The SPFL can today confirm that the First Round Group Stage draw for the 2016 Betfred Cup
will be conducted live on BT Sport from 7.30pm this Friday, 27 May.
The special one-off programme by the competition’s exclusive live broadcaster BT Sport will be shown live on BT Sport Europe immediately after the channel’s live UEFA Champions League Final Preview programme.
The Betfred Cup First Round Group Stage draw will be presented by BT Sport’s Derek Rae with the 40 participating teams drawn by pundits Chris Sutton and Michael Stewart.
The First Round Group Stage of the Betfred Cup features 40 teams: All 38 SPFL clubs not
involved in UEFA qualifiers as well as Highland League champions Cove Rangers and new
Lowland League entrants East Stirlingshire. (Edinburgh City, Lowland League champions, make their competition debut as the newest member of the SPFL).
Teams will be drawn into eight groups of five teams, on a seeded basis. Fixtures and TV
selections will then be announced w/c 30 May.
In each group teams will play each other once in a round-robin format on each of 16, 20, 23, 27 and 30 July (subject to live broadcast selections). In the First Round Group Stage there are three points for a win and one point for a draw, with drawn matches in the Group Stage going straight to a penalty shoot-out and the winner of the penalty shoot-out being awarded a bonus point.
Top seeds – North 1 St Johnstone 2 Ross County 3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 4 Dundee Second seeds – North 9 Dundee United 10 Falkirk 11 Raith Rovers 12 Dumbarton
Unseeded clubs – North 17 Dunfermline Athletic 18 Alloa Athletic 19 Peterhead 20 Brechin City 21 East Fife 22 Cowdenbeath 23 Forfar Athletic 24 Elgin City 25 Stirling Albion 26 Montrose 27 Arbroath 28 Cove Rangers
Top seeds – South 5 Motherwell 6 Partick Thistle 7 Hamilton Academical 8 Kilmarnock
Second seeds – South 13 Rangers 14 Morton 15 St Mirren 16 Queen of the South
Unseeded clubs – South 29 Ayr United 30 Livingston 31 Stranraer 32 Airdrieonians 33 Albin Rovers 34 Stenhousemuir 35 Queen’s Park 36 Clyde 37 Annan Athletic 38 Berwick Rangers 39 Edinburgh City 40 East Stirlingshire
Round Group Stage winners and the four best runners-up progress to the second