2026/27 UEFA Regions' Cup preliminary and intermediate round draw

The UEFA Regions' Cup qualifying draw at 14:00 CET on Wednesday 10 December will set groups for the preliminary and intermediate rounds as the European amateur competition returns for the 2026/27 edition.

COMPETITION SYSTEM

Thirty-four teams will take part in the competition, three of which will enter the preliminary round. The teams representing each association will be decided ahead of qualifying.

COEFFICIENT RANKINGS

As for previous competitions, the coefficient rankings for the 2026/27 preliminary and intermediate round draws have been established as follows:

• Seasons taken into account: 2017/18, 2022/23 and 2024/25

- All qualifying matches (preliminary and intermediate rounds) are taken into consideration to calculate the coefficients.

• Win = 3 points; draw = 1 point; defeat = 0 points

- Note: No points were awarded for the 2024/25 intermediate round match between the teams from Poland and Kazakhstan.

• Bonus points

- Automatic qualification for the intermediate round = 3 points

- Qualification from the preliminary round to the intermediate round = 3 points

- Qualification from the intermediate round to the final tournament = 3 points

- Competition winners = 3 points

2018/19: Dolnośląski Region, Poland
2022/23: Galicia, Spain
2024/25: Aragón, Spain

- Competition runners-up = 2 points

2018/19: Bavaria, Germany
2022/23: FA of Belgrade, Serbia
2024/25: Dolnośląski Region, Poland

• An association’s coefficient for each season is calculated by adding the number of points its team obtained (including bonus points) and dividing the total by the number of matches its team played.

• Each association’s three annual coefficients are added together to produce the overall coefficient used for the rankings.

• Associations with the same overall coefficient are separated using the following criteria:

a. Higher number of matches

b. Higher coefficient from the most recent season, i.e. 2024/25

c. Higher coefficient from the next two most recent seasons, i.e. first 2022/23 and then 2018/19

d. Superior goal difference from the most recent season, i.e. 2024/25

e. Superior goal difference from the next two most recent seasons, i.e. first 2022/23 and then 2018/19

DRAW PROCEDURE – PRELIMINARY ROUND

The associations in positions 1 to 31 in the coefficient rankings qualify automatically for the intermediate round.

The remaining three associations (in positions 32 to 34) will participate in the preliminary round, in which each team plays each of the other teams once.

The three teams will be drawn into a group of three using the following procedure:

Pot 1 (Ranked 32 to 34): Armenia, Estonia, Lithuania

The teams in pot 1 will be drawn one after another and placed in first, then second and finally third position in Group A.

The group winner will qualify for the intermediate round.

DRAW PROCEDURE – INTERMEDIATE ROUND

A total of 32 associations will take part in the intermediate round: the 31 seeded teams and the group winner from the preliminary round.

The intermediate round will consist of eight groups of four teams.

Draw pots will be formed as follows:

Pot A (Ranked 1 to 8): Spain, Poland, Czechia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia, Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Pot B (Ranked 9 to 16): Republic of Ireland, Türkiye, Finland, San Marino*, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Wales

Pot C (Ranked 17 to 24): England, Northern Ireland, Romania, Belarus, Israel, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Georgia

Pot D (Ranked 25 to 31 plus the preliminary round group winner): Malta*, Latvia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Albania, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Preliminary round winner

*Malta and San Marino enter national amateur teams, all other associations enter regional amateur teams to be determined.

The draw will start with Pot A and end with Pot D. Each pot will be emptied before moving to the next pot.

1. The associations in Pot A will be drawn one after another and placed in the first position in Groups 1 to 8.

2. The associations in Pot B will be drawn one after another and placed in the second position in Groups 1 to 8.

3. The associations in Pot C will be drawn one after another and placed in the third position in Groups 1 to 8.

4. The associations in Pot D will be drawn one after another and placed in the fourth position in Groups 1 to 8.

DRAW CONDITIONS

Due to the composition of the pots, there are no prohibited team pairings for this draw.

FINAL TOURNAMENT

The eight intermediate round group winners will qualify for the final tournament. In principle, the final tournament should take place in June or early July 2027 in one of the countries whose team qualifies. The host will be appointed by the end of December 2026 from among those associations that express an interest.

Match dates

The preliminary and intermediate round matches must be played as follows:

• Preliminary round

All preliminary round matches must be played between 1 May and 24 July 2026.

• Intermediate round

All intermediate round matches must be played between 21 August and 4 December 2026.