The winner of the English League Cup is guaranteed a place in the Europa League the following season. It has been so for several years and it is not likely to change.

But when teams such as Bradford and Swansea reach the final, the question that comes up is always the same: should the winner of such a competition, one that is not given so much credit by the bigger clubs, be given such an important prize?

Those who argue in favour say that the rules are established beforehand and all clubs know that the League Cup could be a door that leads into Europe. It is their fault if they field third-tier players for the matches, and clubs who show an interest and fight to reach the final should get a reward. The argument is that smaller clubs should be rewarded for their efforts in trying to win this competition.

Those who argue against believe that it is not right for a club to make it through to Europe like this at the expense of Premier League clubs who fight for a place in the top half of the competition all season, but find themselves out of Europe even though they manage a sixth place after such a grueling season. These Premier League clubs invest much more to achieve a sixth place than those who try to win the League Cup, and therefore it is a shame that they end up without European football.

Both arguments are valid, but at the end of the day the League Cup is too much of a gift to any club who wins it to make it into Europe. The competition is a far cry from the FA Cup, which is coveted by all, and should not be give the same importance. As said earlier, most top teams do not give two hoots about it, although they might give it some thought if they see that they will be finding it tougher than usual in the premiership.

It is far more difficult to win a sixth place in the premiership after a season of 38 matches than to win the League Cup, and perhaps Uefa should intervene in this matter and impose on the English Association that it should refrain from allotting one of its Europa Cup places to the League Cup winner. After all, England’s has its own traditional knock-out competition – the FA Cup – which already leads to the winner taking up a place in Europe.