Source: FOOTYMAD
Giving the League Cup to Charity.
The game has changed, the goalposts have been moved and priorities have altered. Both in England and Scotland, the League Cup ain't what it used to be. Deliberately weakened teams, something that used to lead to authority intervention, are now routinely selected as clubs field fringe players for supposedly easy games while the big hitters are saved for more arduous battles. Attendances are down as fans refuse to take seriously matches which clubs view as unnecessary fixture congestion, and the tournament dies a little bit more with each passing year. Inevitably, people are calling for the League Cup to be scrapped, but this reaction is unfair on a tournament which has arguably been more entertaining in recent decades than its big brother: the Scottish Cup. Before wielding the axe, perhaps we should examine future possibilities for this post-war competition. It is currently struggling for a sponsor, and no wonder - if the football community won't take the League Cup seriously, why should a commercial sponsor invest money in it? Maybe we should look at the situation from the opposite angle. Instead of letting the League Cup wither on the vine, why not make it a charity tournament? If every supporter attending League Cup games knew that ten per cent of the ticket cost was going to a named good cause, it might help to boost attendances, make games more meaningful and competitive, and show that Scottish football is sensitive to the economic circumstances of the age. A different good cause would have its name associated with the competition each year, and the Yorkhill Hospital League Cup would hopefully raise a tidy sum. The following year, another good cause would have its name on the trophy, and it too would benefit handsomely from a healthy pay-out, courtesy of Scottish football. Alternatively, every club would nominate a charity to play for, and tournament elimination would mean a reduced charitable donation. The incentive to fully compete, therefore, would be enhanced. Just imagine Rangers nominating the RSEA as its selected charity. Success for Rangers would mean a substantial donation for the RSEA. Ideally, the League Cup would be a curtain-raiser to the new season, to be completed before the title-race commences, and with the ever-present hope of sunshine being a welcome participant in the proceedings. The details of any scheme of this nature would have to be hammered out and fully examined, but the basic premise of making the Scottish League Cup a charitable competition - and a profitable tournament for competing clubs - is surely something that should be seriously considered. It might even satisfy those who want summer football. Football gets a bad name due to the greed within it and obscene wages at the highest level. Maybe it's time for the sport to give something back.
