Contrary to the league season, it has been conducted in a fall-spring rhythm.
It began on 20 July 1996 with the first of five rounds and ended on 25 May 1997 with the final at the Dinamo Stadium in Minsk.
FC MPKC Mozyr were the defending champions, having defeated FC Dinamo Minsk in the 1996 final, but were knocked out in the second round by one of the eventual finalists FC Dinamo-93 Minsk, the eventual runners-up.
The final match was played on 25 May 1997 at the Dinamo Stadium in Minsk.
This article about a Belarusian football competition is a stub.