| Founded | 1978 |
|---|---|
| Region | Scottish Highlands |
| Current champions | Avoch (7th title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Pentland United (8 titles) |
| Website | [1] |
The Highland Amateur Cup is an annual football cup competition run by the Highland Executive branch of the Scottish Amateur Football Association. It also covers various offshore islands.
All teams affiliated to Highland Associations are eligible to enter; and so this competition covers one of the largest geographical areas for any district amateur cup competition in the UK.
Currently, the Associations affiliated to the Highland Amateur Cup are:
Shetland FA clubs are eligible to take part but due to travel distances, have rarely entered the competition.
Pentland United are the most successful club, having won the competition eight times.
The 1984 tournament was the first time a team from the Western Isles was allowed to enter, and Ness' cup-run culminated in a 4–1 victory over Bishopmill Villa at Victoria Park, Dingwall. Ness have won the competition on three other occasions; 1991, 1992 and 1995.
Back, who also compete in the Lewis and Harris Football League, won the cup in 2004.
Lochs (2003 and 2005) and Point (1994) are the other Lewis and Harris Football League teams to have won the cup, while Stornoway Athletic have been runners-up on two occasions (1990 and 2003). Carloway also finished runners-up in 2014.
| Year | Teams | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Avoch and Point | Grant Street Park, Inverness | On 18 August. Avoch were competing in their 4th successive final, having beaten Lochs in the semi-final.[1] The match finished 5–0 to the team from the Black Isle. |
| 2008 | Castletown and Pentland United | Harmsworth Park, Wick | Pentland took the lead in the first half before adding another two to win the game 3–0.[2] |
| 2009 | Avoch and Kirkwall Thorfinn | Harmsworth Park, Wick | The game came down to a penalty shoot-out after Thorfinn 'threw away' a 2–0 lead - only for Avoch to draw level. The match went to penalties, and Kirkwall won, with their first Amateur Cup win since 1988.[3] |
| 2010 | Golspie Stafford and Pentland United | Dudgeon Park, Brora | In front of a 500 strong crowd on 14 August, a Garry MacLeod free kick was all that came between the two sides in what was a fiercely contested game that ended 1–0 to Pentland United.[4] |
| 2011 | Back F.C. (Lewis) and Avoch | Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, Inverness | On 20 August 2011, Avoch won 5–1, for their first success in the cup since 2007. A brace by Paul Brindle, followed by goals from Charlie Christie, Shaun Kerr and Gary Urqhuart, secured the win, with Martin Maclean scoring for Back.[5] |
| 2012 | Avoch and Wick Groats | Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, Inverness | On 4 August, Avoch won 4–0, with Shaun Kerr scoring a hat-trick and Ronnie Jones grabbing the other. This was Avoch's fourth cup triumph in seven years.[6] |
| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-up | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Blackmuir | 2–0 | Thurso Pentland | ||
| 1979 | South Ronaldsay | beat | Halkirk | ||
