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The French football league says it’s ending the League Cup competition after this season’s edition.
The decision comes as the European Club Association pushes for cuts in national fixture schedules to create more space for an expanded Champions League in 2024.
The French league cites commercial reasons and says the Coupe de la Ligue could be relaunched in future years.
Ending the second-tier cup also reduces fixtures, gives players more rest, and creates an extra Europa League qualifying spot to reward a high-ranking finish in Ligue 1, the league says.
“After meeting on September 18, the administrative council and then the general assembly of the LFP decided to suspend the organisation of the Coupe de la Ligue after the 2019-20 edition, the league said in a statement.
“Depending on market conditions, the LFP reserves the right to relaunch the competition at a later date.
“This decision enables the calendar of competitions to be eased, giving greater time for players to recover and it also offers an extra European spot via Ligue 1 from 2020-21.”
This season, France’s third Europa League entry went to last season’s League Cup winner Strasbourg, which was eliminated in qualifying playoffs.
Europe’s top clubs want to remove second-tier national cup competitions to ease fixture congestion and help its push for more Champions League games.