The EFL Cup is the first opportunity English clubs have to win a major piece of silverware and, while it doesn't have the prestige of other competitions, it remains a much-coveted trophy.
For much of the last decade, the EFL Cup has been won by one of the Premier League big boys, but it still represents a chance for smaller clubs and those in the lower leagues to compete for glory.
Birmingham City, Newcastle United and Swansea City have lifted the trophy in recent times, while Cardiff City, Bradford City and Sunderland are among the teams to have reached the final in the decade or so since the Blues upset Arsenal in 2011.
With a Europa League place on offer to the winner, the EFL Cup retains plenty of prestige, even if a lot of the Premier League clubs opt to rotate their squads for the early rounds, often giving youngsters and fringe players the chance to impress.
EFL Cup Dates
Round one of the EFL Cup is scheduled to take place before the beginning of the 2026/27 Championship, League One and League Two seasons.
Fixtures will take place throughout the weekend of 7-9 August, with league action set to commence the following week.
Dates for the remainder of the competition are still to be confirmed but the EFL Cup traditionally builds up through the early part of the season before semi-finals are played in the New Year.
The final usually takes place on a Sunday, late into March.
EFL Cup Format
All 92 clubs in the Premier League and the three divisions of the English Football League enter the competition each year.
In the first round, clubs from League Two join every League One club, as well as 22 of the 24 clubs from the Championship, with the two highest ranked teams from the previous season receiving byes into the second round.
The two remaining Championship sides are then joined in entering the competition in the second round by the top-flight sides not involved in European competition.
The third round then sees the Premier League clubs playing European football that season enter the fray.
Matches in all rounds are single-legged, except for the semi-finals, which are played over two legs at the respective teams' home stadiums.
The final was a two-legged affair from 1961 to 1966, but has been a single game ever since, with the most recent edition ending in a 2-0 victory for Manchester City over Arsenal, courtesy of brace from Nico O'Reilly.
EFL Cup Final Venue
The cup takes place throughout England and Wales, with the final held at Wembley Stadium.
Cardiff’s Millennium/Principality Stadium did temporarily host the final while Wembley was being rebuilt between 2001 and 2007, while the trophy has also been lifted at Hillsborough, Old Trafford, Villa Park and Maine Road when the final has gone to a replay, prior to extra-time and penalties becoming the method of splitting sides if the score is tied after 90 minutes.
EFL Cup History
The EFL Cup was first held in 1960/61 as the Football League Cup after being implemented by then Football League Secretary Alan Hardaker and it has been a permanent fixture on the calendar ever since.
Aston Villa were the first-ever winners in 1961, beating Rotherham United 3-2 on aggregate over two legs.
Manchester City are the most recent winners of the competition, winning the competition for a fifth time under Pep Guardiola.
EFL Cup Most Wins
Liverpool are the record winners of the competition, lifting the trophy 10 times and they are also the defending champions after beating Chelsea in the 2024 final.
Manchester City - who won the cup four times in succession between 2018 and 2021 - have triumphed nine times, slotting nicely into second on the list.
Manchester United have won it on six occasions and Aston Villa and Chelsea have both been victorious in the competition five times.
Check the full list of EFL cup winners.
