Hibs find out Premier Sports Cup group stage opponents

The seven Scottish Premiership clubs from 2023/24 not competing in Europe were joined in the draw at Hampden Park on Wednesday by the other 30 SPFL teams from the Championship, League One, and League Two plus Lowland League champions East Kilbride and Highland League winners Buckie Thistle and runners-up Brechin City. 

The managerless Hibees were seeded third, owing to their eighth-place finish in the 2023/24 cinch Premiership and were drawn into Group C, where they will face Kelty for the first time in a competitive fixture. 

Hibs and Peterhead have only met once in a competitive game, the hosts recording a 4-0 victory at Easter Road in August 2006 thanks to strikes from Scott Brown, Abdessalam Benjelloun, and Jamie McCluskey as well as an own goal.

It is, however, their second meeting with Elgin City since the group format was reintroduced to the League Cup. Paul Heckingbottom's side travelled up to Borough Briggs during the 2019/20 competition and left Moray with a 2-0 victory, thanks to goals from Joe Newell and Florian Kamberi.  

John Collins was manager the last time Hibs faced the Spiders with Filipe Morais and Steven Fletcher scoring in a 2-1 win in August 2007. This summer's game will mark just the third time since August 1972 that the two teams have met in a competitive fixture. 

Group matches will be played on the weekend of July 13/14, the midweek of July 16/17, the weekend of July 20/21, the midweek of July 23/24, and the weekend of July 27/28, with each club playing on four of the five earmarked match days. Fixtures are still to be finalised but it is likely that Hibs will host Queen's Park and Peterhead and travel to Kelty and Elgin. 

The group winners plus the three best runners-up advance to the last 16 of the competition where they are joined by Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Kilmarnock, and St Mirren. Those fixtures are due to take place on the weekend of August 17/18. 

The SPFL confirmed earlier this month that £3.5 million would be paid out to every team competing in the tournament - a 14% increase on last year's competition. The eventual winners will rake in £400,000 with the runners-up taking home £200,000. 

Full fixture information including any broadcast arrangements will be announced 'in due course'. 

The last time Hibs contested the group stages of the competition, in July 2022, they failed to advance. Despite beating Clyde and Bonnyrigg Rose, they lost 1-0 to Falkirk and owing to an administrative error, played an ineligible player against Greenock Morton, with the Cappielow side awarded a technical 3-0 victory, and the original scoreline of 1-1, with the Ton winning a bonus point on penalties, declared void.

Group A: Aberdeen, Airdrieonians, Queen of the South, Dumbarton, East Kilbride

Group B: Dundee United, Ayr United, Falkirk, Stenhousemuir, Buckie Thistle

Group C: HIBERNIAN, Queen's Park, Kelty Hearts, Peterhead, Elgin City

Group D: Dundee, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Arbroath, Annan Athletic, Bonnyrigg Rose

Group E: Livingston, Dunfermline Athletic, Cove Rangers, Spartans, Forfar

Group F:  St Johnstone, Greenock Morton, Alloa Athletic, East Fife, Brechin City 

Group G: Motherwell, Partick Thistle, Montrose, Edinburgh City, Clyde

Group H: Ross County, Raith Rovers, Hamilton Academical, Stirling Albion, Stranraer