In several sports, most prominently

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. 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 The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

. However, in the Republic of Ireland the now-defunct

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield ( ga, Sciath Sraithe na hÉireann) is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season began ...

was the first national league-only tournament of its kind (played first in 1921); this was subsequently replaced by the

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

in 1983. The creation of a league cup marked the difference from the association 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 primary cups. 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

– for example, the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

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. The

NWSL Challenge Cup The NWSL Challenge Cup, currently known as the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tournament organized by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top-tier women's league in the United States soccer league system. T ...

, which opens the season of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

in the U.S., currently uses this exact format.

List of league cups and secondary cups in association football

Men's league cups

Africa

* Algerian League Cup * KPL Top 8 Cup * ** MTN 8 – first tier **

Telkom Knockout The Telkom Knockout was a South African professional football knockout competition which comprised the 16 teams in the South African Premier Soccer League. The competition was established in 1982 and was first known as the Datsun Challenge. Unde ...

– second tier

Asia

* ** Canale Cup – regional competition *

Indonesia President's Cup The Piala Presiden (English: President's Cup) is an annual pre-season association football tournament held in Indonesia and organized by the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI). It is participated by Liga 1 clubs. The inaugural tournament w ...

J.League Cup The is a Japanese football (soccer) competition organized by J.League. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is also known as the or (Levain is one of Y ...

Jordan FA Shield The Jordan Shield Cup is a men's football (soccer) competition played in Jordan started in 1981. It was generally played before the start of the domestic league season. Winners by year Winners Performance by club External linksJordan - Lis ...

Kuwait Federation Cup The Kuwaiti Federation Cup ( ar, كأس الاتحاد الكويتي) is a competition organised by the Kuwait Football Association, the Kuwaiti version of a League cup and has been played in its current format every year since 2008. The first e ...

Lebanese Elite Cup The Lebanese Elite Cup () is a Lebanese football annual cup competition contested by the top six teams of the previous Lebanese Premier League season. Founded in 1996 as the Super League Cup, the first edition was contested by the top five finish ...

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup ( ms, Piala Malaysia), formerly known as ''Malaya Cup'', is an annual association football, football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popular ...

Oman Professional League Cup The Oman Professional League Cup ( ar, كأس دوري المحترفين عمان) (known as the ''Mazda Professional Cup'' for sponsorship reasons), previously known as the Oman Federation Cup, is an Omani football competition. The first edition ...

Qatari Stars Cup The Qatari Stars Cup is a Qatari football competition played during the Qatar Stars League season known as Ooredoo Cup due to sponsorship reasons. The knockout competition, which involves a round-robin league structure, was first started in 2009 ...

Thai League Cup The League Cup ( th, ไทยลีกคัพ) is a football cup competition in Thailand. It is also known as Toyota League Cup for sponsorship reasons. It was re-formed during the 2010 domestic football league season in Thailand and runs alon ...

UAE League Cup The UAE League Cup ( ar, كأس رابطة المحترفين الإماراتية) or the Pro League Cup is a knockout tournament for clubs in the UAE Pro-League. The first edition of the tournament was played in the 2008–2009 season. In the 2 ...

Europe

* **

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

(formerly the Football League Cup) – first tier **

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

(formerly the Football League Trophy) – second tier **

Isthmian League Cup The Alan Turvey Trophy, formerly the Isthmian League Cup is a football knock-out cup competition organised by the Isthmian League in England. History Isthmian League Chairman and President Alan Turvey was among the FA's "150 Grassroots Heroes" ...

– regional competition **

Northern Premier League Challenge Cup The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...

– regional competition **

Northern Premier League President's Cup The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division ...

– regional competition ** Southern Football League Cup – regional competition *

Finnish League Cup The Finnish League Cup was a knock-out association football, football competition contested annually during the pre-season in winter by teams from Veikkausliiga. The league cup was abolished after the 2016 tournament and replaced with the Finnish C ...

