RFEF reschedules 24 Copa del Rey ties after Urda rail crash kills 68

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confirmed new dates for all 24 Copa del Rey first-round ties postponed out of respect for the victims of the Urda rail crash, with matches rescheduled across a window running from 29 October to 13 November 2026.

A collision between a Renfe high-speed train and an Iryo high-speed service near Urda station in Toledo province killed 68 people and injured 80, according to Público. An investigating judge at the court in Orgaz has opened inquiries into the cause of the crash. The Spanish government announced three days of official mourning.

The RFEF called off every Copa del Rey first-round tie originally scheduled for the evening of 28 October, as well as all other matches under its jurisdiction. The nine first-round futsal Copa de España fixtures and a futsal draw planned for 29 October were also cancelled.

Of the top-flight clubs affected, Alavés are first back in action, travelling to regional side Anaitasuna at 19:00 on Tuesday 3 November. Levante visit CD Tarancón two days later on Thursday 5 November, with Mallorca’s tie at CD Alcoyano following on the same evening.

Three La Liga clubs face a considerably longer wait. Valencia and Betis will play their ties in the week of 13 November — a period when most league and European football is paused for international duty. Celta close the round away to Salamanca, with kick-off at 21:00 on Friday 13 November itself.

The rescheduling creates a particularly congested run for Mallorca. Just three days after their cup trip to Alcoyano, they face a second-tier league fixture away to Andorra as they continue their push for automatic promotion from the Segunda División.

The Copa del Rey second round had originally been pencilled in for 2 December, a timeline that now looks tighter given the compressed nature of the revised first-round schedule.