The draw for the first round was made on 23 June at Hampden Park.[7] The 28 teams entering at this stage were separated into 4 regional pools. This was to ensure that U20s teams were not drawn against each other and that teams from the Highland and Lowland Leagues were not drawn against each other.[7]
North Section
Draw and seeding
Teams from Pool A will be drawn against teams from Pool B. Teams in Bold qualified for the Second round.
Stadium: Gayfield Park Attendance: 335 Referee: Gavin Duncan
South Section
Draw and seeding
Teams from Pot C will be drawn against teams from Pot D.[9] Teams in Italics were not known at the time of the draw. Teams in Bold advanced to the third round.
The draw for the fourth round was made at the Oriam National Performance Centre, Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh on Tuesday, 6 September at 12pm.[13] The draw was made by John Hartson and IRN-BRU super fan Michael Douglas. There was no seeding for the draw however, teams for Northern Ireland and Wales could not be drawn against each other. As a result, they were placed into two separate pots (A and B) before being drawn against the remaining Scottish teams (Pot C). The Welsh teams were drawn first followed by the Northern Irish teams with one of each playing at home and one away.[14][15]
A- Livingston's 2–1 win against Crusaders on Friday, 7 October was ordered to be replayed after Livingston pleaded guilty to a breach of SPFL rules in the original fixture. The club was fined £4,000 after they played Alan Lithgow for the full 90 minutes. Lithgow was ineligible for the match as he was still under an SFA suspension at the time.[16]
Quarter-finals
Draw
The draw for the quarter-finals was made at the Titan Crane on the River Clyde in Clydebank on Monday, 10 October at 2pm and was streamed live on Periscope by Irn-Bru's football Twitter account. The draw was made by former Dundee United and Scotland striker Kevin Gallacher and Rio 2016 silver medallist Dan Wallace. There was no seeding for the draw however, as with the previous round, teams from Northern Ireland and Wales, should they qualify, would not be drawn against each other. The ties took place on the weekend of 12 and 13 November.[17]
The Golden Ball Award is a 'Player of the Round' award given to the player who is adjudged to have had the best performance of that round out of all the players in teams left competing in that round of the competition.[19] The winner is voted for by supporters from a chosen short-list of players on the official Irn-Bru Football twitter page.[19]
The domestic broadcasting rights for the competition are held jointly by BBC Alba, S4C (for matches involving Welsh teams) and subscription channel Premier Sports. Prior to the re-format in the 2016–17 season, BBC Alba had exclusive rights.[25]
The following matches are to be broadcast live on UK television:
