Carabao Cup tickets

The Carabao Cup, formally the EFL Cup, is an annual knockout competition open to all 92 clubs in the Premier League and English Football League. It runs from August through to a final at Wembley Stadium in late February. The competition takes its current name from Carabao, a Thai energy drink brand that holds the title sponsorship. Over the years it has carried several different sponsorship names, including the Carling Cup and the Coca-Cola Cup, though the competition structure itself has remained broadly consistent throughout.

Premier League clubs without European commitments from the previous season enter at the second round. Those with European competition the following season join at the third round stage. This means the first round is made up entirely of EFL clubs from Leagues One and Two, with Championship sides entering at the second round alongside the lower half of the Premier League.

The semi-finals are played over two legs, with each club hosting one match. The aggregate score across both fixtures decides which side reaches the final. If the aggregate is level after 90 minutes of the second leg, extra time is played, and a penalty shootout follows if needed. For fans, this format creates a distinctive situation: attending both legs means booking two separate matches at two different stadiums, with the away leg typically in a city you may not otherwise have planned to visit.

The two finalists are only confirmed after the semi-finals conclude, which means fans cannot plan a Wembley trip around a specific club until that point. Each finalist club receives an allocation of tickets for their supporters. Fans without a connection to either club can look at options through partners once the finalists are known. Booking promptly after the semi-finals is sensible, as interest in the final rises quickly once the two clubs are confirmed.

For matches involving larger Premier League clubs, official ticket sales are often restricted to registered members or season ticket holders, particularly in the later rounds. Partners listed on this site provide an alternative for fans who want to attend a specific fixture without a prior commitment to either club involved. Early-round matches at smaller EFL grounds are generally easier to access through official channels, as demand is lower and fewer restrictions apply.

Wembley Stadium is served by two nearby underground stations: Wembley Park on the Metropolitan and Jubilee lines, and Wembley Central on the Overground and Bakerloo line. Both are a short walk from the stadium. Fans arriving from elsewhere in the UK typically use Euston, King's Cross or Marylebone as their rail entry point into London before connecting via the underground. Driving is not a practical option on final day, as traffic in the area is heavy before and after the match and parking close to the stadium is very limited.

It varies considerably depending on the round and the clubs involved. At smaller EFL grounds in the early rounds, the home support tends to be vocal and the crowd is close to the pitch, which creates a different feel from a large Premier League stadium. When a lower-league side is hosting top-flight opposition, the home end is typically loud from the start. At the Wembley final, both sets of supporters are often experiencing the ground for the first time, which produces its own kind of noise, particularly in the build-up to kick-off.

Manchester City have been the dominant side in the competition in recent years, winning it in four consecutive seasons between 2018 and 2021 and again in 2024. Liverpool and Aston Villa are among the clubs with the most wins in the competition's overall history. Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur have also won it multiple times. The competition dates back to 1960, giving it a record that spans more than six decades of English football.

The majority of Carabao Cup fixtures are played midweek, usually on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings. This allows the competition to run alongside the regular weekend league programme. The final at Wembley is a standalone match and is typically scheduled on a Sunday in late February, outside of a standard midweek round.

Seat categories depend on the venue and the round. At smaller EFL grounds, options are often simply covered or uncovered seating with little further subdivision. At Premier League stadiums, categories typically include standard seating and hospitality options, with hospitality packages usually combining a seat with access to a lounge or pre-match food. The Wembley final has the widest range of categories, including premium seating in the lower and upper tiers and corporate hospitality at various levels.