League Cup under threat as Champions League edges towards expansion

The English Football League is expecting a desperate fight to keep the Premier League's 'big six' in the League Cup as European football leaders near agreement on plans to add four extra Champions League match dates to its schedule.

The governing body of the domestic game faces a major loss in revenue from 2024 because proposals to extend Europe's elite competition coincide with the end of the EFL Cup's £595 million television rights deal with Sky Sports.

Rick Parry, the new chairman of the EFL, said before Christmas that the Carabao Cup's future was "clearly a concern", and his fears of a breakaway could materialise as soon as March when a Champions League extension is likely to be announced. EFL sources played down the prospect of an imminent breakaway, but there is broad acceptance that weeks set aside for the domestic cup competition are at most threat if extra dates in an already congested fixture schedule are agreed.

The European Clubs' Association (ECA) and senior figures at Uefa are said to be reaching a broad consensus over restructuring the group stage to add extra matches, which will mean the finalists from will play 17 Champions League matches across a season.

Parry said recently of the potential threat to the League Cup: “It clearly is a concern and is something that we are mindful of. I think we are unique in having a League Cup now, the French have done away with theirs, and obviously now with Uefa’s third-tier competition and the potential [Champions League] changes on the horizon – who knows what they will be – we are obviously watching intently and with great care to see what they may be and what impact they might have."

The League Cup, first held in 1960, has resisted pressure to abandon its current two-legged semi-final, but Parry recognised the tournament was facing unprecedented pressure after the likes of Jürgen Klopp complained of fixture pile-ups.

Moves to increase the size of the Champions League divide opinion in the Premier League. Frank Lampard, the Chelsea manager, expressed vehement opposition due to fears of player burnout.

Lampard, who won the trophy in 2012 as a player, told a meeting of European club leaders in October that the current status quo should be left alone.

The Premier League has also received assurances that separate proposals which could see the number of automatic qualifying places reduced from four to three are unlikely to happen in the near future.