League of Ireland Cup
The League of Ireland Cup is a football competition open to all League of Ireland clubs. Some invited clubs from the lower levels of the Republic of Ireland football league system participate and occasionally these sides have included junior league representative selections.
The format has changed from year to year. For the most part it has been used as a precursor to the league season, with 6 groups of 4 teams, with the winners and two best runners up going on to the last eight. The knockout stage would be played midweek through the season. In the late 1990s the cup went into a straight knockout format and recently has reverted to again starting with a group phase, this time with 8 groups of 3 with only the winners progressing. In 2006, the competition was once again contested on a straight knock-out basis, with a regionalised seeding system determining pairings and byes in the early rounds. The winners of the cup receive a €25,000 prize.
The League Cup Final has also changed format many times. They have been played on neutral grounds, with two-legged games and currently a draw is made to see which finalist gets home advantage.
The competition began in 1973, replacing the earlier League of Ireland Shield.
From 2009, the League of Ireland Cup has been sponsored by Electronic Arts and branded for sponsorship reasons as the EA Sports Cup.
List of League Cup Finals
| Score on aggregate after 2 legs | |
| Match was won on a penalty shootout |
Performance By Club
- Includes results for Limerick and Limerick City.
- Includes results for Galway Rovers.
- Includes results for Waterford FC.
Sponsors
Opel League Cup: 1986/87 – 1989/90
Bord Gáis League Cup: 1990/91/ – 1995/96
Harp Lager League Cup: 1996/97 – 1998/99
Eircom League Cup: 1999/00 – 2008
EA Sports Cup: 2009 –