The Value of the Carabao Cup

Millwall VS Leicester Carabao Cup Round 3

Tomorrow night sees Leicester travel down to The Den for a third-round tie in the Carabao Cup. Brendan Rodgers’ exited this competition in the third-round last season following a 2-0 home loss to Arsenal. Despite this disappointment, the Foxes went on to win their first FA Cup just eight months later.

This follows the trend that bigger clubs prioritise the league and other cup competitions over the Carabao Cup. This has seen Manchester City take advantage of this as they’ve won five of the last six, with Pep Guardiola winning four in a row. But why do teams overlook the competition?

Since its inception in the 1960/61 season, there have been 23 different winners of the cup. Leicester have won the competition three times with the most recent coming in the 1999/2000 campaign. In comparison, since the 1960/61 season, there have been 10 new winners of the FA Cup.

Many believe the FA Cup is prioritised over the Carabao Cup due to its history. It is the oldest association football competition in the world and 43 different clubs have won the cup (since its inception in 1871).

However, as is in many decisions in modern football, money is at the centre. The winners of the FA Cup get 18 times the prize money as the winners of the Carabao Cup. This is combined with the money received from qualifying for a better European competition for winning the oldest competition.

Although bigger clubs neglecting the Carabao Cup seems bad, it could be good. It gives the smaller clubs a better chance of getting to the final. This was most prominent in the 2013 final when Swansea City beat Bradford 5-0, two teams people didn’t expect to see competing for the trophy.

This season, Rodgers could add to his FA Cup and Community Shield as Leicester City manager. What better way than to go for the overlooked competition?