EFL Cup

Status

Although the League Cup is one of the four domestic trophies attainable by English league teams, it is regarded as of lower prestige than the league title or the FA Cup. League Cup winners receive £100,000 prize money (awarded by the Football League) with the runners-up receiving £50,000, considered relatively insignificant to top-flight teams, compared to the £2 million prize money of the FA Cup, which is in turn eclipsed by the Premier League's television money (awarded on final league position) and consequent participation in the Champions League.

Some clubs have repeatedly fielded a weaker side in the competition, making the opportunity for giant-killing of the larger clubs more likely. Many teams in the Premier League, Arsenal and Manchester United in particular, have used the competition to give young players valuable big-game experience – but, if they subsequently reach the latter stages, they then field their strongest possible team.

When Carling opted out of renewing its sponsorship of the League Cup in 2011, one of the reasons for ending sponsorship cited by the company was the lack of prestige the Cup attracted, both from fans and from larger clubs.

However, in 2010, in response to Arsène Wenger's claim that a League Cup win would not end his trophy drought, Alex Ferguson described the trophy as worth winning. After a period of decline when the competition's future was regularly questioned, recent years have seen a revival in respect for the trophy, as the larger Premier League clubs have come to dominate the competition again, and the development nature of the competition has begun to be viewed as a positive for the clubs involved. Premier League giants Manchester City (7), Manchester United (5), Liverpool (5) and Chelsea (3) among them won 20 editions of the tournament between 2001 and 2026.

History

The original idea for a League Cup came from Stanley Rous, who saw the competition as a consolation for clubs who had already been knocked out of the FA Cup. However, it was not Rous who came to implement it, but Football League Secretary Alan Hardaker. Hardaker initially proposed the competition as a way for the clubs to make up for lost revenue due to a reduction in matches played, for when the league was to be reorganised. The reorganisation of the league was not immediately forthcoming; however, the cup competition was introduced regardless.

The trophy was paid for personally by Football League President Joe Richards, who was proud of the competition, and he had his own name engraved on it. Richards described the competition's formation as an "interim step" on the way to the league's re-organisation. Richards' priority was the reorganisation of the leagues, "perhaps by cutting down the number of clubs in each division, as has already been suggested, and even given more consideration to the system of four up and four down".

Hardaker felt that the Football League needed to adapt to the times, as the English game was losing prestige. He felt that the Football League ought to take the lead in revitalising football in the nation: "It must be obvious to all of you that the time has come to do something, and it is up to the Football League to give the lead. I hope the Press will not immediately assume that the League is going to fall out with the F.A. or anybody else... the time have come for our voice to be heard in every problem which affects the professional game."

The League Cup competition was established at a time when match-day attendances were dwindling. The league had lost a million spectators compared to the previous season. It was established at a time when tensions between the Football League and The Football Association were high. The biggest disagreement was about how revenue was shared among the clubs.

During the late 1950s, the majority of senior English clubs equipped their grounds with floodlights. This opened up the opportunity to exploit weekday evenings throughout the winter. The League Cup was introduced in the 1960–61 season specifically as a mid-week floodlit tournament to replace the Southern Professional Floodlit Cup.

Modern changes

In the early 21st century, the League Cup was sometimes derided as a "Mickey Mouse" trophy by sections of the media and rival supporters, though others defended its status and significance to players and clubs.

From the late 2010s into the 2020s, several developments helped to bolster the competition's profile. In 2018, the EFL removed extra time from earlier rounds to reduce fixture congestion, and during the pandemic the 2020–21 semi-finals were played as single-leg ties. At the same time, the winners continued to receive a UEFA berth—latterly a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round—while France suspended its own League Cup after 2019–20 to ease the calendar.

Audience and attendances have reflected this shift. The 2023 final drew a record 4.26 million UK viewers on Sky Sports; in 2025 the final peaked at nearly eight million viewers across Sky and ITV, with a crowd of 88,513 at Wembley. The competition has also remained a route to early-season silverware for leading clubs—Manchester City, for example, won four consecutive titles between 2018 and 2021.

Broadcast distribution has expanded in parallel, with new multi-year international deals in markets such as the United States and a broadened list of global partners.

