RB Leipzig: The draw for the DFB Cup – everything important at a glance!

RB Leipzig: The draw for the DFB Cup – everything important at a glance!

On June 15, 2025, football fans can prepare for an exciting event, as the draw for the first round of the 2025/26 DFB Cup is coming up. From 5:15 p.m. the lottery fairy Owen Ansah will draw the pairings in the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The event will be broadcast live on ZDF, and there will also be a free live stream for those who want to follow the draw digitally. A live ticker is also available on ran.de so you don't miss anything.

A total of 64 teams are fighting this season for the coveted title in the DFB Cup, which has been held annually since 1935. The cup is a traveling trophy made of the finest gold and silver and is one of the most important competitions in German football, right after the championship. The record winner is FC Bayern Munich with an impressive 20 titles, while VfB Stuttgart, the current title holder, is waiting to defend its trophy after its victory over Arminia Bielefeld (4:2) on May 24, 2025.https://www.ran.de/sports/fussball/dfb-pokal/news/dfb-pokal202526-auslosung-der1-runde-live-im-free-tv-kostenlosen-joyn-livestream-und-im-liveticker-546430

The lottery pots and possible opponents

RB Leipzig, the two-time DFB Cup winner, reached the semi-finals last season, but had to admit defeat to VfB Stuttgart (1:3) and thus missed the final. In the coming 2025/26 season, Leipzig will be placed in draw pot 1 as seventh in the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. This means they avoid a “hammer draw” in the first round. Exciting opponents such as 1. FC Lok Leipzig and Hallescher FC are waiting for a possible encounter in draw pot 2. Other traditional clubs from the East, including Dynamo Dresden and Hansa Rostock, are also in the running.https://rblive.de/news/rb-leipzig-im-dfb-pokal-auslosung-termine-moegliche-gegner-praemien-3624465

The format of the DFB Cup stipulates that one ball is drawn from the “professional” pot, while another comes from the “amateur” pot. The team from the amateur pot has home advantage. This rule often causes surprises when lower-class teams host higher-class opponents in front of their home crowd. In the coming season it will be interesting to see whether such surprises are possible again.https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DFB-Pokal

Important dates in the DFB Cup 2025/26

The first games of the main round are scheduled for August 15th to 18th, 2025, although the games for the Supercup participants will not take place until August 28th and 29th, 2025. In addition to the first main round, the dates for the following rounds are already known:

The DFB Cup is of great financial importance, especially for amateurs, and the distribution key of 45%/45%/10% between the clubs and the DFB ensures that the income from ticket sales and advertising also benefits lower-class teams. The premiums are based on the previous season’s yields. It remains exciting to see what surprises the coming cup season will bring us!https://rblive.de/news/rb-leipzig-im-dfb-pokal-auslosung-termine-moegliche-gegner-praemien-3624465