The famous indoor tournament the Tennent’s Soccer Sixes is returning this autumn in a one-off "legends" format featuring representatives from all 12 Scottish Premiership clubs. The event, endorsed by the SPFL, will be held at Braehead Arena over the weekend of 3 and 4 October and broadcast live on Premier Sports.
Format, fixtures and match rules
Organisers have confirmed a compact structure designed to produce results: teams will be split into three regionalised groups of four, with group-stage matches scheduled for Saturday. The winner and runner-up from each group will advance to the knockout phase, joined by the two best third-placed sides, ensuring an eight-team elimination bracket.
- Group stage: played on Saturday, 3 October
- Knockout rounds: Sunday, 4 October
- All matches produce a winner; if a game is drawn after normal time a penalty shootout will decide the victor
- A bonus point will be awarded for a shootout win, and the sin bin will be used
The event revives a competition that was a staple of Scottish football in the 1980s and early 1990s, when clubs commonly fielded prominent first-team players. Partick Thistle — who now play in the Scottish Championship and therefore will not take part in this year's revived edition — were the winners of the last Soccer Sixes in 1993.
SPFL endorsement and heritage
The SPFL has given official backing to the relaunch, with the league's chief executive highlighting the tournament's sentimental value to supporters who grew up watching the indoor spectacle.
"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."
The phrasing of the competition — shorter matches, rapid-fire substitution, the sin bin and shootout-decided draws — is intended to produce an entertainment-rich weekend that may appeal to neutral viewers as well as supporters of the participating clubs. Broadcaster Premier Sports has secured transmission rights, signalling a national audience for the event.
Context and implications
While the tournament is being billed as a "legends" edition, the involvement of every top-flight club gives it a national footprint beyond the novelty value. For clubs, former players and sponsors, the Sixes present an opportunity to celebrate club heritage and reconnect with fans in an indoor, broadcast-friendly environment.
There are a few practical notes worth underlining: Partick Thistle, as a Championship club, will not appear despite being the tournament's last winners in 1993; the use of a sin bin and bonus point for shootout victories will alter tactical approaches compared with traditional 11‑a‑side friendlies; and staging all group matches on a single day will condense player involvement and intensify the spectacle for those in attendance.
| Date | Venue | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|
| 3–4 October | Braehead Arena | Premier Sports |
For fans nostalgic for the era when the Sixes filled winter TV schedules, the announcement will be greeted with interest. For football administrators and rights holders, it offers a test case in packaging a short, high-intensity event with clear television appeal. The SPFL's public endorsement frames the weekend as an official celebration of Scottish club football's past as much as a one-off competitive spectacle.
Further details — including precise kick-off times, squad lists and ticketing arrangements — are expected to be released closer to the event, but the bones of the competition are now clear: a tight, winner-takes-all format, a full complement of Premiership clubs and a nostalgic return to a tournament that once occupied a unique place in the domestic football calendar.
