Summer football is on its way to Scotland thanks to a major revamp of the Scottish League Cup.
Starting next July, there will be eight groups of five teams playing each other once each in a round-robin format.
The group matches will be contained within one month, with fixtures on July 16, 20, 23, 27 and 30.
Taking part will be the 38 SPFL sides not involved in Champions League or Europa League qualifiers plus the winners of this season’s Highland and Lowland Leagues.
Six of the group matches will be broadcast live on BT Sport, to be followed by another seven spread over subsequent stages of the cup.
It will be three points for a win and one for a draw but as part of the new look all matches that finish level will go straight to a penalty shoot-out, with the “winner” awarded a bonus point.
This is believed to be a first in world football.
The eight group winners and four best runners-up progress to the second round, where they will be joined by Scotland’s four European representatives.
The competition will then revert to a traditional knockout format.
Prize money will go up and the new format will be also allow the re-introduction of a two-weekend winter break for Premiership clubs during January 2017.
SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “The new format of the Scottish League Cup marks an exciting new chapter for the competition and sees Scottish football leading the way with a number of innovations.
“Fans, the media and clubs alike have expressed a desire for competitive summer football which will be delivered from next July while the ground-breaking bonus point system should add incentive to teams and excitement for supporters.”