Carabao Cup - EFL Cup Tickets

Carabao Cup History

The Carabao Cup, or the EFL Cup, as it's more commonly known, is a competition with a great history in English football. It's a tournament that has been run since 1961 and has had many different names, and is fondly thought of by football fans.

The League Cup is effectively the second biggest domestic cup trophy in English football (after the prestigious FA Cup) and one that attracts a great deal of interest, especially as the tournament moves into its latter stages.

The first team to win the trophy was Aston Villa, who beat Rotherham in a two-legged final in 1961. The final was a two-legged affair up until 1967 and has usually been held at Wembley Stadium, but was played at the Millenium Stadium between 2001 and 2007 when Wembley was being redeveloped.

Liverpool have won the competition the most times, on nine occasions, and Manchester City have won it eight times. Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Manchester United have all won the EFL Cup five times. Tottenham sits just behind these teams, with four successes.

The trophy has often been won by so-called 'lesser teams,' including the likes of Luton Town, Oxford United, and Norwich City.

Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest had a very successful spell in the competition in the late 80s and early 90s. Manchester United won it twice in a row in 2009 and 2010 under Sir Alex Ferguson.

The League Cup final is always a big occasion, watched by millions, and cup tickets are incredibly popular and sought after by neutrals as well as fans of the clubs taking part.

A Cup of Many Names

The competition has seen its fair share of sponsors, whose name is then taken as part of the cup's identity. Between 1960-61 and 1980-81, the trophy was simply called the Football League Cup. From 1981 to 1986, it was referred to as the Milk Cup, as it was sponsored by the Milk Marketing Board.

It has since been called the Littlewoods Cup, Rumbelows Cup, Coca-Cola Cup, Worthington Cup, Carling Cup, and Capital One Cup, and since the 2017-18 season, it's been sponsored by the Carabao Energy Drink, hence the Carabao Cup.

English League Cup Recent Previous Winners

• 2015 Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
• 2016 Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool (City Win On Penalties)
• 2017 Manchester United 3-2 Southampton
• 2018 Manchester City 3-0 Arsenal
• 2019 Manchester City 0-0 Chelsea (City Win On Penalties)
• 2020 Manchester City 2-1 Aston Villa
• 2021 Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham
• 2022 Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea (Liverpool Win On Penalties)
• 2023 Manchester United 2-0 Newcastle United

The Carabao Cup - How Does it Work?

All teams within the English Football League take part in the England Football League Cup. Initial rounds do not include the big guns, and then Premier League teams join the tournament, and those who are in European action then join after those.

Football tickets for the Carabao Cup are very popular, especially from the quarter-finals onwards. The semi-finals involve two-legged games, and the final is a one-off game.

The EFL Cup final no longer involves a replay, meaning that the game will go to extra time and then, if necessary, penalties before a winning team is then crowned.

Full list of Carabao Cup winners & runners-up