Giant-killings

Giant-killings are less well remembered in the League Cup than in the FA Cup due to the absence of non-league sides and the fact that big clubs often field more inexperienced sides in the early rounds. However, there have been some notable upsets; the final of 1966–67 saw Division Three side Queens Park Rangers come from 2–0 down at halftime to win 3–2 against top-flight West Bromwich Albion in the first League Cup Final to be hosted at Wembley Stadium. Two years later in 1968–69, Third Division side Swindon Town beat Arsenal 3–1 after extra time in the final to win the trophy. In 1974–75, Fourth Division side Chester beat defending league champions Leeds United 3–0 on their surprise run to the semi-finals.

Former League club and now defunct Scarborough defeated Chelsea 4–3 on aggregate in October 1989, while a Fourth Division club. In 1992–93, Scarborough then defeated Coventry City (then a top-tier side) 3–2 on aggregate, before ultimately going out of the competition, narrowly, 1–0, against Arsenal.

In 1995–96, Manchester United were beaten 3–0 at home by York City in the second round, first leg; United could only win 3–1 in the second leg and went out 4–3 on aggregate (York went on to repeat the achievement against Everton the following year). United went on to win the FA Premier League and FA Cup double and did not lose another home game that season, while York narrowly avoided relegation to Division Three (fourth tier).

Grimsby Town recorded a number of upsets over a nine-year stretch; whilst playing in the third tier in 1997–98 they defeated Premier League side Sheffield Wednesday 4–3 on aggregate over both legs before knocking out fellow Premier League side (and League Cup holders) Leicester City 3–1. In 2001–02, they beat current holders Liverpool at Anfield with a 2–1 win in extra time. Four years later, they recorded another giant killing by defeating Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 at home; by this time Grimsby were playing in the fourth tier. In the 2025–26 season, Grimsby were also playing in the fourth tier (League Two) when they defeated Manchester United 12–11 in a penalty shootout, after a 2–2 draw at home.

Manchester United have also been knocked out by Southend United and Coventry City in 2006–07 and 2007–08 respectively: in the match against Southend they fielded a strong side with 10 internationals, bucking a trend they had themselves started during the 1990s. In the 2014–15 season, Manchester United fielded five international players but lost 4–0 in the second round (in which they entered the tournament) against third-tier side MK Dons.

Format

The League Cup is open to all 92 members of the Premier League and English Football League and is divided into seven rounds, organised so that 32 teams remain by the third round (with the exception of the 1961–62 competition). The fixtures in every round except the final are determined by a random draw. Up to 1995–96, all teams were involved from the second round, although some received byes to that stage. Since 1996–97, teams involved in European competition during the season have received a bye to the third round; the remaining Premier League teams enter at the second round. While most Football League teams enter in the first round, adjustments are made to ensure 32 teams are in the third round. In the most common occurrence, where seven Premier League clubs are in European football, two teams from the EFL Championship receive byes to the second round. In other circumstances, a preliminary round may be used among teams promoted from the previous season's National League and, if required, the lowest-placed finisher(s) from the previous season's EFL League Two. Preliminary rounds have been necessary only in 2002–03, 2011–12, 2025–26, and 2026–27.

Matches in all rounds are single-legged, except for the semi-finals, which have been two-legged since the competition began. The final was two-legged from 1961 to 1966, but has been single-legged ever since. The first round was two-legged from 1975–76 to 2000–01, and the second round was two-legged from 1979–80 to 2000–01. Single-legged matches would be replayed as necessary until 1993–94, when penalties were introduced to settle the first replay; the last single-legged tie to require a replay was played in 1996–97.

Until 1974–75, two-legged ties that remained level after extra time in the second leg would be replayed; in that time, three ties reached a third replay. Between 1975–76 and 1979–80, ties would still be replayed, but a penalty shoot-out would be used to settle ties that could not be decided after a replay; replays of two-legged matches were finally abolished for 1980–81, with the away goals rule and penalties being adopted instead. The semi-finals were the exception to this, with level ties being replayed until 1986–87, after which the away goals rule and penalties were introduced. The semi-finals, when played over two legs, would apply the away goals rule only after extra time. From 2018–19, extra time was scrapped for all rounds except the final, and the away goal rule was scrapped for the semi-final, with level ties going straight to a penalty shoot-out. Since 2024–25, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system is used in all EFL Cup ties held at Premier League stadiums.

