The draw for the first round of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup will take place on the Scottish Cup YouTube channel at 6pm on Sunday 13th September.
Following 3 Preliminary rounds, Troon will enter the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup at the 1st round stage with all other tier 5 clubs, which will take place on the weekend of Saturday 3rd October.
What is the format of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup?
There are three Preliminary Rounds in the Scottish Cup 2026-27, an increase caused by the larger number of licensed clubs.
One important distinction: not every non-league club starts in Preliminary Round 1. In 2026-27, PR1 had just five ties, with the other 35 clubs entering at that stage receiving byes into PR2.
| 1st Preliminary Round (10 teams) | A small group of non-league clubs without the relevant Club Licence, plus one randomly selected licensed entrant. |
| 2nd Preliminary Round (40 teams) | The remaining licensed non-league clubs that enter in the Preliminary Rounds, plus winners from PR1 |
| 3rd Preliminary Round (20 teams) | Winners from PR2 |
| 1st Round (60 teams) | Lowland League (West) clubs, Lowland League (East) clubs, Highland League clubs plus the 10 winners from PR3 |
| 2nd Round (40 teams) | League Two clubs enter |
| 3rd Round (40 teams) | Championship clubs and League One clubs enter |
| 4th Round (32 teams) | Premiership clubs – this is the big one: all 12 Premiership sides enter here |
| 5th Round (16 teams) | No new clubs; it’s straight knockout for the remaining 16 teams |
| Quarter-Final | Straight knockout for the remaining 8 teams |
| Semi-Final | Straight knockout for the remaining 4 teams |
| Final | Saturday 22nd May 2027 |
Scottish Gas Scottish Cup Dates 2026-27
| 1st Preliminary Round | Saturday 1st August 2026 |
| 2nd Preliminary Round | Saturday 22nd August 2026 |
| 3rd Preliminary Round | Saturday 12th September 2026 |
| 1st Round | Saturday 3rd October 2026 |
| 2nd Round | Saturday 24th October 2026 |
| 3rd Round | Saturday 28th November 2026 |
| 4th Round | Saturday 16th January 2027 |
| 5th Round | Saturday 6th February 2027 |
| Quarter-Final | Saturday 6th March 2027 |
| Semi-Final | Saturday & Sunday 17th & 18th April 2027 |
| Final | Saturday 22nd May 2027 |
Click on the image below and follow the link to watch the draw LIVE on Sunday from 6pm!
