Premier Sports Cup draw: When to find out which group your team is in

Forty SPFL clubs will learn their Premier Sports Cup group stage opponents later this month.

With five clubs taking part in UEFA competition, the draw will involve the other 37 clubs, plus Highland League champions Fraserburgh and Lowland League winners Bonnyrigg Rose.

An additional slot will be taken by Highland League runners-up Buckie Thistle, following a decision by the SPFL board. The Lowland League received the extra place last season, which saw East Kilbride enter the competition.

The draw for this season's Premier Sports Cup group stage will take place on Wednesday, May 25, at 1pm.

It will be shown live by Premier Sports via their FreeSports channel. This is available on Freeview channel 65, Sky channel 422, Virgin 553, TalkTalk 64, BT Vision 64.

All 40 clubs will be drawn into eight groups of five on a seeded basis, with pots announced ahead of the draw.

Following a recommendation by the SPFL Competitions Working Group, regionalisation has been removed for season 2022-23 after six years of a north/south split in the group stage.

Eight group winners and three best runners-up will join the five European entrants in the last 16 of the competition, at the end of August.

Due to changes to the calendar caused by the winter World Cup in Qatar, the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals will take place in January, with the final scheduled for February 26.

The first group stages games will take place on the weekend of July 9/10, with other dates on July 12/13, 16/17, 19/20 and 23/24.

The second round is due on August 30/31, quarter-finals are October 18-20, and the semi-finals are January 14/15.

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