With more third round fixtures being played tonight here's some history on the trophy which celebrates it's 54th birthday this year:
The Football League Cup consists of 92 clubs (which include the Premier League Clubs and the 72 Football League Clubs). Winners of the Cup qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
Currently the prize money for winning the tournament is £100,000 and the runners-up prize is £50,000. This is excluding any ticket sales.
The League Cup was originally introduced in the 1960s as a mid-week tournament. Many opposed to the Cup as they thought it would distract from the European League (which was set up 5 years earlier) and the Domestic league.
In total sixteen clubs opposed the competition's creation but thirty-one approved it. Once the cup had been approved the Football League negotiated with UEFA that the winners would qualify for a European competition as long as they were in the domestic first division. This also prompted the final to be held at Wembley to make the cup a lot more appealing to clubs. Aston Villa won the ever Football League Cup in 1960-61 beating Rotherham 3-2.
In modern times England and France are the only UEFA members who offer a European place for the winners of their second cup competitions.
Here's some impressive upset's that have been seen over the years in the League Cup:
- 4th Division Chester beat Leeds 3-0 (1974-75)
- Grimsby Town beat Liverpool 2-1 (2001-02)
- League two Bradford City beat Wigan, Arsenal and Aston Villa on their way to the final (2012-13)
- This year League one MK Dons beat Manchester Utd 4-0
During it's history the trophy has had a number of different official names:
- Football League Cup, 1960 - 1982 (No Sponsor)
- Milk Cup, 1982 - 1986 (Milk Marketing Board)
- Littlewoods, 1986 - 1990 Challenge Cup (Littlewoods)
- Rumbelows Cup, 1990 - 1992 (Rumbelows)
- Coca-Cola Cup, 1992 - 1998 (Coca-Cola)
- Worthington Cup, 1998 - 2003 (Worthington's)
- Carling Cup, 2003 - 2012 (Molson Coors)
- Capital One Cup, 2012-2016 (Capital One)
Knowing it's history would you rather your team go for the Capital One Cup glory and earn a place in Europe or concentrate their efforts elsewhere? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook and G+.
