From October 6 to 8, Bulgaria will be among the 4 locations around the world where a round of the FAI Drone Soccer International Series will be held; participants and fans will gather at the Drone ARENA Soccer Cup 2026 in Sofia
A breathtaking drone spectacle awaits us from October 6 to 8 in Sofia. This year, Bulgaria is one of the 4 locations in the world where a round of the drone soccer world championships – Drone ARENA Soccer Cup 2026 will be held. Expected by participants, fans and innovators, the event will conquer Sofia, within the framework of Inter Drone Expo 2026 exhibition at Inter Expo Center.
The competition, organized by Drone Arena, places Sofia as one of only 4 locations where a round of the FAI Drone Soccer International Series will be held, along with Long Beach, Hong Kong and Istanbul. From October 6 to 8, the competition will be held according to FAI rules in class F9A – Subclass B, with a jury formed according to point C.7.3 of the CIAM General Rules. Drone ARENA Soccer Cup 2026 in Sofia is included in the official FAI calendar.
Drone spectacles
It seems that three days of incredible spectacles await us, which this year we can only see in Sofia, Long Beach, Hong Kong and Istanbul.
On the first day, October 6, the teams will register, and from 12.00 to 18.00 there will be training sessions.
The official draw for the groups will be drawn on October 7, after the official opening. The group phase of the competition will take place from 11:00 to 18:00 at the Inter Expo Center.
The day of many emotions for the participants and the audience will be October 8. In the early hours of the day, from 10.00 to 12.00, the group phase will continue. The elimination matches and finals of the Drone ARENA Soccer Cup 2026 will be followed from 13.00 to 16.00. And exactly at 17.00 there will be the Grand Awarding of the prize winners.
Do you want to participate?
Yes, you still have this opportunity. If you want to be among the participants, you can register at https://forms.gle/VrZNtUdcsJwdGZcs8. The deadline is September 7. “Registration for the Drone ARENA Soccer Cup 2026 is open to international teams and is carried out in advance, providing the necessary information about the team and the competitors,” explain the organizers from Drone Arena.
More about the format of the Drone ARENA Soccer Cup 2026 in Sofia
Each team can consist of up to five players and one coach.
In the international competition in Subclass B, matches are played with three active players. Drone balls with a diameter of 20 cm will be used. The competition is divided into a group phase, eliminations and finals. In the event of a tie in the elimination or final matches, the winner is determined by the first goal scored in overtime.
The youth category Student Cup will also be held in parallel, in which competitors will use drone balls from Starter Class (20 cm), equipped with brush motors and 2S LiPo batteries. The matches are played in a group format, each game lasts 2 minutes. “Student Cup teams must register separately and mark “Student” in the comments field when registering,” Drone Arena notes.
A lot of adrenaline, spectacle and emotions. All this promises us Drone ARENA Soccer Cup 2026 – the drone competition that strengthens Bulgaria’s place in the world drone sport. The doors of the competition, which will be held within the framework of the Inter Drone Expo 2026 exhibition at the Inter Expo Center in Sofia, will be open to competitors and fans from Bulgaria and abroad from October 6 to 8.
You can find out more about Drone ARENA Soccer Cup 2026 at www.dronearena.net.
You can register to participate ТУК.
More about the FAI Drone Soccer International Series and the official calendar can be found at www.fai.org.
Дронове, киберсигурност и AI са „горещите“ теми в София от 6 до 9 октомври
