THE ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP

 26th September 1960

The first two matches in the English League Cup were played on this day – Bristol Rovers v Fulham and West Ham v Charlton – Fulham’s Maurice Cook scored the first goal in the competition. Below Maurice's career:

Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1952–1958	Watford	208	(68)
1958–1965	Fulham	221	(89)
1965–1966	Reading	12	(2)
1966–1967	Banbury United (player-coach)

Currently known as the Carabao Cup, for sponsorship reasons, the competition is open to any club within the top four levels of the EFL – 92 clubs in total – comprising the top level the Premier League and the three divisions of the English Football League's own league competition 

First held in 1960-1 as the Football League Cup, The competition began on 26 September 1960, and ended with the two-legged final almost a year later on 22 August and 5 September 1961.

The tournament was won by Aston Villa who beat Rotherham United 3–2 on aggregate after extra time. Rotherham won the first leg 2–0 at Millmoor, their home ground. In the second leg at Villa Park, Harry Burrows and Peter McParland levelled the tie on aggregate and Alan O'Neill scored in extra-time to win the cup for Aston Villa.

It is one of the three top-tier domestic football competitions in England, alongside the Premier League and FA Cup It concludes in February, long before the other two, which end in May. It was introduced by the league as a response to the increasing popularity of European football, and to also exert power over the FA. It also took advantage of the roll-out of floodlights, allowing the fixtures to be played as midweek evening games. With the renaming of the Football League as the English Football League in 2016, the tournament was rebranded as the EFL Cup from the 2016-17 onwards.

The tournament is played over seven rounds, with single-leg ties throughout, except for the semi-finals. The final is held at Wembley Stadium, which is the only tie in the competition played at a neutral venue and on a weekend (Sunday). The first two rounds are split into North and South sections, and a system of byes based on league level ensures higher ranked teams enter in later rounds, and to defer the entry of teams still involved in Europe.

The winners get a place in the UEFA Conference League. Should the winner also qualify for Europe through other means at the end of the season, this place is transferred to the highest-placed Premier League team not already qualified for European competition. The current holders are Liverpool, who beat Chelsea on penalties in the 2022 Final, to win their ninth League Cup, the most of any club. Premier League giants Manchester City (6), Manchester United (4), Liverpool (4) and Chelsea (3) between them won 17 editions of the competition between 2000 and 2022.

League Cup winners receive £100,000 prize money (awarded by the Football League) with the runners-up receiving £50,000, considered relatively insignificant to top-flight teams, compared to the £2 million prize money of the FA Cup, which is in turn eclipsed by the Premier League's television money (awarded on final league position) and consequent participation in the Champions League.

Many teams in the Premier League have used the competition to give young players valuable big-game experience. Consequently, it began to be described sarcastically as the Mickey Mouse Cup in some quarters.

"Unusual" past winners: Oxford United, Swansea, Blackburn Rovers, Swindon (remember Don Rogers!), Sheffield Wednesday, Luton Town, Stoke City, QPR, Middlesbrough, WBA.