The history of the Carling Cup in England

The Carling Cup is one of England's oldest, and most respected national football tournaments.

Started in 1960, under its official name of the 'Football League Cup', the tournament has grown in size every year, attracting larger audiences year on year.

The tournament is comprised of the teams which make up the English Premier League, and the teams which make up the rest of the Football League, making a total of 92 teams which take part.

The tournament was originally devised to allow clubs which had floodlights installed to take advantage of them, and play an additional game in midweek. Previously, such tournaments would not have been viable, due to the lack of floodlighting in football grounds at that time. It was only the advent of this technology which allowed the tournament to flourish. Carling Cup tickets are always in strong demand with supporters, and the audience size has increased, both in terms of ticket sales, and TV audiences.

The inaugural tournament was won by Aston Villa, back in 1960, and the club have won it a total of 5 times. The team which has enjoyed most success in the Carling Cup is Liverpool FC, who have won it a total of 7 times since 1960. Liverpool enjoy an envious record in the competition, having appeared in the final of the tournament a total of 10 times, winning 7 of them, a record unmatched by any other team in England, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Welsh striker Ian Rush, who scored a total of 49 goals in the tournament, a record equalled only by former England striker Geoff Hurst.

The tournament also offers a route into Europe for the winner, and a number of teams who would not otherwise have gained intro into European competition have taken advantage of this to increase their profile and revenue from European competition.

The final of the Carling Cup 2011 will be contested between Birmingham and Arsenal. Arsenal have previously won the tournament on two occasions, and Birmingham once, and Birmingham vs Arsenal tickets are sure to be in high demand, so get yours now to join in the fun.