French League Cup to end after this season

Posted September 18, 2019 7:00 am

The Associated Press

PARIS (AP) - The French soccer league says it's ending the League Cup competition after this season's edition.

The decision comes as the European Club Association pushes for cuts in national fixture schedules to create more space for an expanded Champions League in 2024.

The French league cites commercial reasons and says the competition could be relaunched in future years.

Ending the second-tier cup also reduces fixtures, gives players more rest, and creates an extra Europa League qualifying spot to reward a high-ranking finish in Ligue 1, the league says.

This season, France's third Europa League entry went to last season's League Cup winner Strasbourg, which was eliminated in qualifying playoffs.

Europe's top clubs want to remove second-tier national cup competitions to ease fixture congestion and help its push for more Champions League games.

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