For years The Carabao Cup has become considered the lesser tournament compared to the more prestigious FA Cup. Dogged by midweek ties, weakened teams, and pitiful rewards for lifting the trophy, it clearly needs reform.
But what would it take to turn the tournament around, get fans in, and give the tournament the esteem it deserves? Here is my roadmap to reform the Carabao Cup:
1. Revert the name to The League Cup
The League Cup has gone by many names down the years - mostly dictated by sponsors. It’s been known as The Carabao Cup. The Capital One Cup. The Carling Cup. The Worthington Cup. The Coca-Cola Cup. The Rumbelows Cup. The Littlewoods Challenge Cup, and The Milk Cup.
For 2016-17 it couldn’t even attract a sponsor and was known as “The EFL Cup” (which is at least an improvement). The EFL should take a leaf out of the FA Cup’s book, give the tournament back some prestige, and give it back its original name. The League Cup.
Because who honestly wants to lift a trophy called The Carabao Cup?
2. Single-legged semis
One of the improvements made to the footballing calendar during the Corona-hit 2020-21 season was the trimming down of The League Cup (as it is now known) to remove the second leg in the semi final. This should be a permanent change, recognising that teams play too many games as it is.
It also means some teams are only five wins from lifting a major trophy.
3. Make the prize worth winning
What do teams actually win for lifting The League Cup? £100,000 and a place in the final qualifying round for the Europa Conference League (where, if you make it this year, you enter the group stage alongside the likes of Anorthosis Famagusta and Lincoln Red Imps).
While the EFL can’t do much about the prize money, they can make the European spot more interesting. The Champion’s League is unlikely (heck, The FA Cup can’t even get that), but a place in the Europa League would be a good start. England gets two spots direct to the group stage, and one goes to the winners of The FA Cup, so one for The League Cup winners would be a sensible idea.
Combined with single-legged semis, that means teams entering are as little as 5 wins from Europe. That’s an appealing prospect, and could well give sides more incentive to go strong.
4. Further regionalisation
One of the things that sets the League Cup aside from The FA Cup is the way it regionalises its draws. In past years, clubs were seeded (to try and force more giant killings) but that has thankfully been scrapped. I toyed with scrapping regional ties, but think this should stay. The format shouldn't simply be an early season FA Cup clone.
And besides, the idea of making sure teams draw sides close to them is sensible. It is more likely to see boosted attendances, with fans not going clear across country on a midweek night (though I would change this - see below).
Regional ties do, however, need to change. This year the North of the draw featured Aston Villa (who went all the way to Barrow), while the South featured West Brom (hosting Arsenal). Two sides so close together being totally unable to draw each other makes no sense when the primary aim is to keep teams close to those they draw in order to boost attendances.
I would introduce a new ‘Midlands’ section for the first couple of rounds, and then break it out to North/South right through to the final.
5. Move games to weekends
One of the awkward parts of the League Cup is the midweek games. Not just midweek games. But midweek games, in awkward parts of the country (though more regionalisation would help with this), against opposition who would rather be somewhere else (see the prize-winning section for sorting that out). It’s little wonder fans keep away.
But what about moving those games to weekends? You give fans more time to plan their route, give many fans the chance to stop over after a longer trip, and you don’t get back at ridiculous hours with work in the morning. Those away days are closer too as the tournament is regionalised. It would work for all parties.
This would also have the double benefit of moving league games - which fans currently are more likely to attend - to midweek. This would mean the same amount of games under the lights, but in the combination where more people are likely to attend.
These five changes would bring back the historic prestige of the tournament, make it easier to qualify for Europe, and make fans more likely to attend. It’s small changes, but it sounds good to me.
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