League Cup could be scrapped for good
EFL will demand bailout if it goes
PREMIER LEAGUE clubs are ready to demand the abolition of the League Cup as the price for providing a rescue package to the lower divisions.
under the terms of the tripartite agreement signed by the Premier League, Fa and Football League in 1992, all top-flight clubs are contractually obliged to enter the League Cup every season, but the competition is coming under increasing pressure due to fixture congestion, which has been exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis.
UEFA’s announcement earlier this week that next season’s Champions League and Europa League group stages will take place between October 20 and December 10 has brought the issue into sharp focus, as many of those midweek dates are currently used for the League Cup, raising doubts as to whether leading clubs would be able to enter next season.
EFL sources have indicated that staging the League Cup without the elite may not be viable as it would lose much of its value to broadcasters and sponsors, and there are also fears that if the top six were allowed to sit it out for a season they might never return.
The EFL are looking at alternatives to salvage the competition, with one option being an earlier than planned start to next season to allow the early rounds to be played in august, but they accept its fate may be tied into talks over a Premier League-funded rescue package for struggling clubs.
With the League Cup worth around £85million a year in broadcast, sponsorship and ticketing income however, the EFL would demand a package in excess of £120m a year from the Premier
League to compensate for the loss of revenue, and to provide a bailout for clubs hit by the absence of gate receipts during the shutdown.
The League Cup has been running since 1960-61 and its abolition would significantly alter the season, but EFL clubs might accept its demise if they are sufficiently compensated.
The Premier League told government that they will help the lower leagues during talks to secure their support for Project Restart, but detailed talks have yet to begin. an alternative to abolition would be for Premier League clubs to be given permission to use the League Cup as a youth-team competition, which many of them do to some extent anyway, although this would also undermine its commercial value.
The EFL were resigned to making changes after 2024 anyway due to the planned expansion of the Champions League, with the twoleg semi-finals likely to be scrapped, and the coronavirus crisis may have accelerated this process.