Football League Cup or League Cup or Carling Cup – the great championship for more than 70 teams. Do not miss any game – watch League Cup online.
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played as a knockout competition. Unlike the FA Cup where 731 teams entered in 2007-08 only 92 clubs can enter-the 20 clubs of the FA Premier League, and the 72 clubs of The Football League, which organises the competition. Unlike the FA Cup, the semi-finals are played over two legs. The winners qualify for the UEFA Cup, if they have not qualified for European competition in some other way.
Since 1982, the League Cup has been named after its sponsor, giving it the following names:
- Milk Cup (1981-82 to 1985-86), sponsored by the Milk Marketing Board
- Littlewoods Challenge Cup (1986-87 to 1989-90), sponsored by Littlewoods
- Rumbelows Cup (1990-91 and 1991-92), sponsored by Rumbelows
- Coca-Cola Cup (1992-93 to 1997-98), sponsored by Coca-Cola
- Worthington Cup (1998-99 to 2002-03), sponsored by Worthington Draught bitter
- Carling Cup (2003-04 to present), sponsored by Carling
The League Cup is less prestigious than the FA Cup,which also involves all other league teams. The League Cup is seen by some larger clubs as a lower priority than other competitions. Some clubs have made a point of fielding a weaker side in the competition, making the opportunity for so-called 'giant-killing' of the larger clubs more likely. Many of the top English sides, Manchester United and Arsenal in particular, have used the competition to give young players valuable big-game experience.
History
The League Cup was introduced in the 1960-61 season specifically as a mid-week floodlit tournament. In the early years of the competition, many of the top teams declined to take part.
In the last 10 years, following restructuring of European football, and the introduction of the restructured format of the UEFA Champions League, the League Cup was threatened with losing its UEFA Cup slot for its winners.
Liverpool have won the cup on the most occasions, with seven victories including four successive trophies in the early 1980s. They have appeared ten times in the final overall, also a record.
Format
First round
For this round, the clubs are divided in northern and southern sections. Half of the clubs from each section are seeded and half are not. First a draw is made to determine whether the seeded club is to play at home or away, and then the club is drawn against an unseeded club from their section. The ties are single matches, with extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary, with the winners progressing to the next round.
Second round
All clubs playing in the FA Premier League, unless they are competing in the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Cup (or took part in the UEFA Intertoto Cup), as well as any clubs that may have been given a bye to this round, enter at this stage and join the First Round winners. The ties are single matches, with extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary, with the winners progressing to the next round.
Third, fourth and fifth rounds
All clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Cup enter at this stage and join the Second Round winners (making for a total of thirty-two clubs). The ties are single matches, with extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary, with the winners progressing to the next round. The winners of ties in the previous round play single matches, with extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary. The fifth rounds are also known as the quarter-finals.
Semi-finals
The four quarter-final winners compete in this round. The ties are played over two matches with the aggregate score being used to determine the winners. If the scores are level at the end of the second match extra time is played. If the scores are still level at the end of extra time the team which has scored more away goals goes through. If the number of away goals is level a penalty shootout is used to decide the winners.
Final
The two semi-final winners compete to win the cup. The tie is a single match played at a neutral stadium, with extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary.
Table of winners
| Club | Winner | Last win | Runner-up | Last losing final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 7 | 2003 | 3 | 2005 |
| Aston Villa | 5 | 1996 | 2 | 1971 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 4 | 2008 | 2 | 2002 |
| Nottingham Forest | 4 | 1990 | 2 | 1992 |
| Chelsea | 4 | 2007 | 2 | 2008 |
| Leicester City | 3 | 2000 | 2 | 1999 |
| Arsenal | 2 | 1993 | 4 | 2007 |
| Manchester United | 2 | 2006 | 4 | 2003 |
| Norwich City | 2 | 1985 | 2 | 1975 |
| Manchester City | 2 | 1976 | 1 | 1974 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 | 1980 | 0 | - |