Can someone please explain to me the difference between the Carling Cup, Worthington Cup, and FA Cup? I don't want to know the formats just what each cup is about. Like I know the FA Cup everyone from the Nationwide to the Prem particapate but what about the other cups. Thanks.
The Carling Cup and the Worthington Cup are the same thing. They changed the name this year with a new sponser. Its sometimes call the League Cup because it is run by the Football League and all the teams in the Football League and the EPL play in it. The F.A. Challenge Cup is run by the F.A and is open to any football team in England, regarless of league. They are some other Cups that are geared to teams in the lower divisions and non-league teams. So those teams will play in both if they get put out of the F.A. Cup in early rounds. EPL teams and 1st Div. teams dont enter until round 3. The F.A. Cup is by far the biggest of the two. In fact, about once a year someone goes off about how they need to scrap the League Cup.
Just as an FYI - although the League Cup has a lower stature than the FA Cup both have an UEFA cup spot associated with them (as opposed to say the league cup in Scotland)
The League Cup has a much smaller entry. Restricted to just 92 clubs, the FA Cup has about (I think currently) 600 teams in it.
The F.A. Cup is contested by all FA members. The League Cup is contested amongst the Football League and and Premier League teams. All the other leagues in England are excluded. Sykotyk
The League Cup was started in the early 60s when floodlit matches were a novelty, with it originally being designed as a competition being played purely (i.e. including the final) midweek over two legs. At the time The League & The FA were very much rival organisations and the league would do anything to increase its own importance. The league were also very much against teams competing in Europe back then, for similar reasons.
perhaps it's worth pointing out that in england, the premiership, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd divisions are what consititute 'league football'. League Cup competition is limited to these clubs. the Football Association casts a much wider net over english football to include hundreds and hundreds of clubs - including those of 'league' status. in other words, there are other 'leagues' within the FA than those that the four that constitute the 'Football League". the FA Cup incorporates these clubs. i realize that most of this has already been noted in this thread; but i couldn't help but suspect that the status of 'league football' as distinguished from 'other' or 'lower' leagues might be a bit confusing.
This can be a confusing area for anyone. From 1888 until 1992, there was one major league in England - the Football League, which comprised 4 divisions. In 1992, the clubs in the top tier of the Football League (Division 1) effectively broke away to form the Football Association Premier League. This was to ensure a bigger share of income, particularly revenues from satellite TV. The remaining Football League divisions (2 - 4 inclusive) remained, but renamed themselves Divisi on 1 to Division 3). Richard L's comments about the creation of the League Cup are correct. It was effectively a political move on the part of the Football League to try and rival the FA Cup and thus reduce the relative importance of the Football Association.