax as well. But Celtic would be something special.'
Press and Journal
an hour ago
- Press and Journal
Joe Coyle's memorable week: The multi-talented 16-year-old who scored for Newtonmore then bagged a double for Ross County's first team
Sixteen-year-old Joe Coyle is enjoying quite the week – scoring big goals across two different sports. Already a rising talent within the first-team at Newtonmore Shinty Club, he scored his team's first goal in Saturday's 6-1 Premiership win against Kyles Athletic, which places them just one point adrift of leaders Fort William. Then, on Tuesday, he stepped off the bench for Ross County Football Club to score twice in the Dingwall side's thumping 8-0 Premier Sports Cup win against League Two opponents Edinburgh City. Coyle is believed to be the youngest County scorer in an SPFL match, with Ross Jack scoring for the club as a 15-year-old in the Highland League in 1974. Fans are already drawing comparisons between professional golfer Robert MacIntyre, the US Open runner-up this year, who also plays when he can for his home town shinty side Oban Celtic. Newtonmore first-team boss Peter Ross has often referred to Coyle as a 'real talent', having watched him be part of highly successful primary, under-14, under-17 sides, the latter of which he is still firmly part of. His contribution of 10 goals this year for the senior side is helping keep More in the chase for honours. That extends to this Saturday when they lock horns with local rivals Kingussie in the Artemis Macaulay Cup semi-final in Beauly for the right to meet either Oban Camanachd or Glasgow Mid Argyll in this season's final. However, Ross County's midweek victory means they have a must-win Premier Sports Cup match against Partick Thistle on Saturday – only a victory will take the Championship team into the knockout stages of the competition. Coyle is one of eight players who last week signed full-time apprenticeships at County along with midfielder Copeland Thain, Ollie Lamont, Rio Hastings, Lewis Mackay, Eoin Munro, Torran Lambie and Greg Ferguson. Ross acknowledges that County will now take top billing for Coyle as a result, but says the teenager deserves his shot at making the mark in football's Scottish Championship. He said: 'We're all very pleased for Joe. 'Joe and his family have worked very hard for this. There's a lot of travelling involved to attend training over the years. We hope it all goes very well for him. 'Football is Joe's job now and we always knew this was coming but, as a club, we have other players who can step in and play as Joe carries on with his football career.' Coyle is also in the Scotland under-17 squad for their upcoming shinty/hurling challenge matches in Ireland next month. There's plenty of pride locally for Coyle, who has just left Kingussie High School, whose head teacher Gavin Murphy extended his well wishes to an all-round star pupil. He said: 'Joe has just left school after earning his professional contract at Ross County. 'He's a great lad, a genuine, polite, hard-working boy. I'm delighted for him. He's naturally talented at football and shinty. It's fantastic that he's doing so well in both sports. 'He showed talent throughout the years in any sport, whether it was basketball, hockey, athletics – he's always been a strong runner and jumper. He's strong, with such physical attributes and I'm not surprised he's been offered the contract at Ross County. 'It looks like he'll have to give up shinty to focus on football. I didn't even realise he'd bagged a brace for Ross County, which was great to see. 'As a school, we're unfortunate to now lose him – it's bittersweet in a way. It would have been great for him to carry on to S5-S6, but he's taken the decision which I think is in his best interests. 'He's got really supportive family and friends around him and he's so well grounded. 'At 16, when you're given that opportunity in front of you to sign for Ross County, he had to go for it.' Ross County manager Don Cowie sensed Coyle was ready for his debut – and was rewarded with two first-team debut goals. A Ronan Hale hat-trick, a Jay Henderson brace and a strike from Kieran Phillips was added to be a late double from 16-year-old Coyle on his senior debut in that 8-0 rout of Edinburgh City. There was also a competitive debut from the bench on Tuesday for 17-year-old midfielder Thain, who recently impressively replaced captain Connor Randall when he was injured in pre-season against Clachnacuddin. While Coyle hit the net twice, Thain provided an assist and Cowie spelled out how important it was for the teenagers to have shown fans a glimpse of their potential. He said: 'It was a proud moment for Joe and Copeland and their families. I spoke about it afterwards in front of the rest of the players. It should not be underestimated what they have achieved tonight, making that step. 'They still have so much more growth in them and so much hard work to come. 'Copeland especially has really impressed all of us in pre-season. You hope the game goes the way it did so we can get him on the pitch to allow him to get that taste of it. He deserved that. 'We didn't see as much of Joe in pre-season as he was on holiday and he came back a bit later, but I had him in the squad at the end of last season because he impresses me every time I see him within the youth set-up. 'I watched him again for the under-17s on Sunday and that made my mind up that I wanted him to be involved tonight. 'I know when he comes on, he will be a threat. The way he took his two goals proved that.'
