The FA and EFL are the two major football tournaments in England that take place every season with teams from across the country. You might be familiar with the FA Cup or EFL Cup, but both events are much different.
The FA Cup is an older competition in England that consists of numerous football teams. The EFL Cup started 89 years after the beginning of the FA Cup and consists of 92 teams from the Premier League and EFL.
Let us dive deep into the differences between FA and EFL football tournaments.
The Football Association Challenge Cup, also known as the FA Cup, is an English football competition held every year since its establishment in 1871–72. The FA Cup consists of 736 football teams across England.
The EFL Cup is the English football knockout tournament, also known as the League Cup and Carabao Cup.
History Of The FA And EFL Cup
The Football Association Cup was established and played for the first time in 1872–73, while the EFL Cup was established and first held in 1960–61. The FA Cup offered a chance for clubs from different leagues in the English football pyramid to play against each other. It offers equal opportunity to clubs from across the country to participate in the tournaments conducted by FA.
The EFL Cup was first held in the 1960-61 season as a method of consolation for teams already knocked out from the FA Cup. The competition attracted controversies in the beginning as it was believed to make the relationship between FA and EFL somewhat tense.
Competition Format
One key difference between the FA and EFL Cup is the competition level. In the Football Association Cup, teams of different pyramid levels come to play while in the EFL Cup teams from the top four tiers are involved.
Another difference is the number of teams participating in both tournaments. For example, a total of 736 teams participate in the FA Cup, while 92 teams compete in the EFL Cup.
Both the Football Cups follow a knockout tournament format which says that the losing team is removed from the competition while the winning team moves forward to the next match or round. This format is quite different from the popular Premier League which follows a double round-robin format. In the Premier League, every team plays against all other 19 teams.
Eligible Teams
The Football Association Cup includes teams all the way from English football tier 10 to the Premier League. There are multiple more teams that compete in the FA Cup. Meanwhile, the EFL Cup consists of the teams from the EFL as well as the Premier League which totals 92 teams.
This season the EFL Cup is being held from August 8, 2023, to February 25, 2024. All the matches will be available for streaming on Sky Sports which you can watch on your Firestick. You can watch the EFL Cup on Firestick TV if you have a Sky Sports subscription to watch the EFL Cup. In the US, Disney’s ESPN holds the streaming rights to broadcast the Carabao Cup.
However, if you don’t want to take the Espn + or Sky Sports subscription, you can watch the event free on unofficial apps. These apps offer unlimited sports events and other entertainment content free of cost to their users. You can start watching the Carabao Cup for free by installing any of these apps on your Firestick.
However, these apps are unofficial, so you need to be careful while streaming sports or other content. Make sure to use a VPN while using such apps as it hides your IP address and streaming history to safeguard you from being tracked by ISPs and other authorities.
Frequency and Duration
Both the FA and EFL Cup occur every season as a part of the English football tournament calendar. The EFL Cup conducts fewer rounds (only 7) as compared to the Football Association Cup which conducts 14 rounds. The reason for this difference is the presence of more teams in the FA Cup. Both the Cups start at the same time of the season, usually in August. However, the EFL Cup ends in February month of the next year while the FA Cup takes longer due to more teams and ends later in May.
Time of the Year when FA and EFL Cups are held.
The scheduling for the FA Cup or EFL Cup differs a lot. The Football Association Cup takes place on weekends with replays being held during weekdays. Teams in the Premier League join the action in the 3rd round. Meanwhile, matches in the EFL Cup take place during weekdays. The Premier League and championship teams join in the 2nd Round.
Summing Up
These were some aspects in which the Football Association and English Football League differ. It is always best to watch sports tournaments on the official broadcast partner, but cord-cutters can always find a way to watch them for free. Whether you watch the FA Cup or EFL Cup on official or unofficial apps, make sure to enjoy every moment of the game.