| 1980 | Thurso Pentland | beat | ? | ||
| 1981 | Thurso Pentland | 1–0 | Wick Groats | ||
| 1982 | Halkirk | beat | Thurso Pentland | ||
| 1983 | Thurso Pentland | beat | ? | ||
| 1984 | Ness | 4–1 | Bishopmill Villa | ||
| 1985 | Halkirk | beat | ? | ||
| 1986 | Maryburgh | beat | ? | ||
| 1987 | Pentland United | 1–0 | Wick Groats | ||
| 1988 | Kirkwall Thorfinn | 2–1 | ? | ||
| 1989 | Dingwall Thistle | 2–1 | Halkirk | ||
| 1990 | Maryburgh | 3–1 | Stornoway Athletic | ||
| 1991 | Ness | 1–0 | Dingwall Thistle | ||
| 1992 | Ness | 1–0 | Kirkwall Thorfinn | ||
| 1993 | Pentland United | 6–2 | Southend | ||
| 1994 | Point | beat | Cromarty | ||
| 1995 | Ness | 4–2 | Avoch | ||
| 1996 | Dingwall Thistle | beat | ? | ||
| 1997 | Kirkwall Rovers | 4–2 | Contin | ||
| 1998 | Pentland United | 3–1 | Inverness British Legion | ||
| 1999 | Contin | beat | Pentland United | ||
| 2000 | Pentland United | 4–0 | Cromarty | ||
| 2001 | Wick Thistle | 2–1 | Avoch | ||
| 2002 | Pentland United | 2–1 | Portree | ||
| 2003 | Lochs | 3–2 | Stornoway Athletic | ||
| 2004 | Back | 2–1 | Avoch | ||
| 2005 | Lochs | 3–1 | Avoch | ||
| 2006 | Avoch | 2–0 | Fortrose & Rosemarkie Union | ||
| 2007 | Avoch | 5–0 | Point | ||
| 2008 | Pentland United | 3–0 | Castletown | ||
| 2009 | Kirkwall Thorfinn | *2–2 | Avoch | ||
| 2010 | Pentland United | 1–0 | Golspie Stafford | ||
| 2011 | Avoch | 5–1 | Back | ||
| 2012 | Avoch | 4–0 | Wick Groats | ||
| 2013 | Wick Groats | 1–0 | Kirkwall Thorfinn | ||
| 2014 | Avoch | 2–1 | Carloway | ||
| 2015 | Wick Groats | 3–1 | Avoch | ||
| 2016 | Wick Groats | *0–0 | Kirkwall Thorfinn | ||
| 2017 | Avoch | 2–1 | Staxigoe United | ||
| 2018 | Pentland United | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Lerwick Spurs | ||
| 2019 | Wick Groats | 1–0 | Avoch | ||
| 2020 | No Competition | ||||
| 2021 | No Competition | ||||
| 2022 | High Ormlie Hotspur | *1–1 (a.e.t.) | Pentland United | ||
| 2023 | Avoch | 1–0 | Wick Groats | ||
* Won on penalties
This table features runner-up information, only where known.
| Club | Wins | Last win | Runners-up | Last final lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pentland United | 8 | 2018 | 2 | 2022 |
| Avoch | 7 | 2023 | 7 | 2019 |
| Wick Groats | 4 | 2019 | 4 | 2023 |
| Ness | 4 | 1995 | ||
| Thurso Pentland | 3 | 1983 | 2 | 1982 |
| Kirkwall Thorfinn | 2 | 2009 | 3 | 2016 |
| Halkirk | 2 | 1985 | 2 | 1989 |
| Dingwall Thistle | 2 | 1996 | 1 | 1991 |
| Lochs | 2 | 2005 | 0 | — |
| Maryburgh | 2 | 1990 | ||
| Back | 1 | 2004 | 1 | 2011 |
| Contin | 1 | 1999 | 1 | 1997 |
| Point | 1 | 1994 | 1 | 2007 |
| High Ormlie Hotspur | 1 | 2022 | 0 | — |
| Wick Thistle | 1 | 2001 | ||
| Kirkwall Rovers | 1 | 1997 | ||
| South Ronaldsay | 1 | 1979 | ||
| Blackmuir | 1 | 1978 | ||
| Stornoway Athletic | 0 | — | 2 | 2003 |
| Cromarty | 0 | — | 2 | 2000 |
| Lerwick Spurs | 0 | — | 1 | 2018 |
| Staxigoe United | 0 | — | 1 | 2017 |
| Carloway | 0 | — | 1 | 2014 |
| Golspie Stafford | 0 | — | 1 | 2010 |
| Castletown | 0 | — | 1 | 2008 |
| Fortrose & Rosemarkie Union | 0 | — | 1 | 2006 |
| Portree | 0 | — | 1 | 2002 |
| Inverness British Legion | 0 | — | 1 | 1998 |
| Southend | 0 | — | 1 | 1993 |
| Bishopmill Villa | 0 | — | 1 | 1984 |