The 2022–23 Scottish Challenge Cup known as the SPFL Trust Trophy due to sponsorship reasons, was the 31st season of the competition. The total number of participating clubs was 53, up from 50, with the return of clubs from Wales and Northern Ireland. The competition began on 9 August 2022 with the first round and ended on 26 March 2023 with the final at Falkirk Stadium.
Thirty teams from the Championship, League One and League Two competed, along with four teams from the Highland Football League and four from the Lowland Football League. In addition to this, Under-21 teams from 11 of the 12 clubs competing in the Scottish Premiership were represented. This season also saw the return of guest clubs, with two sides each coming from Northern Ireland's NIFL Premiership and Wales' Cymru Premier.
Format RoundDateFixturesClubsNew entriesFirst Round9–10 August 20221153 → 423 teams from 2021–22 Scottish League Two (8th-10th)4 teams from 2021–22 Lowland Football League (1st–4th)4 teams from 2021–22 Highland Football League (1st–4th)11 U21 teams from 2022–23 Scottish PremiershipSecond Round23–24 August 20221042 → 322 teams from 2021–22 Scottish League One (9th-10th)7 teams from 2021–22 Scottish League Two (1st–7th)Third Round24–25 September 20221632 → 16Teams from 2021–22 Scottish Championship8 teams from 2021–22 Scottish League One (1st–8th)2 teams from 2021–22 NIFL Premiership (1st and 2nd)2 teams from 2021–22 Cymru Premier (1st and 4th)Fourth Round8–10 December 2022816 → 8Quarter-finals10–24 January 202348 → 4Semi-finals7–8 February 202324 → 2Final25–26 March 202312 → 1
First round The first round featured 3 clubs from 2021–22 Scottish League Two, 4 clubs from the 2021–22 Scottish Highland Football League, 4 clubs from the 2021–22 Scottish Lowland Football League and 11 of the 12 under-21 teams of the 2022–23 Scottish Premiership, with Ross County not entering an under-21 team.
The draw was made on 4 July 2022 at 13:00 and broadcast live on the SPFL YouTube Channel. The draw was regionalised and all non-Under 21 teams were seeded. The matches were played on 9 and 10 August 2022.
North Section
Draw Teams that entered the competition in the first round.
Teams in bold advanced to the second round. Seeded TeamsUnseeded TeamsElgin City Fraserburgh Buckie Thistle Brechin City Brora RangersAberdeen B Dundee United B Heart of Midlothian B Hibernian B St Johnstone B
Matches
South Section
Draw Teams that entered the competition in the first round.
Teams in bold advanced to the second round. Seeded TeamsUnseeded TeamsAlbion Rovers Cowdenbeath Bonnyrigg Rose East Kilbride The Spartans East StirlingshireCeltic B Kilmarnock B Livingston B Motherwell B Rangers B St Mirren B
Matches
Note
Second round The second round featured the 11 winners from the previous round, along with 2 clubs from 2021–22 Scottish League One and 7 clubs from 2021–22 Scottish League Two.
The draw for the second round was also made on 4 July 2022 at 13:00 on the live broadcast from the SPFL YouTube Channel. The draw was regionalised, but not seeded. The matches were played on 23 and 24 August 2022.
North Section
Draw Teams that entered the competition in the second round. East Fife Forfar Athletic Kelty Hearts Stenhousemuir Stirling Albion
Matches
South Section
Draw Teams that entered the competition in the second round. Annan Athletic Dumbarton Edinburgh Stranraer
Matches
Third round The third round featured the 10 winners from the previous round, along with all 10 clubs from 2022–23 Scottish Championship, 8 clubs from 2021–22 Scottish League One, 2 clubs from 2021–22 NIFL Premiership and 2 clubs from 2021–22 Cymru Premier.
The draw was made on 29 August 2022 at 13:00 and broadcast live on the SPFL YouTube Channel. This draw was not regionalised or seeded, but cross-border clubs were kept apart for this round. The matches were played between 22 September and 15 November 2022.
Draw Teams that enter the competition in the third round.
ChampionshipLeague OneTeams from other countriesArbroath Ayr United Cove Rangers Dundee Greenock Morton Hamilton Academical Inverness Caledonian Thistle Partick Thistle Queen's Park Raith RoversDunfermline Athletic Queen of the South Airdrieonians Montrose Alloa Athletic Falkirk Peterhead ClydeNIFL Premiership Linfield Cliftonville Cymru Premier The New Saints Caernarfon Town
Matches
Fourth round No new teams entered in this round.
The draw was made on 4 October 2022 at 13:00 and was broadcast live on the SPFL YouTube Channel. The matches were played on 8, 9 and 10 December 2022.
Teams in Bold advanced to the quarter-finals.
+ChampionshipLeague OneLeague TwoOtherArbroath Dundee Greenock Morton Hamilton Academical Inverness Caledonian Thistle Queen's Park Raith RoversAlloa Athletic Clyde Dunfermline Athletic Kelty Hearts Falkirk Montrose Queen of the SouthElgin CityNIFL Premiership Linfield
Matches
Quarter-finals The draw was made on 13 December 2022 at 13:00 along with the semi-final draw live on the SPFL YouTube channel. The matches were played on 10, 11 and 24 January 2023.
Teams in Bold advanced to the semi-finals.
ChampionshipLeague OneDundee Hamilton Academical Queen's Park Raith RoversClyde Dunfermline Athletic Kelty Hearts Queen of the South
Matches
Semi-finals
Matches
Final
References