The Scottish Professional Football League has confirmed the seeding pots for the 2026/27 Premier Sports Cup group stage draw, which will take place on Wednesday, May 27 at 1.00pm. The draw will be streamed live online by Premier Sports and shown on the SPFL YouTube channel.
A total of 40 clubs are involved in the group stage draw. The five SPFL sides entering European competition — Celtic, Heart of Midlothian, Rangers, Motherwell and Hibernian — will join the tournament at the last-16 stage, while the remaining 37 SPFL clubs will take part in the group phase along with three guest clubs from the non-league system. Those guest teams are Lowland League champions Linlithgow Rose, Highland League champions Brora Rangers and Highland League runners-up Brechin City.
As in recent seasons, the draw will not be regionalised. Instead, the 40 clubs have been divided into five seeding pots based on their final league positions from the 2025/26 campaign. One club from each pot will be placed into each of the eight groups, from Group A to Group H.
The 2026/27 Premier Sports Cup will begin on the weekend of July 11/12. The remaining group stage fixtures are scheduled for July 14/15, July 18/19, July 21/22 and July 25/26. The eight group winners and the three best runners-up will progress to the last 16, where they will be joined by the five clubs competing in Europe. That round is set for the weekend of August 15/16.
The quarter-finals are due to be played on September 12/13, followed by the semi-finals on October 31 and November 1. The final will be staged at Hampden Park on Sunday, December 13.
Prize money for the competition remains unchanged from last season. Every participating club is guaranteed at least £30,000, while reaching the last 16 is worth a minimum of £60,000. The winners will receive £400,000, and the runners-up will collect £200,000.
The seeding pots place Falkirk, Dundee United, Dundee, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, St Mirren, Livingston and St Johnstone in Pot 1. Pot 2 contains Partick Thistle, Arbroath, Dunfermline Athletic, Raith Rovers, Queen’s Park, Ayr United, Greenock Morton and Airdrieonians. Pot 3 features Ross County, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Stenhousemuir, Queen of the South, Alloa Athletic, Peterhead, Montrose and Cove Rangers. Pot 4 includes East Fife, Hamilton Academical, Kelty Hearts, East Kilbride, The Spartans, Clyde, Forfar Athletic and Stranraer. Pot 5 is made up of Elgin City, Annan Athletic, Stirling Albion, Dumbarton, Edinburgh City, Linlithgow Rose, Brora Rangers and Brechin City.
The draw will set up the opening stage of a competition that will run through the summer and into the winter, ending with the final at Scotland’s national stadium in mid-December.
