Copa del Rey
all times Madrid time
Every round
8 roundsThe Copa del Rey is Spain's knockout for 126 clubs, every place earned by last season's final league placement and reserve teams barred at every tier. The RFEF's regulations already name 102 of them; the other 24 arrive in the autumn — four from the Copa Federación, twenty sent one by one by the regional federations. Those twenty territorial clubs play a two-legged preliminary in late September; everyone else enters at the first round in late October, except the four Supercopa clubs — Real Sociedad, Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid — who wait for the round of 32. From the first round to the quarter-finals the lower-division club hosts, a single match settled on the day by extra time and penalties; the preliminary and the semi-finals are the two-legged exceptions, with no away-goals rule. The final is on Saturday 24 April 2027, expected at La Cartuja in Seville, and the winner takes a 2027-28 Europa League place.
Preliminary round
Not yet drawnWho plays · The 20 territorial clubs only — one qualifier sent by each regional federation, two by Andalucía, each chosen under its own rules — 10 two-legged ties.
Draw · Expected mid-September 2026 at Las Rozas, by the 2025-26 precedent; the RFEF publishes all twenty names with the draw, which is made from four geographic pots.
When · First legs Saturday 26 September, second legs Saturday 3 October 2026.
How it works · Two legs, the first at the ground of the club drawn first; level on aggregate means extra time in the second leg, then penalties — no away-goals rule.
First round
Not yet drawn · 98 knownWho plays · 112 of the competition proper's 116 clubs: the 10 preliminary winners, the 4 Copa Federación qualifiers (settled by its quarter-finals on 30 September) and 98 of the 102 named entrants — everyone but the Supercopa four — 56 ties.
Draw · Expected 5-6 October 2026, by precedent — it cannot come before the preliminary second legs and the Copa Federación quarter-finals are both in. Grouped by geographic proximity, pairing the lowest surviving division against the highest wherever possible.
When · Wednesday 28 October 2026 is the published anchor; ties spread across the surrounding midweek days.
How it works · One match, the lower-division club at home; extra time and penalties if level.
Known to enter · 98 clubs — who they are
Second round
Not yet drawnWho plays · The 56 first-round winners — 28 ties.
Draw · Days after the first round completes, by precedent; still grouped by geography, lower divisions still drawn against higher.
When · Wednesday 2 December 2026.
How it works · One match, the lower-division club at home; extra time and penalties if level.
Round of 32
Not yet drawn · 4 knownWho plays · The 28 second-round winners are joined by the four Supercopa clubs — Real Sociedad, Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid — 16 ties.
Draw · Days after the second round; each Supercopa club is drawn against one of the four lowest-division survivors.
When · Wednesday 16 December 2026.
How it works · One match, the lower-division club at home; extra time and penalties if level.
Known to enter · 4 clubs — who they are
Round of 16
Not yet drawnWho plays · The last 16 — 8 ties.
Draw · Days after the round of 32; any surviving Supercopa club is still drawn against the lowest division left.
When · Wednesday 6 January 2027.
How it works · One match, the lower-division club at home; extra time and penalties if level.
Quarter-finals
Not yet drawnWho plays · The last eight — 4 ties.
Draw · Days after the round of 16.
When · Wednesday 13 January 2027 — only a week on, with the Supercopa moved out of January to early February.
How it works · One match, and the last round the lower-division club hosts; extra time and penalties if level.
Semi-finals
Not yet drawnWho plays · The last four — 2 two-legged ties; both finalists earn places in the 2028 Supercopa.
Draw · A pure draw with no seeding; the order the clubs come out sets the leg order.
When · First legs Wednesday 10 February, second legs Wednesday 3 March 2027.
How it works · Two legs; level on aggregate means extra time in the second leg, then penalties — no away-goals rule.
Final
Not yet drawnWho plays · The final — one match at a neutral ground, expected at La Cartuja in Seville for a third consecutive year.
When · Saturday 24 April 2027.
How it works · One match; extra time and penalties if level.