The Highland League Cup has a new sponsor in painting and decorating firm R Davidson Banchory.
The company have signed a two-year deal with the option of a third year to sponsor the tournament, which started in 1946, and succeed GPH Builders Merchants as patrons of the competition.
R Davidson will host the draw for the preliminary round and first round of the Highland League Cup at their Banchory base on Friday July 26.
Professional golfer Sam Locke and BBC radio presenter and Press Journal columnist Richard Gordon will be the special guests doing the draw.
The preliminary round ties will be played on Saturday, September 14, the first round is scheduled for Saturday, November 9, the quarter-finals are pencilled in for Saturday, December 7, and the semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday, March 1.
In a change from recent years, the final is planned for Saturday, April 19, and the Breedon Highland hope to have the league programme completed before then so it would be the only fixture that day.
Highland League chief happy
Highland League president Sandy Sinclair is thrilled to have reached an agreement with R Davidson.
He said: “We’re delighted that R Davidson have come on board to sponsor the Highland League Cup.
“We’re also very grateful to GPH Builders Merchants who have sponsored the competition for the last three years.
“R Davidson being willing to sponsor our competition is very much appreciated and it helps give the competition more exposure.
“The Highland League Cup is an historic competition and we want to build it up as much as possible.
“We’re hopeful that we can have a showpiece final at the end of the season, and we would ideally want the final to be the only game on the day it’s played.
“However, that will depend on the weather and if we can get the league completed before then.”
New sponsors keen to back Highland League clubs
The firm’s managing director Trevor Mutch said: “It’s something different for us – we all love our football at R Davidson.
“Personally I was brought up watching Highland League football. I was taken to Bellslea at four years old to watch Fraserburgh and I loved it.
“I now have an affinity to several other clubs as well. We do hospitality at various clubs throughout the season and we enjoy it, so we fancied getting involved in another way.
“We wanted to help support local clubs.
“During the 90 minutes, the Highland League is fiercely competitive, but before and after the game it’s all very friendly and the camaraderie among the clubs is something that attracted us to this tournament.
“I’m sure the partnership will work well for everyone involved.”
Conversation