2026/27 Premier Sports Cup Fixtures Announced

The curtain has barely fallen on one Scottish season and already the next is taking shape. The SPFL has confirmed the full fixture list for the 2026/27 Premier Sports Cup group stage, and with it the first markers of the new campaign.

Television picks are in, storylines are obvious, and by mid-July the familiar churn of league business will be replaced by something sharper: knockout jeopardy in all but name.

TV cameras roll from Forthbank

Premier Sports will screen five ties live from the groups, beginning at Forthbank on Saturday July 11. Stirling Albion v Dundee United, 5.30pm, under a new home manager in Steven Whittaker and against Jim Goodwin’s promotion-chasing United, is a made-for-TV opener.

United, one of the favourites to go deep in this competition, are thrown straight into the role of target. Whittaker, in his first major test as Binos boss, gets the chance to rattle a top-flight club on day one.

A week later comes a double header on Saturday July 18. At 5.00pm, six-time League Cup winners Aberdeen host Queen’s Park at Pittodrie, a tie that already feels like a temperature check on both clubs’ ambitions. Once that’s done, the cameras head down the road to Tannadice for Dundee United v Arbroath at 7.00pm, a fixture that rarely lacks edge, whatever the division.

The TV spotlight then swings south on Wednesday July 22. Queen of the South, now under Nicky Clark, welcome Stephen Robinson’s Aberdeen to Palmerston for a 7.45pm kick-off. A new manager, a Premiership scalp in town, and live cameras: that’s a night that can change a season’s mood before the league ball is even kicked.

The holders close the group-stage broadcast schedule. On Sunday July 26, St Mirren begin their defence in front of the Premier Sports audience at 3.00pm in Paisley, facing Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline Athletic. A new face in the away dugout, a trophy to protect for the hosts – that one already feels like a barometer for both.

Several other ties will be streamed on the Premier Sports app, with details to follow, while the SPFL has left room for alterations if summer pitch works force venue changes.

Eighty games, one early-season gauntlet

Across five matchdays, 80 fixtures will be played, featuring 37 SPFL clubs plus Lowland League champions Linlithgow Rose, Highland League winners Brora Rangers and runners-up Brechin City. It’s the now-familiar blend: heavyweights shaking off rust, ambitious Championship and League One sides hunting statements, and non-league champions out to prove they belong.

The format remains ruthless. The eight group winners and three best runners-up will join Celtic, Heart of Midlothian, Rangers, Motherwell and Hibernian – all on European duty – in the last 16 on August 15/16. From there, it’s straight into knockout football.

Quarter-finals are set for the weekend of September 12/13, semi-finals for October 31 and November 1, and the Premier Sports Cup final will land on Sunday December 13, an early winter showpiece before the festive crush.

SPFL Chief Operating Officer Calum Beattie welcomed the release of the schedule, noting the “unforgettable” 2025/26 campaign now gives way almost immediately to fresh storylines and another sprint for silverware, backed again by Premier Sports’ coverage.

Group by group: early flashpoints

The fixture list itself offers plenty of intrigue.

In Group A, Aberdeen share a section with Queen of the South, Queen’s Park, Brora Rangers and Kelty Hearts. Pittodrie’s side open away to Brora on Tuesday July 14, then host Queen’s Park live on Premier Sports four days later. Queen of the South’s home date with Aberdeen on July 21 could end up deciding the group, while ambitious Kelty face both Queens and Dons in quick succession.

Group B looks tailor-made for drama. Dundee United headline a pool featuring Stirling Albion, The Spartans, Arbroath and Montrose. United’s live opener at Forthbank is followed by a tricky trip to Montrose on July 14, then a home clash with Arbroath on July 18. By the time they host The Spartans on July 21, Goodwin’s side will know exactly how much margin for error remains.

Holders St Mirren sit in Group C with Dumbarton, Dunfermline Athletic, East Kilbride and Cove Rangers. They start away at Dumbarton on July 11, travel to Cove a week later, and face East Kilbride at home on July 21. The standout, though, is the final-day live tie: St Mirren v Dunfermline in Paisley on July 26, a meeting that could easily be winner-takes-all.

Group D throws Ross County in with Dundee, Airdrieonians, Annan Athletic and Clyde. County’s opening trip to Annan on July 11 is followed by Clyde at home and a potentially decisive clash with Dundee on July 21. Airdrie, who close against County on July 25, will quietly fancy turning this into a three-way fight.

Group E brings Livingston into a mix with Partick Thistle, Brechin City, Stenhousemuir and Forfar Athletic. Partick open against Brechin, while Livi wait until July 14 to enter at Brechin before hosting Thistle on July 18. That meeting at the Tony Macaroni Arena already feels like the group’s hinge point.

In Group F, St Johnstone must navigate Greenock Morton, Inverness CT, East Fife and Linlithgow Rose. The non-league champions host Saints on July 14, a glamour night for Linlithgow and a potential banana skin for a Premiership side still finding its legs. Inverness v St Johnstone on July 21 could decide top spot.

Group G pairs Ayr United and Falkirk with Edinburgh City, Alloa Athletic and Stranraer. Falkirk’s trip to Ayr on July 14 jumps off the page, while Ayr’s closing home match against Alloa and Falkirk’s finale against Stranraer might end up deciding who squeezes through as group winners or one of the best runners-up.

Finally, Group H sets Kilmarnock, Hamilton Accies, Raith Rovers, Peterhead and Elgin City against each other. Raith travel to Kilmarnock on July 14 in a heavyweight early clash, then visit Hamilton on July 18. Killie host Accies on July 21. Those three dates will likely dictate who emerges from a section packed with clubs expecting to progress.

The dates are set, the cameras booked, the routes to December’s final mapped out. Now it’s over to the players and managers to decide who uses July as a warm-up – and who turns it into the first serious statement of the new Scottish season.