Icelandic League Cup The Icelandic Men's Football League Cup (Icelandic: Deildarbikar karla), also known as the Lengjubikar karla for sponsorship reasons, is a pre-season professional football competition in Iceland. It is considered the third most important competit ...

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League ( Ligat Ha'Al), and the second division Liga Leumit. Fro ...

Irish League Cup The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes), also known colloquially as the Irish League Cup, is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Nort ...

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...

FNL Cup National Football League Cup is a Russian football competition, held among the best teams of Russian Football National League in the winter break. History The first cup was held in 2012. On 1 December 2011, it was reported that the cup rules were ...

* **

– first tier **

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Welsh League Cup The Cymru Premier League Cup, currently known as the Nathaniel MG Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a cup competition in Welsh football organised by the Cymru Premier. The competition was established in 1992 and is considered to be the second-mos ...

North America

* **

Trinidad and Tobago League Cup The Trinidad and Tobago League Cup, or commonly known as the First Citizens Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the League Cup style football competition open for Trinidad and Tobago teams competing in the country's TT Pro League. Similar to the FA Tr ...

Trinidad and Tobago Pro Bowl The Trinidad and Tobago Pro Bowl, or commonly known as the Digicel Pro Bowl for sponsorship reasons, is a knockout football tournament for teams in the TT Pro League. The competition is played during May following the conclusion of the Pro League ...

* /

Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual association football competition between clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX in North America. It debuted in July 2019 with four teams participating from each league. The first edition was a single-eliminati ...

South America

Copa de la Liga Profesional The Copa de la Liga Profesional (English: ''Professional League Cup''; officially named "Copa Diego Armando Maradona" in its first edition) is an official Argentine football cup competition. The cup was planned and organised by the "Liga Profesi ...

* Copa de la Liga Paraguaya de Fútbol *

Torneo Intermedio The Torneo Intermedio was a knockout competition played by 16 football teams. History 1993 The Torneo Intermedio was played during the 1993 Copa América with only Peruvian Primera División The Peru First Division (; ''First Division'') — ...

Women's league cups

Europe

* ** WSL Cup — first tier ** WPL Cup — second tier *

Taça da Liga Feminina The Taça da Liga Feminina of football is a league cup competition in Portugal. It is due to start during the 2019–20 season involving the top four teams at the end of the first half of the Campeonato Nacional. It is scheduled to start in Ja ...

* SWPL Cup

North America

Asia

* WE League Cup

Defunct league cups and secondary cups

Men's league cups

Africa

* Egyptian League Cup *

Tunisia Coupe de la Ligue Professionel The Coupe de la Ligue Professionelle was the top knockout tournament for the Tunisian league football clubs. It was created in 1999 with the intention of being played among the two top Tunisian football divisionsLigue Professionnelle 2 with some in ...

Asia

* ** NSL Cup – first tier **

NNSWF State Cup The Northern NSW Football State Cup was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition which ended in 2014, being replaced by the preliminary rounds of the FFA Cup. The annual competition was organised by Northern NSW Football, NN ...

– regional competition * Chinese Super League Cup *

Iraqi Elite Cup The Iraqi Elite Cup ( ar, كأس النخبة العراقي), known officially as the Baghdad Championship ( ar, بطولة بغداد) and previously known as the Mother of all Battles Championship ( ar, بطولة أم المعارك, ''Botola ...

* Japan Soccer League Cup, Konica Cup *

UFL Cup The United Football League Cup, commonly known as UFL Cup, was a Filipino association football competition. It was played on a multistage format that culminated in a knockout stage (single elimination). Clubs eligible to compete for the cup wer ...

Korean League Cup The Korean League Cup was a professional football competition in South Korean football. It was held by the K League Federation from 1986 to 2012. Sponsorship Champions List of finals Titles by club K League's principle of official stati ...

