The defending champions were Dunipace, who beat Broomhill 3–1 in the delayed final of the 2019–20 edition on 15 August 2021. However they went out of the competition in the second round, losing 2–1 to Sauchie Juniors.
For the first time since 2015–16, the first and second rounds were regionalised, with north-east, south-east, south-west, and north-west sections each containing 40 or 41 clubs.[1]
The draw was unseeded, with matches proceeding to extra time and penalties if they were tied after 90 minutes.
The draw for the regionalised first and second rounds took place on Friday 4 June 2021.[1][3] Each zone features 8 fixtures in the first round with 24 clubs receiving a bye to the second round (except the South-East zone featuring 9 matches and 23 byes). Preston Athletic, Syngenta, and Tranent Juniors progressed to the second round after their opponents were unable to field a team.
The second round took place on the weekend of 16 October 2021, with 16 fixtures in each zone. Lugar Boswell Thistle and Renfrew received a bye to the third round after their opponents withdrew from the competition after the draw was made.
The third round took place on the weekend of 20 November 2021, reverting to an open draw with 32 fixtures to be played. The draw took place on 21 October 2021.[4]
The fourth round took place on the weekend of 5 February 2022, however nine of the sixteen matches were postponed until the fifth round date. The draw took place on 20 December 2021 and was broadcast live on the Official Catchup YouTube channel.
The fifth round was scheduled to take place on the weekend of 5 March 2022. Due to delays in completing the fourth round, the majority of ties were rescheduled to later dates.
Draw
Teams in italics were unknown at the time of the draw. Teams in bold advanced to the quarter-finals.
The semi-finals were both scheduled to take place on the weekend of 30 April 2022, however the match involving Bonnyrigg Rose was moved to 12 April due to their participation in the Pyramid play-off 2nd leg.
