The football competition began in August 1996 with the First Round and ended on 3 May 1997 with the Final match.
KF Tirana were the defending champions, having won their ninth Albanian Cup last season.
If the aggregated score was tied after both games, the team with the higher number of away goals advanced.
If the number of away goals was equal in both games, the match was decided by extra time and a penalty shootout, if necessary.
Games were played on August & September 1996 All sixteen teams of the 1995–96 Superliga and First Division entered in this round.