Ukraine Cup 2026/27: UAF approves Round of 32 schedule — 32 clubs, single match, and penalties without extra time

The Ukraine Cup organizing committee has approved the exact schedule for all Round of 32 matches of the 2026/27 season. This is reported by Sport RBC.UA, citing the official website of the Ukrainian Association of Football. At this stage of the competition, 32 clubs will enter the fray: to the 28 winners of the preliminary round, four Ukrainian representatives in European competitions are added — Shakhtar, Dynamo Kyiv, Polissya, and LNZ. Thus, the tournament moves into a phase where the strongest teams in the country, entered in international competitions, join the clubs that passed the qualifying round.

New regulations: penalties immediately after a draw

All Round of 32 ties will consist of a single match. A key innovation is the change in the procedure for determining the winner in the event of a draw: under the new regulations, a penalty shootout is awarded immediately after regular time, without an additional 30 minutes. This decision shortens the duration of potentially drawn-out matches and makes the length of each game more predictable, but it raises the importance of discipline and psychology in the penalty shootout.

Three matches featuring UPL teams

Particular interest is generated by three ties in which Ukrainian Premier League representatives will meet: Polissya vs. Kudrivka, Kolos vs. Karpaty, and Bukovyna vs. LNZ. These pairings create intra-league competition at an early stage of the cup, where, as a rule, the favorites have to consider squad rotation due to parallel participation in the championship and European competitions. For LNZ, the match against Bukovyna becomes a test of squad depth before the further tournament path.

Calendar of the decisive stages — 2027

The winners of the Round of 32 matches will advance to the Round of 16, whose matches will take place on October 27–29. The decisive stages of the Ukraine Cup will already take place in 2027: the quarter-finals will be held from March 2 to 4, the semi-finals from April 20 to 22, and the final is scheduled for May 19. Such a time-stretched structure allows clubs to combine the cup campaign with the main championship cycle and international matches.

The current trophy holder

It is worth recalling that the current holder of the Ukraine Cup is Dynamo Kyiv, which beat Chernihiv 3:1 in the final of the previous edition. Thus, the capital team starts the new 2026/27 season from the position of champion and will try to defend the title, making its way from the Round of 32 to the decisive match on May 19, 2027.