Caley Thistle sporting director John Robertson believes the return of the Inverness Cup later this month is a fitting way to recognise the history of several clubs.
The former ICT manager is thrilled the trophy will come back into use when his Championship club face Highland League hosts Clachnacuddin on Tuesday, August 22, at Grant Street Park.
The silverware was lifted 19 times each by Inverness Thistle and Caledonian FC, the two clubs whose amalgamation led to the creation of Caley Thistle almost 30 years ago.
Backed by support from Highland Council’s common good fund, the Inverness Cup will be up for grabs between ICT and Clach, which will be the first time it has been an active prize since Forres Mechanics won it in 2005/06.
Past glories recalled with relaunch
With so many other competitions taking over, the Inverness Cup lost its appeal, but Robertson feels an annual showdown with Clach, replacing a pre-season knockabout, will be a cause for celebration, with a nod to past glories.
He said: “We don’t have hundreds of years of history. We’re almost 30 years old because of the amalgamation of these clubs and we want to preserve Inverness Thistle and Caledonian FC’s heritage.
“Are we three great clubs with three great histories? Or are we one great club with three great histories? We had a nod to the Inverness Thistle team that won the (Highland) league in 1972/73 when we launched the (red and black) away strip last season.
“Bringing back the Inverness Cup, I believe, keeps the heritage of both these clubs (Caledonian and Thistle) alive – they have both won it 19 times.
“We want to play for this beautiful trophy. It’s important we get these things out there.
“Don’t discount Clach in all this. They have won it 11 times and they haven’t won it for 71 years. I’m sure they will be desperate to get their hands on it.
“It’s a trophy that would befit any boardroom in the country.
“It’s only right we bring it back. We want to keep the Inverness Cup alive.
“We can’t call these games with Clach friendlies anymore. It will be played for the trophy, and we feel it is a hugely important part of our heritage.”
We are delighted to announce that The Inverness Cup will once again be played for as we welcome @ICTFC to Grant Street Park on Tuesday 22nd of August.
Join us for a fantastic evening of local football.#thefuturesbright pic.twitter.com/jouErNyjFY— Inverness Clachnacuddin FC (@clachfc) August 8, 2023
‘Meaningful’ match at Grant Street
Robertson explained the vastly beneficial Football Memories programme highlighted the interest there still is in the Inverness Cup.
He said: “Next year is 30 years since the formation of Inverness Caley Thistle and we’ve had a big drive with our Football Memories project in particular, along with a lot of other clubs.
“We’ve had a lot of ex-players and people from the local community come in, who are unfortunately suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s.
“We’ve used old trophies and medals are part of that and some of the stuff we’ve seen is sensational.
🏆 The Inverness Cup returns! 🏆
For the first time since 2005/06 the Inverness Cup will return when we face @clachfc at Grant Street on Tuesday 22nd August, 7.30pm kick-off. pic.twitter.com/NXd9ILtBKL
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) August 8, 2023
“For each home game, I’d put out a piece of memorabilia on the boardroom table with a little bit of history behind it. One of those being the Inverness Cup. It is a stunning trophy, which was first played for in 1895.
“It got us thinking about whether we could bring it back in some form. The competition was for the teams in the borough of Inverness, and it was expanded a little bit.
“It died a death after 2005/06.
“We play Clach every year in a pre-season friendly and we thought what better way to preserve the traditions of the Highland League and Inverness itself and pay tribute to Caledonian FC and Inverness Thistle, who bizarrely both won it 19 times. They both won it the same amount of times. The best way was to resurrect the Inverness Cup.
“It now means there will be a meaningful match against Clach.
“Scott Dowling (Clach director/secretary) was right behind it from the get-go, as was their chairman Alex Chisholm.
“We have been supported by the Inverness common good fund, who wanted to see the cup return. It’s a fantastic trophy.
“It will be close to 130 years since it was first contested.”
Kellacher claims to be history-maker
Robertson joked that ICT’s number two is reminding everyone who will listen that he’s in the history books when it comes to Inverness Cup achievements.
He added: “Scott Kellacher (ICT assistant boss) claims he’s the only person to have won it as a player and a coach. I’m sure if we go back in the annals of time that won’t be the case. We hope that’s not the case as Scott’s talking a lot about it.
“Our first-team coach Barry Wilson actually scored a hat-trick for Ross County against Inverness in the Inverness Cup final and has also won it for Inverness, so even in the more modern times, there are great stories there.
“In the coming weeks, we will get people like Dave Milroy, Billy Urquhart, Charlie Christie, who all played in the Inverness Cup, to give their thoughts on what was a tremendous tournament – we are really honoured to bring it back.”
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