Premier Sports Cup group stage draw: How to watch, format, seeding pots, prize money, match dates

As one Scottish football season draws to a close attention quickly turns to the start of the next with clubs set to discover who they will face in the Premier Sports Cup group stages.

The draw for the tournament which will raise the curtain on the 2026-27 campaign takes place this week and will follow an unchanged format with 40 clubs divided into eight groups of five.

All SPFL teams except those who have qualified for Europe will be involved in the draw. Celtic, Hearts, Rangers, Motherwell and Hibs will join the eight group winners and three best runners-up in the last 16.

The three guest clubs taking part have been confirmed as Linlithgow Rose (Lowland League winners), Brora Rangers (Highland League winners) and Brechin City (Highland League runners-up).

St Mirren, who retained their Premiership status with victory over Partick Thistle in the play-off final, are the cup holders following their 3-1 win over Celtic in last year’s final.

The Premier Sports Cup will kick off on the weekend of July 11-12 with the group stage concluding a fortnight later. The second round is scheduled for the weekend of August 15-16.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of the draw:

The Premier Sports Cup trophy on display at Hampden ahead of last year's final between St Mirren and Celtic. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group

When is the Premier Sports Cup group stage draw?

The draw will take place on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at 1pm.

How to watch the Premier Sports Cup group stage draw

The draw will be broadcast live online on Premier Sports and the SPFL YouTube channel.

Premier Sports Cup draw format

There is no regionalised aspect to the draw, as has been the case across the past four seasons. The 40 participating clubs will be split into five seeding pots based on final league placings in season 2025/26. One club from each pot will be drawn into the eight Groups A-H.

The seeding pots have been confirmed as follows:

Pot 1

1 Falkirk

2 Dundee United

3 Dundee

4 Aberdeen

5 Kilmarnock

6 St Mirren

7 Livingston

8 St Johnstone

Pot 2

9 Partick Thistle

10 Arbroath

11 Dunfermline Athletic

12 Raith Rovers

13 Queen’s Park

14 Ayr United

15 Greenock Morton

16 Airdrieonians

Pot 3

17 Ross County

18 Inverness Caledonian Thistle

19 Stenhousemuir

20 Queen of the South

21 Alloa Athletic

22 Peterhead

23 Montrose

24 Cove Rangers

Pot 4

25 East Fife

26 Hamilton Academical

27 Kelty Hearts

28 East Kilbride

29 The Spartans

30 Clyde

31 Forfar Athletic

32 Stranraer

Pot 5

33 Elgin City

34 Annan Athletic

35 Stirling Albion

36 Dumbarton

37 Edinburgh City

38 Linlithgow Rose

39 Brora Rangers

40 Brechin City

Premier Sports Cup prize money

Last season’s prize money has been maintained with all participating clubs guaranteed a minimum of £30,000. Reaching the last 16 is worth at least £60,000 while the cup winners will receive £400,000 and the runners-up £200,000.

Premier Sports Cup match dates

Group stage

MD1: Weekend of July 11-12

MD2: Midweek of July 14-15

MD3: Weekend of July 18-19

MD4: Midweek of July 21-22

MD5: Weekend of July 25-26

Second round

Weekend of August 15-16

Quarter-finals

Weekend of September 12-13

Semi-finals

Weekend of October 31-November 1

Final

Sunday December 13