The winners of the 2025-26 Carabao Cup will guarantee themselves a place in the play-off qualifying round for next season's Conference League. In previous years, winning the competition earned a qualifying place for the Europa League rather than a spot in the last Conference League qualifying round. While an EFL Cup success does guarantee European football for the following season, in recent times, it has made little difference. Swansea City, the 2012-13 EFL Cup winners, were the last team to qualify for Europe solely by winning that competition. There is also a scenario where the FA Cup winner has already qualified for Europe.

Source: BBC February 04, 2026 06:13 UTC