League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition. Like the more prestigious FA Cup, it is played on a knockout (single elimination) basis. Unlike the FA Cup, only the 92 members of The Football League (who organise the competition) and FA Premier League can enter. The winners qualify for the UEFA Cup, if they have not qualified for European competition in some other way.

History

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. In the early years of the competition, many of the top teams declined to take part, and it was only when automatic entry to the UEFA Cup was promised to the winners that the full League membership took part.

Related Topics:
1950s - Floodlight - 1960

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Liverpool have won it the most, with seven victories including four successive trophies in the early 1980s. The present holders (2005) are Chelsea, after defeating Liverpool in the final by a scoreline of 3-2 after extra time.

Related Topics:
Liverpool - 1980s - Chelsea

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