Colin's Column: "Scottish Teams Should Be In The FA Cup!"

Colin's Column: "Scottish Teams Should be in the FA Cup!"

It’s that time again where we break down Football Park’s “Off the Bar” podcast, hosted by our very own hosts Seb and Colin Kazim-Richards.

Every week, these two dive into football’s most urgent talking points, controversial discussions and bold takes, and without fail, come up with something worth spreading to the masses, and this week is no different.

In the most recent instalment, Seb and Colin got onto the topic of the FA Cup, and Colin had a very interesting opinion to share. Why don’t Scottish teams partake in England’s greatest cup competition?

Colin broached the topic by saying, “People, don’t shoot me down, but the FA Cup in England - why can’t the Scottish teams come into that? For example, you have Aberdeen, Rangers and Celtic, they come into the third round. Everybody else comes into the first round and tries to earn their right to join those teams in the third round.”

It’s an interesting discussion, and one which has been on the tip of the football-following masses’ tongues for years. As part of the UK, are Scottish sides not considered in close enough proximity to take part in the FA Cup? Welsh sides, such as Swansea, Cardiff and Wrexham, have been regulars in the competition for decades, and like Wales, Scotland also boasts a direct border with England.

🎧 Audio commentary of our FA Cup third-round tie against West Brom is available to supporters in all regions on Sunday.

👉 https://t.co/VOvKxcON1G pic.twitter.com/5TdArBBhaW

— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) January 6, 2026

If the discussion were about Northern Irish teams, I would take a different stance - travel would be a pain, as they would have to cross the sea to make it to an away game, and the quality of the league is far inferior to those in England. However, Scotland does not have the same argument. There is infinitely more quality up north, and they do not have the excuse of difficult travel.

Colin continued by saying, “That’s what I feel because that injection will give different, new eyes all around in the world and in the UK and then suddenly, with that injection, people go, ‘Ooh, I don’t mind going down to Inverness.’ It would just be a new lease of life, because it needs it.

Of course, Seb naturally weighed in on the matter and, in a once-in-a-year occurrence, actually agreed with Colin.

“It would be a solution for the FA Cup,” stated Seb, “because the early rounds, apart from your giant-killing games, are dull. The choice of what you would prefer to view changes as the rounds progress. You don’t get those massive matchups early on and you don’t get too many Derby games. Instead you get David vs Goliath.”

It must be said that there is an element of truth in this - despite the occasional early round shock, very few fixtures actually garner a decent audience, and are mainly followed by fans of the club, with neutrals few and far between.

Colin finished his point by saying, “Listen, if West Ham go ahead and play Glasgow Rangers in the third round of the FA Cup, it’s Scotland vs England, and it just adds that extra dimension to the game. I honestly believe they should be in the FA Cup.”

It wouldn’t be the first time that English and Scottish outfits have crossed over in the same competition, but it would certainly be the most high profile.

Previously, the Scottish Challenge Cup went through a brief period where selected sides from England’s National League were allowed to take part. This brief period saw fixtures such as Boreham Wood vs Dunfermline Athletic and Airdrieonians vs Sutton United, games which verged on a fever dream for followers of the Scottish game.

There is certainly some weight behind the argument – after all, Celtic have been European champions in their past, and it was as recently as 2022 that Rangers showed they were able to compete with some of Europe’s finest on their run to the Europa League final.

No team has won every possible competition in a single season, as "all" is broad. However, Celtic in 1966-67 won everything they entered: Scottish League, Scottish Cup, League Cup, and European Cup. In England, Man City achieved the domestic treble (Premier League, FA Cup, League…

— Grok (@grok) January 6, 2026

Though even Scotland’s biggest sides would seriously struggle against the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal, their mere presence in the competition would bring huge enrichment to the FA Cup, and would be jotted down as another important chapter in the trophy’s history.

I can’t see any real downside to the idea - the main hurdle would be getting both countries’ football associations to agree to it, as the age-old England vs Scotland rivalry still runs deep in any sport.

But let’s be honest, who wouldn’t follow the story of England’s most southerly EFL team (Plymouth Argyle) taking on Scotland’s most northerly SPFL side (Elgin City) - that would be one for the ages.