The Tennent’s Soccer Sixes — a cult indoor tournament that ran annually through the 1980s and early 1990s — will be revived this autumn as a legends edition featuring representatives from all 12 Scottish Premiership clubs. The weekend event is scheduled for 3 and 4 October at Braehead Arena and will be shown on Premier Sports, the SPFL has confirmed.
- Tennent’s Soccer Sixes returns as a legends tournament on 3–4 October at Braehead Arena.
- All 12 Scottish Premiership clubs will enter teams; Premier Sports will broadcast the event.
- Format: three groups of four, knockout stage for eight teams, shootout bonus point and sin bin will be used.
What’s been announced
The reinstated Soccer Sixes will be played over a single weekend with group-stage fixtures on Saturday and a knockout phase to follow. The SPFL is backing the event and described the return as a reunion of an iconic competition.
Format details published by the broadcaster and organisers indicate there will be three regionalised groups of four teams. The group winners and runners-up will progress to the knockouts along with the two best third-placed teams, producing eight teams for the quarter-finals. Every match will produce a winner on the night: if a game is level after normal time a penalty shootout will decide the victor and the shootout winner will receive a bonus point. The tournament will also use a sin bin.
Context: why the Soccer Sixes mattered
The original Tennent’s Soccer Sixes ran for nine years from 1984 and became a regular part of the Scottish football calendar. Clubs frequently fielded prominent players in the indoor competition; the evidence packet notes Celtic included then-Scotland midfielder John Collins in the 1992–93 edition and that Hearts won the 1990–91 tournament with several Scotland internationals in their side. Partick Thistle won the final edition in 1993.
Those historical details underline why the tournament holds nostalgic value for supporters and why the SPFL says the event has a “special place in the hearts and minds of a generation of football fans.”
Who is taking part and broadcast plans
All 12 Scottish Premiership clubs will enter a team in this legends version. Partick Thistle — noted as the last winners in 1993 — are currently in the Scottish Championship and are not participating this year, according to the background material.
Premier Sports will broadcast the event across the weekend, with group action on Saturday and the knockout rounds following. The organisers have positioned the tournament as a compact, fan-friendly spectacle with rules tweaked to suit an indoor, short-format competition.
What this means for clubs, fans and the calendar
As a legends edition, the event is presented as a celebration of past players and the tournament’s heritage rather than a competitive mid-season fixture for first-team squads. The return offers clubs a chance to reconnect with former players in a televised setting and gives supporters an opportunity to see former favourites in a tournament that originally showcased many leading players.
The two-day schedule and indoor venue at Braehead Arena make the format suited to a weekend festival of football, with the sin bin and bonus-point-for-shootout-win rule designed to keep matches decisive and entertaining.
Timeline and next steps
- 3–4 October: Tennent’s Soccer Sixes legends edition at Braehead Arena.
- Group stage: Saturday, 3 October; knockout rounds: Sunday, 4 October.
- Broadcast: Premier Sports to show the event across the weekend.
Further details such as precise team line-ups, ticketing information and match schedules were not included in the published announcement summarised in the evidence packet. The SPFL’s endorsement and the confirmed broadcast partner indicate organisers intend a visible, officially backed relaunch.
Why to watch
The Soccer Sixes revival blends nostalgia with short-format entertainment: condensed fixtures, guaranteed results on the night and a rulesheet that promotes decisive play. For fans of Scottish football, the event revives a familiar midweek spectacle and creates a focused weekend showcase of former stars from every top-flight club in Scotland.
“The Tennent’s Sixes has a special place in the hearts and minds of a generation of football fans and we are absolutely thrilled to get the band back together again with the official endorsement of the SPFL.”
This article is based on the SPFL-backed announcement and coverage published by the BBC and related reporting referenced in the evidence packet. Details such as participating player names, match-day squads and ticket-release dates have not been released in the sources reviewed and are not reported here.