 | |
| Founded | 1994; 31 years ago (1994) |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 2020; 5 years ago (2020) |
| Region | France |
| Teams | 42 |
| Qualifier for | UEFA Europa League |
| Last champions | Paris Saint-Germain (9th title) |
| Most championships | Paris Saint-Germain (9 titles) |
TheCoupe de la Ligue (French pronunciation:[kupdəlaliɡ]), known outside France as theFrench League Cup, was aknockout cup competition inFrench football organized by theLigue de Football Professionnel.[1] The tournament was established in 1993[2] and, unlike theCoupe de France, was only open to professional clubs in France which play in country'stop three football divisions, though thethird is not fully professional.
The most successful team in the competition wasParis Saint-Germain with nine wins, including the last edition in2019–20. The LFP voted to suspend the competition indefinitely to "reduce the season schedule".[3]
Another competition named Coupe de la Ligue existed from 1963 to 1965. In 1982, a Coupe d'Eté (Summer cup) was held before the start of the French league season; the cup was won byLaval.[4] This tournament continued under the name of Coupe de la Ligue, until 1994, before the beginning of the French season.[5] (The 1991 edition was open only forDivision 2 Teams).
The tournament in its last format started in 1994 and was initiated by the professional teams because of their displeasure with the Coupe de France, thanks to its built-in home advantage for teams playing in the lower leagues. Entrance to the UEFA Cup, now called theUEFA Europa League, was offered to the winning team.[2] Its first winner wasParis Saint-Germain, after their2–0 victory overBastia.[6] The first final decided by apenalty shootout was in1996 whenMetz beatLyon.[7] The first three finals were held atParc des Princes; from the1998 edition until2015, the finals have been held at theStade de France.[8]Strasbourg and Paris Saint-Germain won the competition at both stadiums.[2]Gueugnon became the first team below thetop division of France to win the cup after beating Paris Saint-Germain in the2000 final.[2] Overall, there were 14 winners of the competition since its inception.[5]
For over 20 years from its inception, finals of the tournament were only held in the Paris area: the first three were at theParc des Princes and the rest at theStade de France. This changed in September 2016 when the LFP announced that the next three finals would be held in Lyon, Bordeaux and Lille respectively.[9] The LFP suspended the competition indefinitely after the 2019–20 season, to reduce fixture congestion.[3] In thelast final in 2020, Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon drew 0–0 and the former won 6–5 on penalties.[10]
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris Saint-Germain | 9 | 1 | 1995,1998,2008,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2020 | 2000 |
| Strasbourg | 4 | 0 | 1964,1997,2005,2019 | — |
| Bordeaux | 3 | 3 | 2002,2007,2009 | 1997,1998,2010 |
| Marseille | 3 | 0 | 2010,2011,2012 | — |
| Metz | 2 | 1 | 1986,1996 | 1999 |
| Lens | 2 | 1 | 1994,1999 | 2008 |
| Laval | 2 | 0 | 1982,1984 | — |
| Lyon | 1 | 5 | 2001 | 1996,2007,2012,2014,2020 |
| Monaco | 1 | 4 | 2003 | 1984,2001,2017,2018 |
| Montpellier | 1 | 2 | 1992 | 1994,2011 |
| Nantes | 1 | 1 | 1965 | 2004 |
| Sochaux | 1 | 1 | 2004 | 2003 |
| Nancy | 1 | 1 | 2006 | 1982 |
| Reims | 1 | 0 | 1991 | — |
| Gueugnon | 1 | 0 | 2000 | — |
| Saint-Étienne | 1 | 0 | 2013 | — |
French Football Federation (President:Philippe Diallo (interim))Ligue féminine de football professionnel (President:Jean-Michel Aulas) | |||||||
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