| Northern Ireland Football League Cup | ||
| Organising body | Northern Ireland Football League | |
| Founded | 1987 | |
| Region | Northern Ireland | |
| Number of teams | 38 | |
| Tournament information | ||
| Current champions | Linfield | |
| Most successful team(s) | Linfield (12 wins) | |
The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (known as the BetMcLean Cup for sponsorship purposes, and commonly known as the Irish League Cup) is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Northern Ireland Football League. It is the third-most prestigious competition in domestic Northern Irish football after the NIFL Premiership and Irish Cup. It should not be confused with the Irish League Floodlit Cup which ran from 1987–88 to 1997–98. Unlike the Irish Cup, the League Cup does not have a berth for UEFA Europa Conference League qualification. The cup has been operated by the Northern Ireland Football League sin
ce the 2013–14 season when it took over the administration from the Irish Football Association (IFA), after which the cup was renamed to the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) Cup.
Since the 2017–18 season, the Cup has been sponsored by McLean Bookmakers. The competition's previous sponsors are JBE (2015–16), WASP Solutions (2013–14 and 2014–15), Irn Bru (2011–12 and 2012–13), Co-operative Insurance (2001–02 to 2010–11), Coca-Cola (1998–99 to 2000–01), Wilkinson Sword (1991–92 to 1997–98), and Roadferry Freight (1986–87 to 1990–91).
Linfield are the current holders, after they defeated Portadown 3–1 in the 2024 final to win the competition for the second successive season and a record-extending 12th time overall. Portadown finished as runners-up after their first appearance in the final since 2011.
Format[]
Unlike the Irish Cup, the League Cup is restricted to the 38 Northern Ireland Football League clubs competing in the NIFL Premiership, NIFL Championship, and NIFL Premier Intermediate League. All rounds of the competition use a knock-out system consisting of one-legged ties. In the event that the scores are level after 90 minutes, extra time is played, and if the teams are still level after 120 minutes there is a penalty shoot-out.
The 14 NIFL Premier Intermediate League clubs enter the preliminary round draw, with 12 of them being drawn to face each other in six ties and the remaining two clubs receiving byes. The six preliminary round winners and the two clubs that received byes then join the 24 NIFL Premiership and Championship clubs in the first round. The 16 highest-ranked clubs from the previous season's league system are then seeded in the first round to avoid drawing each other. The first round is the only round of the competition in which seeding is used. From there on the competition uses an open draw with a standard knock-out format, consisting of the second round, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.
Media coverage[]
The final was initially broadcast as highlights on UTV throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Live coverage of the final first began on the BBC in 2005, and continued until Sky acquired the rights to show the 2013 and 2014 finals on Sky Sports as part of a deal to cover Northern Ireland international matches. Following the 2014 final, it returned to the BBC in 2015 after Sky ceased their coverage of Irish League football. Dungannon Swifts' win in the 2018 final was broadcast live on Sky Sports enabling the entire town of Dungannon to enjoy the historical result, Dungannon winning a major trophy for the first time in their history.
Records[]
- Most final wins: 12, Linfield
- Most consecutive final wins: 4, Cliftonville (2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 & 2015–16)
- Most final appearances: 15, Linfield
- Most consecutive final appearances: 4, Cliftonville (2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 & 2015–16)
- Most final defeats: 7, Coleraine (1992–93, 1993–94, 1999–00, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2021–22 & 2022–23)
- Most consecutive final defeats: 3, Glentoran (1996–97, 1997–98 & 1998–99)
- Highest scoring final: 7 goals, Cliftonville 4–3 (a.e.t.) Coleraine (2021–22)
- Biggest final winning margin: 4 goals, joint record:
- Linfield 4–0 Coleraine (1999–2000)
- Cliftonville 4–0 Crusaders (2012–13)
- Longest gap between final wins: 32 years, 2 months and 18 days, Coleraine (1987–88 & 2019–20)
- Longest gap between final appearances: 20 years, 9 months and 19 days, Ards (1994–95 & 2015–16)
- Most final appearances without winning: 2, joint record:
- Larne (1991–92 & 2003–04)
- Newry City (1989–90 & 2008–09)
- Most common final: Glentoran v Linfield, 7 times (1988–89, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05 & 2005–06)
- Record win: Ards 12–0 UUJ (first round, 1989–90)