New Champions League format threatens £100m League Cup, warns EFL chairman

But the Carabao Cup, as it now known for sponsorship reasons, could soon become a thing of the past following UEFA’s latest expansion of the Champions League.

EFL chairman Rick Parry has warned that the new Champions League format – to be introduced in 2024 – could lead to the demise of the Carabao Cup which he says is worth £100m to the 72 EFL clubs in TV money and gate receipts.

The number of teams entering the Champions League will go up from 32 to 36 and, rather than groups of four, each team will play eight first round matches and compete in one big league table.

The ‘Swiss model’ was a compromise after UEFA dropped plans to increase the group stage to 10 games after opponents felt it was becoming a watered-down version of the rejected European Super League.

However, Parry has said in an interview with the Times that the new format and increased number of European games continues to threaten the future of the Carabao Cup.

Parry said: "In terms of the impact on midweek fixtures, FA Cup and Carabao Cup (League Cup), in true Uefa fashion we’ve still got the same number of match dates. Only eight games, but spread across ten dates, so that really doesn’t help us. Of course it’s going to have an impact on the Carabao Cup. It’s pointless to pretend that it won’t.

"To suggest that we will carry on without any form of change is unrealistic. Equally, to say this is now the demise of the League Cup is too far in the other direction at this stage. Could it be an outcome? Yes, of course it could.

"Frankly, we have to maybe face up to the unpalatable, but it’s extraordinarily valuable to the EFL. It’s pretty much half of our media revenues and so you are talking about £100m worth of our clubs’ TV revenue and gate receipts. It’s a very valuable part of the mix.

"This year we’ve had a breath-taking final with a competition taken extremely seriously by two of Europe’s biggest clubs, which was brilliant from our point of view. But we also know that Uefa doesn’t like League Cups. We are now unique."

Doncaster was gripped by cup fever in 2005 when Rovers beat Premier League sides Manchester City and Aston Villa on their way to reaching the quarter-finals of what was then known as the Carling Cup.

Mighty Arsenal then visited a raucous Belle Vue and survived by the skin of their teeth to eventually win on penalties and reach the semi-finals.

Rovers also enjoyed a trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal in 2017, losing 1-0 in front of a crowd of 44,064.