Often unique and unpredictable, the Carabao Cup continues to fly the competition’s flag across the globe as teams discover their fate in draws held worldwide. From Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City, the 2019/20 Round One draw now stops at a popular London supermarket chain.
Live from Morrisons, Colindale at 7pm on Thursday 20 June, the draw will take place within a short distance from Wembley Stadium – the home of the Carabao Cup Final. Conducted by two former EFL Cup winners, supporters will be able to engage with the competition as they go about their daily routine ... a true modern-day supermarket sweep!
Drawing the 70 balls from the hat will be footballing legend, John Barnes and Arsenal fan favourite, Ray Parlour as they select the 35 fixtures for Round One, which includes EFL Clubs from Carlisle all the way down to Plymouth and features EFL Cup debutants Salford City.
Fans will be able to watch the draw live in store and also tune in to the Carabao Cup Facebook page, with live text updates on EFL Twitter and EFL.com.
John Barnes commented, “I’m delighted to be involved in the Carabao Cup Round One draw this season, it’s a fantastic competition and Round One is always a great occasion for fans of EFL Clubs. They get an early glimpse of their summer signings and can be a good opportunity for families to get together and watch their local team thanks to how accessible the Cup is.”
On the Carabao Cup, Ray Parlour said: “I always enjoy watching the Carabao Cup so it’s great to be involved in the Round One draw. Hosting the draw in a supermarket as fans go about their daily lives provides them with a great opportunity to engage with the competition and I can’t wait to see who will be crowned Carabao Cup winners this season.”
John Luck, CMO of Intercarabao UK said, “We’re delighted to be hosting the Carabao Cup Round One draw later this week with the help of our friends at Morrisons. We sell lots of our great tasting low sugar energy drinks in supermarkets, so we thought why not let football fans watch the draw whilst stocking up on Carabao?
"Even better still, we’re delighted that it means we can continue to keep the Cup as inclusive as possible by giving fans the chance to come along to watch live. We’ve held Carabao Cup Round One draws all across the globe in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City but it feels very exciting to us to bring it back to the UK this year.”
The 2018/19 Carabao Cup competition culminated in the showpiece final held at Wembley Stadium in February. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City battled with Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea in a tight contest, in which Raheem Sterling scored the decisive penalty to see City crowned winners for a second consecutive season.
70 EFL Clubs will feature in the Round One draw which will see teams drawn in Northern and Southern sections, as in 2018.
Matches are scheduled to take place week commencing 12 August.
Huddersfield Town will be included, while fellow Championship newcomers Cardiff City and Fulham join the competition in Round Two alongside the Premier League Clubs that are not competing in Europe.