The
Coupe de la Ligue, known outside of France as
the
French League Cup, is a
knockout cup competition in
French football organised by the
Ligue de Football
Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1994, although
similar competitions had been previously held in France. The
Coupe Charles Drago was held
from 1953 to 1965; it involved teams eliminated from the
Coupe de France. The winner of the first
Coupe Charles Drago final was decided by a
coin-toss when
Sochaux and
Toulouse tied 3–3 after
extra time. Another competition named Coupe de la
Ligue existed from 1963 to 1965; this was run alongside the Coupe
Charles Drago for two years until they both ceased. In 1982, a
Coupe d'Eté (Summer cup) was held before the start of the French
league season; the cup was won by
Stade
Laval. This tournament continued under the name of Coupe de la
Ligue, until 1994, before the beginning of the French season.
History
The tournament in its current format started in 1994. Entrance to
the
UEFA Cup, now called the
UEFA Europa League, is offered to the
winning team. Its first winner was
Paris Saint-Germain, after their
2–0 victory over
Bastia. The first final
decided by a
penalty shoutout was
the
1996 cup when
Metz beat
Olympique Lyonnais.
The first three finals
were held at Parc des
Princes
; since the 1998 cup, all finals have been
held at the Stade de
France
. Strasbourg and
Paris Saint-Germain have won the competition at both stadiums.
Gueugnon became the first team below the
top division of France to win the cup after
beating Paris Saint-Germain in the
2000 final. Overall, there have
been 14 winners of the competition since
1995. The most successful
teams, in terms of competitions won, are Bordeaux and Paris
Saint-Germain, who have won the cup thrice. The current holders of
the cup are
Bordeaux, who
beat
Vannes in the
2009 final.
Finals
Records
Media coverage
In Australia the Coupe de la Ligue is broadcast by
Setanta Sports Australia.
See also
References
External links
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