There will be no Tayside or Fife derbies in the Premier Sports Cup group stage after the SPFL revealed the seedings for next season’s tournament.
The make-up of the groups for the 2025/26 tournament will be decided tomorrow (Wednesday May 28), just two days after Livingston’s promotion to the Premiership brought the curtain down on the 2024/25 campaign.
Despite suffering relegation to the Championship, St Johnstone have been handed a place in pot one for the draw.
The Perth men will join Dundee in the highest seedings, with Dundee United handed a bye to the second round thanks to qualification for Europe.
With the Premiership’s top five all competing in continental competition, the teams finishing from sixth to 12th in the top-flight go into pot one, along with newly-promoted Falkirk.
Fife foes Dunfermline and Raith Rovers – who were drawn together two years ago – are together in pot two, meaning they will also be kept apart in round one.
However, Angus rivals Arbroath, Montrose and Brechin City all have different seedings and could face each other.
A total of 40 clubs will compete in the group stage, with 37 SPFL sides, including newcomers East Kilbride, joined by relegated Bonnyrigg Rose and Highland League top two Brora Rangers and Brechin City.
Elsewhere, Arbroath and Kelty Hearts are in pot three, Montrose and East Fife are in pot four and Forfar Athletic are in pot five.
Draw format and cup prize money
The groups will be made up of one team from each of the five pots, with no regionalisation, and the five match-days take place from the weekend of July 12/13 through to July 26/27.
The final is due to take place on Sunday, December 14.
Record prize money is on offer for competing clubs, with the winners taking home £400,000, whilst all teams are guaranteed a minimum of £30,000 for participating.
Both Dundee teams progressed to the quarter-finals last year before exiting, whilst 2021 winners St Johnstone crashed out in the second round following a 2-0 defeat away to Rangers.
The draw is scheduled for 1pm on Wednesday and will be broadcast live on the SPFL’s YouTube channel.
Seedings
Pot 1
1 St Mirren
2 Heart of Midlothian
3 Motherwell
4 Kilmarnock
5 Dundee
6 Ross County
7 St Johnstone
8 Falkirk
Pot 2
9 Livingston
10 Ayr United
11 Partick Thistle
12 Raith Rovers
13 Greenock Morton
14 Dunfermline Athletic
15 Queen’s Park
16 Airdrieonians
Pot 3
17 Hamilton Academical
18 Arbroath
19 Cove Rangers
20 Queen of the South
21 Stenhousemuir
22 Alloa Athletic
23 Kelty Hearts
24 Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Pot 4
25 Montrose
26 Annan Athletic
27 Dumbarton
28 Peterhead
29 East Fife
30 Edinburgh City
31 Elgin City
32 The Spartans
Pot 5
33 Stirling Albion
34 Clyde
35 Stranraer
36 Forfar Athletic
37 Bonnyrigg Rose
38 East Kilbride
39 Brora Rangers
40 Brechin City
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