Final

For the first six seasons of the Football League Cup, the final was played over two legs, one at the home ground of each finalist. Since 1967, the final has been played as a single match at Wembley Stadium, although the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was used between 2001 and 2007, following the demolition of the old Wembley. Between 1967 and 1997, finals that finished level after extra time were replayed at an alternative venue until a winner was decided. The venues that hosted replays were Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, Old Trafford and Maine Road in Manchester and Villa Park in Birmingham. The only final to require two replays was the 1977 final between Aston Villa and Everton.

Since 1998, finals that have finished level after extra time have been decided by penalty shoot-out. Until 1999–2000, the final was played in late March or early April. Thereafter it has been played in late February or early March.

Since 1989–90, the best player in the League Cup final has been presented with the Alan Hardaker Trophy, named after Alan Hardaker, the former secretary of the Football League who devised the Football League Cup. John Terry, Ben Foster, Vincent Kompany and Virgil van Dijk are the only players to win the award more than once.

Sponsorship

From 1981 to the present (except in 2016–17), the League Cup has attracted title sponsorship, which meant, unlike its older sibling the FA Cup, the League Cup was named after its sponsor, giving it the following names:

Trophy

The winners receive the Football League Cup, of which there have been three designs – the current one also being the original, a three-handled Georgian-style urn with a separate plinth (added later). Designed and manufactured by Mappin & Webb, it weighs 2.976 kg and measures 27 cm by 20.5 cm. It is worth around £20,000. It was used until the 1980–81 competition, before coming back into use ever since the 1990–91 competition. The reason for the break in usage was the introduction of the first competition sponsor – the Milk Marketing Board, which chose to award its own trophy from 1981–82 to 1985–86. The next sponsor, Littlewoods, also chose to award their own trophy, from 1986–87 until 1989–90. Later sponsors have used the original.

Broadcasters

In the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, the tournament is broadcast live by Sky Sports. Until 2024, Sky had a selection of 15 matches per season, with highlights from several matches on ITV Sport beginning in 2022/23. This competition is included in the EFL broadcast package.

In 2024/25, all matches were broadcast live by Sky Sports for the first time, with ITV Sport producing its own coverage of one leg from each of the semi-finals (one first leg and the other second leg) for airing on ITV1 and STV, and simulcasting Sky's coverage of the final live.

From the 2025/26 season onwards, under the five-year domestic rights deal with Sky Sports (running through 2028/29), all Carabao Cup matches are broadcast live, with over 1,000 EFL matches per season (including every Carabao Cup tie) available across Sky Sports channels or the Sky Sports+ streaming service (integrated at no extra cost for Sky Sports subscribers and accessible via NOW TV). Matches are typically shown on Sky Sports Football or other main channels when selected, while others stream exclusively on Sky Sports+, ensuring comprehensive coverage of all 93 ties per season.

In addition, ITV Sport added a game from each round prior to the semi-finals. This builds on the existing free-to-air agreement with ITV (covering select semi-final legs and the final, continuing through 2026/27) with ITV Sport continuing to produce its own coverage of games chosen for airing on ITV1 and STV (except the final)

International broadcasters

Source: England Football League website as of September 1, 2026.

Records

As of 2026:

Most tournament wins (team): 10 – Liverpool

Most consecutive tournament wins (team): 4 – Liverpool (1981–1984) and Manchester City (2018–2021)

Most final appearances (team): 15 – Liverpool

Most tournament appearances (individual) 102 – Peter Shilton

Most tournament wins (manager): 5

Pep Guardiola

Most tournament wins (individual): 6

Sergio Agüero and Fernandinho for Manchester City (2014, 2016, 2018–2021)

Most final appearances (individual): 6

Ian Rush for Liverpool (1981–1984, 1987, 1995)

Emile Heskey for Leicester City (1997, 1999, 2000), Liverpool (2001, 2003) and Aston Villa (2010)

Fernandinho for Manchester City (2014, 2016, 2018–2021)

Most finals scored in: (individual): 3 – Didier Drogba

Most goals scored (individual, career): 49 – Ian Rush

Most goals scored (individual, season): 12 – Clive Allen, Tottenham Hotspur (1986–87)

Most goals scored (individual, match): 6 – Frankie Bunn (Oldham Athletic, vs Scarborough, 25 October 1989)