Scottish Cup given new branding

Scotland's national cup competition will this season be called the Active Nation Scottish Cup.

The rebranding is part of a two-season sponsorship deal signed with businessman Willie Haughey last year.

The Scottish Government were gifted branding rights under the contract with the Scottish FA worth £1m per season.

Last term's trophy was called the Homecoming Scottish Cup to mark a campaign to attract visitors, 250 years after Robert Burns' birth.

The renaming was already planned for the 2009/2010 season, and there will be no additional money provided to the SFA.

The Scottish Government, who pick up the costs associated with marketing the competition, hope to use their involvement to promote healthy living and citizenship through football messages.

Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "We want to encourage people to make lasting lifestyle changes which will improve their health, their family's health and the country's health.

"We all want our children to be fitter, healthier and happier"

"Football is a catalyst for raising the awareness of the changes families and communities can make, from walking to games, eating healthier, kickabouts in the garden to on the pitch itself.

"The Active Nation Scottish Cup offers the perfect platform to get more people thinking about their health and making changes that will benefit them in the future."

SFA chief executive Gordon Smith added: "I have always believed that we should be using the positive aspects of football to give future generations of Scots the confidence to succeed and the determination to be all they can be.

"We all want our children to be fitter, healthier and happier. This year's Active Nation Scottish Cup will not just be a fantastic competition, it will be also be a part of the campaign to change lives and to make our country a better place."

Until former Celtic director Haughey's deal the competition was without a sponsor for 17 months, since brewer Tennent's ended its 18-year association with the cup.

Rangers are the current cup holders, with this season's first round scheduled for Saturday 26 September.

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