Europe

Belgian League Cup The Belgian League Cup was a Belgian association football cup created in 1973. The competition was held from 1973 by eleven clubs wanting to increase professionalism in Belgian football but lasted only three seasons before being disbanded. The tourn ...

* Spar Cup,

Danish League Cup The Danish League Cup, was a football competition, arranged by ''Divisionsforeningen'', for all the top level Danish football teams. The competition has existed in various formats, with the exact name of the league depending on the sponsor. For ins ...

Viasat Cup The Viasat Cup was a 2006 Danish football tournament, starting at the end of the Danish Superliga 2005–06. The tournament was held due to Denmark's failure to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a tournament which had caused FIFA to demand t ...

* Olympia-Pokal (1964), Fuwo-Pokal (1972), DFV-Toto-Sonderrunde (1974 and 1976) *

Full Members Cup The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992. Th ...

, Super Cup, Centenary Trophy,

Conference League Cup The Conference League Cup (formerly known as the Setanta Shield for sponsorship reasons, and before that the Bob Lord Trophy) was a football competition open to clubs playing in the Football Conference. History The competition was formed for t ...

Coupe Charles Drago The Coupe Charles Drago was an elimination cup competition organised by the Ligue de Football Professionnel, between clubs that are knocked out before the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe ...

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in France, French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was est ...

DFL-Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five teams of the previous B ...

Gibraltar Premier Cup The Gibraltar Premier Cup, also known as the Gibraltar Senior Cup, was an association football league cup in Gibraltar established in 2013 for the 8 teams that compose the Gibraltar Premier Division. It was created to coincide with the new league ...

Greek League Cup The EPAE Cup, known as the Greek League Cup, a now defunct football competition, took place only once, in the year 1989–90 season. AEK Athens is the only winner of the League Cup, beating Panionios (3–3 and 3–1 on penalties), Aris (5–2), ...

Virsligas Winter Cup The Virsligas Winter Cup () was a league cup in Latvian football. It started in 2013 and ended after the 2018 competition. List of finals The results of the finals: Total titles won References External links {{National football (soccer) l ...

* Norwegian League Cup * Young Leaders Rally Cup (1952),

League 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. The first national association football tournament t ...

(1977 and 1978), Polish League Cup (1999–2002),

Ekstraklasa Cup The Ekstraklasa Cup ( pl, Puchar Ekstraklasy) was an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs who play in the Polish 1st Division Ekstraklasa. The Ekstraklasa Cup was the fourth attempt at introducing a League Cup competition in Poland. T ...

(2006–2009) *

Federation Cup Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis. Federation Cup may also refer to: * Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament *Federation Cup ...

Cupa Ligii The Cupa Ligii ( en, League Cup) was Romania's secondary club association football, football tournament. Like the Cupa României, it was played on a knockout (single elimination) basis. History It is unclear when the competition was first crea ...

Russian Premier League Cup The Russian Premier League Cup was a football competition organized by Russian Premier League. This was a knockout competition for 16 teams of the Premier League. All ties, including the final, were two-legged. The winners of the Cup did not get an ...

Saint Mungo Cup The Saint Mungo Cup was a one-off football tournament held in Glasgow, Scotland, to celebrate the 1951 Festival of Britain. The competition was contested by fourteen 'Scottish Division A' clubs together with Clyde and Queens Park from 'Division ...

, Summer Cup, Southern League Cup * All-Union Committee of Physical Culture and Sports Tournament (1952),

USSR Federation Cup The Cup of Football Federation of USSR, az, SSRİ Futbol Federasiyasının Kuboku, kk, КСРО футбол федерациялары кубогы, KSRO fwtbol federacïyaları kwbogı, lt, TSRS Futbolo Lygos Taurė, ro, Cupa Federației de ...

* Copa de la Liga * Swiss League Cup * Spor Toto Cup *

Ukrainian Second League Cup The Ukrainian Second League Cup ( uk, Кубок Ліги) was a knockout cup competition in Ukrainian football, run by the Professional Football League of Ukraine. Created in 1999 to qualify its winner and finalist for the national cup (Ukraini ...

