League cup

For the North American club tournament, see Leagues Cup.

In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league.[1] The first national association football tournament to be called "League Cup" was held in Scotland in 1946–47 and was entitled the Scottish League Cup. However, in the Republic of Ireland the now-defunct League of Ireland Shield was the first national league-only tournament of its kind (played first in 1921); this was subsequently replaced by the League of Ireland Cup in 1983.

The creation of a league cup marked the difference from the domestic cup (or primary cup), which is generally also open to teams from multiple leagues, often as far down as regional amateur leagues, and who are also members of the country's football association. League cups are less prevalent than domestic cups.[1][2]

The creation of a tournament of this kind exclusively for the top national-level league teams, in addition to the two main domestic association football tournaments of the league and association cup, also created a new national footballing achievement called the domestic "treble". The first national league treble of this kind was won by Shamrock Rovers of the Republic of Ireland in 1925.

League cups were generally introduced after the Second World War – for example, the Football League Cup in England in 1960 – although in other countries they were created following a rise in the number of floodlit stadiums, allowing regular midweek matches.

In certain countries, the league cup had, or in some cases still has, group stages in the early stages. These often opened the season before the main league season began.

List of league cups and secondary cups in association football

Men's league cups

Africa

Asia

Europe

South America

  • Argentina Copa de la Liga Profesional
  • Peru Torneo Intermedio

Women's league cups

Europe

  • England
  • Iceland Icelandic League Cup
  • Portugal Taça da Liga Feminina
  • Scotland SWPL Cup

Asia

  • Japan WE League Cup

North America

  • Canada Women's Inter-Provincial Championship

Defunct league cups and secondary cups

Men's league cups

Africa

  • Egypt EFA League Cup
  • Tunisia Tunisia Coupe de la Ligue Professionel

Asia

  • Australia
    • NSL Cup – first tier
    • NNSWF State Cup – regional competition
  • China Chinese Super League Cup
  • Iraq Baghdad Championship
  • Japan Japan Soccer League Cup (1973–1991), Konica Cup (1990 and 1991)
  • Lebanon Lebanese Elite Cup (1996–2023), Lebanese Challenge Cup (2013–2023)
  • Philippines UFL Cup
  • South Korea Korean League Cup

Europe

North America

South America

Women's league cups

Asia

  • Japan Nadeshiko League Cup
  • Philippines PFF Women's Cup

North America

  • United States NWSL Challenge Cup (2020–2023, supercup from 2024)

League cups and secondary cups in other sports

Basketball

Men's league cups

  • France LNB Pro A Leaders Cup
  • France LNB Pro B Leaders Cup
  • United Kingdom BBL Cup (includes only British Basketball League teams)
  • Iceland Icelandic League Cup (includes top two league levels)
  • Israel Israeli Basketball State Cup (includes the top two levels, the Premier League and National League)
  • Israel Israeli Basketball League Cup (separate cup for the Premier League and National League)
  • Italy Coppa Italia (Serie A)
  • Italy LNP Cup
  • Portugal Portuguese League Cup
  • Serbia KSS Cup (Second League)
  • Spain Copa Princesa de Asturias (LEB Oro) - second tier
  • Switzerland SBL Cup
  • United States / Canada NBA Cup

Women's league cups

  • Iceland Icelandic League Cup (includes top two league levels)
  • United States WNBA Commissioner's Cup

References

  1. ^ a b Boillat, Camille; Poli, Raffaele (2014). "Governance models across football associations and leagues" (PDF). International Centre for Sports Studies. pp. 61–62. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Who's won the treble? Bayern double up". UEFA. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
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