The Betfred Cup is back!

Not that long ago there was a time when ‘ground hopping’ in Scotland was a complete pain in the backside.

There were no Friday matches, coverage outside of the top flight barely existed, and almost all matches were played on a Saturday.

Occasionally, you’d get the ‘treat’ of a Sunday game usually involving either Rangers or Celtic, but other than that, if you had any ambitions to visit every professional ground north of the border, it was a case of a weekly pilgrimage to do just the one.

Times change, however - the daily stream of 32,742 news articles on Women’s Football on the BBC Sport website proves just that!

A combination of new TV deals and the introduction of a group stage in the Betfred Cup about 3/4 years ago means it’s easier to visit quite a few grounds for a competitive game in a relatively short period of time nowadays.

So after a thoroughly enjoyable time in Scotland last summer, I’m heading back north for another year of ‘blockbuster’ Betfred Cup action - who can’t get excited over Elgin City versus Alloa Athletic on a lovely summers evening in the Highlands?

Last years trips took in visits to Stirling, Cowdenbeath, Dundee, Elgin, Arbroath and Clyde and included 18 goals and a brilliant performance from the Red Lichties next to the North Sea as they battered Ross County.

This year’s itinerary is as follows:

12th July - Hearts vs Dundee United
13th July - Partick Thistle vs Airdrieonians
14th July - St Mirren vs Dunfermline
16th July - Peterhead vs Inverness

On top of that, I’ll be off to sample some European Qualifying second leg action as Celtic take on Sarajevo and Rangers meet St Joseph’s of Gibraltar in what could end up a cricket score!

Below are some photos from the 2018 Scottish ‘Fitba’ Summer - and like an excited kid on Christmas Eve, I can’t bloody wait to do it all over again.