A new Carabao Cup format has been announced.
The Carabao Cup will have a new format for the 2025/26 season, and fans are not pleased.
The competition, also known as the EFL Cup, or originally the Football League Cup, sees all 92 clubs from the top four divisions of English football compete in the first two rounds, based on their finishing position the previous season.
For example, every Championship, League One, and League Two club competes in round one, with the exception of two second-tier clubs who will receive a bye.
That happens when there are exactly seven clubs that have qualified for European competition; last season, the two best-ranked Championship clubs, Luton Town and Burnley, advanced to the second round.
This season’s structure has been complicated by the fact that seven clubs qualified for Europe via the Premier League, as well as Crystal Palace and Tottenham through FA Cup and Europa League successes.
As a result, the EFL has announced a significant modification to the competition, which has not occurred since the 2011/12 season.
Two League Two clubs will be excluded from the Carabao Cup’s first round to ensure that the mathematically proper numbers are used for each round.
Instead, there will be a four-team Preliminary Round, with the victor of the single knockout ties advancing to Round One.
The four teams slated to play are Accrington Stanley and Newport County, which finished 21st and 22nd in League Two last season, as well as recently promoted Barnet and Oldham Athletic.
The ties have been decided by region, thus Oldham will play Accrington in the ‘northern’ fixture, while Barnet will face Newport in the’southern’.
This was done because round one is similarly regionalised, with northern clubs competing against southern teams.
In 2011, a preliminary round was required after Birmingham and Fulham qualified for Europe through the Football League Cup and the European Fair Play table.
A statement from the EFL says: “The format of the Carabao Cup will be amended to introduce a four-team preliminary qualifying round, to reduce the number of clubs in Round One and Round Two in order to accommodate all Premier League European clubs in Round Three.”
One Oldham fan responded, writing, “So as a reward for getting back into the Football League, us and Barnet have to qualify for the League Cup.”
A second complained, “Once again, we all have to change for the Premier League.”
A third joked, “Can we go back to the National League please?”
Meanwhile, a Barnet fan wrote, “We’re promoted to get that?”
And an Accrington fan said, “Seems very unfair to the four clubs involved.” Just to support those struggling Premier League teams.”
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