This seasons cup competition began on 9 August with the first game of the first round, but the majority of the games were played on the week-end 12–13 August. The competition ended on Sunday 10 June 2001 with the final, which this year was not held at the former
Wankdorf Stadium, but in the brand new
St. Jakob-Park in
Basel. The
Swiss Football Association (SFV-ASF) had modified the format of the
Swiss football league system to the beginning of the season. The eldest Swiss youth U-20 championship was despanded, these teams were all up-graded to U-21 teams and were eligible to play in the third or fourth-tier and were also eligible to play in the Swiss Cup. The four top teams from last seasons U-20 championship advanced to the third tier
2000–01 Swiss 1. Liga, the other teams advanced to the newly created
2. Liga Interregional (fourth tier). The size of the 1. Liga had been reduced to 48 teams, previously this had been 56 teams. The 48 clubs from the
2000–01 Swiss 1. Liga were granted
byes for the first round and were to join the competition in the second round. The 12 clubs from the
Nationalliga B were granted byes for the first three rounds. The 12 clubs from the
Nationalliga A were granted byes for the first four rounds. The winners of the cup qualified themselves for the first round of the
first round of the UEFA Cup in the following season. When possible, the draw respected regionalities and the lower classed team was granted home advantage. In the entire competition, the matches were played in a single knockout format. In the event of a draw after 90 minutes, the match went into extra time. In the event of a draw at the end of extra time, a
penalty shoot-out was to decide which team qualified for the next round. No replays were foreseen in the entire competition. == Round 1 ==