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Ranking the League Cup’s best sponsors: Milk, Rumbelows, Carling…

The League Cup seems to be taken more seriously by the big clubs again – but what about the really serious matter of the competition’s best sponsor?

Manchester City have won the tournament in five of the past seven years, with Manchester United and Chelsea claiming the other two, but even in that time there have been two different sponsors – Capital One and Carabao – plus a year in which it was simply known as the EFL Cup.

Every supporter has a different brand which they associate most with the trophy, but the question is: which sponsor was best?

Carling Cup

It’s a beer. It begins with C so reels off the tongue. The black, red and white branding looks good. What’s not to like?

Coca-Cola Cup

It’s a nice soft drink. It begins with C so reels off the tongue. The cans look good, and the bottles look even better. What’s not to like?

Milk Cup

The first ever sponsor of the League Cup wasn’t a big corporation, it was milk. Literally milk. The Milk Marketing Board stumped up cash to put their name to the tournament and get people drinking milk. You’ve got to respect that.

That Accrington Stanley advert didn’t do any harm either.

Worthington Cup

Another beer, and one that was very much of its time as the sponsor between 1998 and 2003. It led to the rather unfortunate nickname of the Worthless Cup as the big boys started to pay less attention to it, but Tottenham fans will remember it fondly – it was the last thing they won back in 1999.

Rumbelows Cup

Rumbelows used to be a massive electronics company, but now it just sounds ridiculous.

It only lasted for two years, but the Rumbelows Cup did at least provide us with one fond memory – Donald Trump bizarrely helping out with the fifth-round draw in 1991.

Capital One Cup

It does have the benefit of alliteration, but it’s very modern football. TThe Capital One Cup does not sound like a competition anyone wants to win.

Littlewoods Challenge Cup

Fun fact: Littlewoods provided their own trophy during their three years as sponsor in the late 80s.

Awful name though.

Carabao Cup

Like Coca-Cola, Carabao is a soft drink. And like Coca-Cola, Carabao as a sponsor gives us alliteration, which we’ve established is a good thing.

Unlike Coca-Cola, however, Carabao is unequivocally not cool. Sorry, Carabao drinkers.


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