Premier Sports Cup draw + key dates set for 2025/26 season: which round Celtic & Rangers enter at
The Scottish Professional Football League has announced when the group stage draw for next season will take place
The SPFL have announced when the draw for the Premier Sports Cup group stage ahead of the 2025/26 season will take place.
40 clubs spanning the Premiership down to the Highland League and Lowland League champions will discover their opponents on Wednesday, May 28 at 1pm live on Premier Sports - with holders Celtic and Rangers entering the competition at a later date due to their involvement in Champions League qualifiers.
Brendan Rodgers’ side won this season's League Cup trophy following a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory over their bitter Glasgow rivals Rangers after a pulsating 3-3 draw at Hampden Park back in December.
Top-flight clubs not involved in European football such as Hearts, Motherwell, Kilmarnock and Dundee will be involved in the group phase, which will be played out over the course of a fortnight.
The format once again remains unchanged and consists of eight groups comprising five teams, with each playing each other once in a round-robin format. Three points are awarded for a win and one point for a draw. If games finish in a draw after 90 minutes, a penalty shoot-out will take place with the winning club gaining a bonus point.
All eight group winners and the three best runners-up progress into the second round, where they will be joined by the five clubs participating in UEFA competitions - Celtic, Rangers, Hibernian, Aberdeen and Dundee United. The tournament then adopts a single-elimination knockout format.
Group Stage:
The group stage fixture dates are to be staged throughout July.
Matchday 1 - Weekend of 12/13
Matchday 2 - Midweek of 15/16
Matchday 3 - Weekend of 19/20
Matchday 4 - Midweek of 22/23
Matchday 5 - Weekend of 26/27
Second round:
The last-16 is pencilled in for the weekend of August 16/17
Quarter-finals:
The quarter-final dates are scheduled for the weekend of September 20/21.
The semi-finals will be staged on the weekend of November 1/2.