2026-27 Copa del Rey Second Round: Dates, Tickets & Venue (Madrid)

A cup night that skips the Bernabéu

Picture a stand you can walk the length of in two minutes. The roof is corrugated metal, or there isn’t one, and the visiting team’s coach is parked where the home fans can touch it. That is the setting of the 2026-27 Copa del Rey Second Round, which takes place on December 2, 2026.

In this round, lower-division clubs host La Liga teams across Spain. The famous crests travel to the small towns. Madrid’s big stadiums sit dark for the night, while their clubs’ players warm up on narrow pitches with the crowd almost close enough to hand them a scarf.

Why the small club always hosts

The format explains the whole atmosphere. In 2019-20 the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), which runs the competition, scrapped two-legged ties in the early rounds. It switched to single matches played at the ground of the lower-ranked club.

That rule turns a fixture list into a set of town festivals. One game decides everything:

• One leg only: there is no return match to fix a bad night.
• Extra time and penalties: a level score after 90 minutes goes to extra time, then a shootout.
• Home advantage for the underdog: the smaller club gets its own pitch, its own crowd and its own changing rooms.

That is why upsets happen. The best-known came in January 2021, when third-tier Alcoyano knocked out Real Madrid at their El Collao ground. In recent editions, the clubs playing in the Spanish Super Cup have joined the competition a round later, so not every top side appears at this stage.

Where the matches are played

There is no single venue. The draw pairs clubs and sets the map, so the Second Round is spread across grounds the length of the country. A Madrid side could be sent to Galicia, the Canary Islands or a village on the edge of its own region.

The RFEF publishes the draw, fixtures and kick-off details on its official website. Each home club usually repeats the details for its own tie on its website and social accounts. Kick-off times are set tie by tie to fit broadcasters, so a handful of matches spread across one evening is normal.

Tickets come from the home club

The federation does not run a central box office for this round. The host club sells its own tickets, normally through its official website and the ticket window (taquilla) at the ground. Club members (socios) of the host often have priority, because small grounds hold only a few thousand people.

Visiting fans usually get an allocation through their own club, which passes it on to its members and supporters’ groups (peñas). Prices are set by each host. The current figure appears on that club’s ticketing page and at the taquilla, and it varies a lot from ground to ground.

Getting out of Madrid on a weeknight

For international visitors, Madrid makes a sensible base. Its two main stations, Madrid-Puerta de Atocha and Madrid-Chamartín-Clara Campoamor, run high-speed AVE and other long-distance trains to most regions of Spain. For a December 2 tie in Valencia, Andalusia, Castilla y León or Aragón, the train is usually quicker than driving.

Ties inside the Community of Madrid are easier still. The Cercanías commuter network fans out from Atocha and Chamartín to the satellite towns, many of which have clubs in the lower tiers. Grounds in these towns are often a walk from the local station.

Return transport is the catch. Midweek evening matches can finish late, especially after extra time. The last trains back to Madrid from many towns leave in the late evening, and plenty of away fans simply stay the night in the host town.

Pipas, bocadillos and the cold

Small-ground football in Spain has its own habits, and blending in is easy once you know them.

• Sunflower seeds (pipas): fans crack them through the whole match. Shells pile up under the seats, and nobody minds.
• A bocadillo before kick-off: a crusty sandwich from the ground’s bar or a café nearby is the standard pre-match meal.
• Layers: a December night on an open terrace is cold, even in the south. Locals bring a coat, a scarf and sometimes a cushion for concrete steps.
• Seat numbers: seats are usually numbered, even at modest grounds. Fans normally sit where the ticket says.

Spanish crowds whistle rather than boo, and the whistling gets loud when a big club wastes time. Chants come from the peñas, who usually gather in one end. Wear neutral colours if you are not supporting either side. Home stands at a small club are friendly, but an away shirt in the wrong section gets noticed.

Following the night from the city

Not every visitor wants a long train journey. Madrid’s bars show the cup, and matches involving Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid or the city’s other top-flight clubs pull a crowd. The neighbourhoods around Calle de Ponzano in Chamberí and around Plaza de Santa Ana in Huertas are full of bars with screens.

The tie of the round is usually whichever minnow has drawn a giant. Walking the city during that game tells you more than any table. Shouts spill out of bar doors along the street when an underdog scores, and the place goes quiet when the giant restores order.

A Second Round match lasts about two hours with half-time. Extra time and penalties can stretch that by roughly another 45 minutes. The winners go through to the next round, and the losers go back to league football, sometimes with the best story of their season already behind them.