The 23rd edition of the Macedonian Cup got its draw earlier today. There is no real derby in the first round as the participants were divided into seeded and unseeded, but Teteks against Gostivar and Korabi against Borec are probably the most interesting.

photo by Filip Zdraveski: moment of the draw

Thirty teams entered the competition meaning that two places remained empty. All first league participants from last seasons plus the top 5 in both second league groups. The remaining 12 places were divided between the six regional groups with no team from the Southeast as none wanted to enter. There is only one fourth league side, Poeshevo, while from the third leagues there are 5 teams.

The 30 teams make 15 pairs in the first round meaning that in the next round there will be 7 pairs and one lucky team will be drawn to directly advance into the quarter-finals.

Here are the first round pairs (the number in brackets is the level at which the club is playing):

Struga (2) vs. Pobeda (1)
Korabi (2) vs. Borec (2)
Vlazrimi 77 (2) vs. Belasica (1)
Vardar (N) (2) vs. Skopje (2)
Fortuna (3) vs. Rabotnichki (1)
Labunishta (2) vs. Akademija Pandev (1)
Kit-Go (2) vs. Shkupi (1)
Poeshevo (4) vs. Bregalnica (2)
Kozhuf (2) vs. Shkendija (1)
Vardari (3) vs. Vardar (1)
Osogovo (3) vs. Pelister (2)
Teteks (2) vs. Gostivar (2)
Bratstvo-Vlaznimi (3) vs. Sileks (1)
Tikvesh (2) vs. Renova (1)
Prevalec (3) vs. Makedonija GjP (1)

Holders Shkendija will begin defending the trophy from the town of Gevgelija where will face Kozhuf. The matches are scheduled for 22 August. In case of a draw penalty kicks will follow instead of extra-time. After the conclusion of the first round will follow the draw for the eight-finals.