(a preliminary tournament for the

Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( uk, Кубок України) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003� ...

that involved third tier teams along with best teams of

Ukrainian Amateur Cup The Ukrainian Amateur Cup ( uk, Кубок України з футболу серед аматорських команд) or AAFU Cup ( uk, Кубок ААФУ) is a national cup competition in Ukraine for amateur clubs. The nationwide competitio ...

; the Ukrainian League Cup was a single season supplemental tournament for the third tier teams of 2009–10 Ukrainian Second League and involved participation of some reserve and amateur teams) *

FAW Premier Cup The FAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a Welsh football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in English leagues (including six Welsh ...

South America

Copa de la Superliga The Copa de la Superliga Argentina was an Argentine cup competition. It was contested by all the teams participating in the Primera División, and played after the conclusion of the regular season. The 2019 edition was sponsored by YPF, with it ...

Women's league cups

Asia

Nadeshiko League Cup The Nadeshiko League Cup (Japanese: なでしこリーグカップ) is a cup competition for women's football clubs in Japan. The competition began as the L.League Cup in 1996 and it was abolished after the 1999 edition. It reappeared on the occ ...

PFF Women's Cup The PFF Women's Cup is the national women's football cup of the Philippines organized by the Philippine Football Federation. History The inaugural edition was launched in 2014 by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and was contested by 10 ...

League cups and secondary cups in other sports

Basketball

Men's league cups

LNB Pro A Leaders Cup The LNB Pro A Leaders Cup, or French Basketball League Cup, is the annual national league cup competition for teams from the top-tier level of French professional basketball, the LNB Pro A. It was created in its current form in 2003 (after origi ...

LNB Pro B Leaders Cup The LNB Pro B Leaders Cup is a professional national basketball cup competition that is played in a given LNB Pro B (French 2nd Division) season. The trophy is the second tier level of its type in France, being one tier blow the LNB Pro A Leaders ...

BBL Cup The British Basketball League Cup, often shortened to the BBL Cup, is an annual cup competition for British basketball teams organised by the United Kingdom's top professional league, the British Basketball League. It is one of two peripheral c ...

(includes only

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...

teams) *

(includes top two league levels) *

Israeli Basketball State Cup The Israeli Basketball State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה בכדורסל) is the second most important professional basketball competition in Israel, after the Israeli Super League. It is the national federation cup of Israel. The tournament beg ...

(includes the top two levels, the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

and

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

) *

Israeli Basketball League Cup The Israeli Basketball League Cup is a pre-season professional basketball tournament that is contested between clubs. It has been held in Israel since 2006. It is held during the week before the start of the Israeli Premier League season. The Isra ...

(separate cups for the Premier League and National League) *

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

(

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

) * LNP Cup *

Portuguese League Cup Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

* KSS Cup ( Second League) *

Copa Princesa de Asturias The Copa Princesa de Asturias de Baloncesto (English: ''Princess of Asturias' Cup of Basketball'') is an annual 2nd-tier level national cup competition for Spanish professional basketball teams, that is organized by Spain's 2nd-tier level professi ...

(

LEB Oro LEB or Leb may refer to: * Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway, Switzerland * Lebanon, UNDP country code * Lebanon Municipal Airport (New Hampshire) (FAA identifier) * Lexham English Bible * Life expectancy at birth * Liga Española de Balonce ...

econd level *

SBL Cup The SBL Cup is the national professional league cup competition that is organised by the Swiss Basketball League (SBL), which is the top-tier level basketball division in Switzerland. The competition was introduced in 2004, and is the second cup c ...

Women's league cups

(includes top two league levels) *

WNBA Commissioner's Cup The WNBA Commissioner's Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the WNBA Commissioner's Cup Presented By Coinbase, is an in-season competition of the Women's National Basketball Association that begins at the start of the regular season and continue ...

References

{{National football (soccer) league cups