The FA Women’s League Cup was created in 2011 for clubs in the top tier of women’s football in England – the WSL and the Women’s Championship.
If that isn’t a competition name you’re too familiar with, it has generally been known as the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup – or Conti Cup for short – since it first began.
After the WSL title and the Women’s FA Cup, it is the third major trophy in the English calendar and always the first to be handed out each season – similar to its male equivalent, the Carabao Cup.
The Conti Cup isn’t a straight knockout tournament like the majority of domestic cup competitions. It starts with a group stage, with teams eventually progressing to the quarter-finals. Clubs competing in the Champions League group stage also get a bye straight to the knockouts.
Only three clubs have ever lifted the Conti Cup in its history to date – Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea. Arsenal are the record winners with five triumphs, with City winning it four times and Chelsea twice. Bristol City are the only team outside those three to have even reached any of the last six finals – that includes the 2022/23 edition between Chelsea and Arsenal.
Manchester City were the holders coming into 2022/23 after beating Chelsea in last season’s final.
The 2022/23 Conti Cup kicked off with the start of the group stage on 2 October. Games were scheduled throughout October, November and December, with the final matches originally intended to take place on 18 December. But postponements saw the opening phase continue until 18 January.
In the Conti Cup group stage, each teams play every other in their group only once – home or away. There are three points for a win as normal, but games that are drawn are decided by a penalty shootout, for which an extra bonus point is available.
This season, each of the five group winners progressed automatically to the next round, followed by the best overall runner-up. Chelsea and Arsenal did not compete in the group stage due to Champions League commitments in the first half of the season.
Of the five group runners-up, the highest ranked also progressed to the knockout rounds. However, due to not all group being the same size, those teams were ordered on a points per game basis.
Group A
|
Position |
Club |
Points |
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Aston Villa (Q) |
9 |
|
2. |
Manchester United |
8 |
|
3. |
Durham |
7 |
|
4. |
Everton |
5 |
|
5. |
Sheffield United |
1 |
Group B
|
Position |
Team |
Points |
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Manchester City (Q) |
12 |
|
2. |
Liverpool (Q) |
9 |
|
3. |
Leicester |
6 |
|
4. |
Sunderland |
0 |
|
5. |
Blackburn |
0 |
The final fixture between Blackburn and Sunderland was postponed twice due to a frozen pitch and was later cancelled altogether as the result would not have affected the group outcome.
Group C
|
Position |
Team |
Points |
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
West Ham (Q) |
6 |
|
2. |
Brighton |
5 |
|
3. |
London City Lionesses |
4 |
|
4. |
Birmingham |
3 |
Group D
|
Position |
Team |
Points |
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Bristol City (Q) |
6 |
|
2. |
Lewes |
6 |
|
3. |
Charlton |
6 |
|
4. |
Crystal Palace |
0 |
Group E
|
Position |
Team |
Points |
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Tottenham (Q) |
9 |
|
2. |
Reading |
6 |
|
3. |
Coventry United |
3 |
|
4. |
Southampton |
0 |
Ranking second place teams
|
Position |
Team |
Points per game |
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Liverpool |
2.25 |
|
2. |
Manchester United |
2 |
|
3. |
Reading |
2 |
|
4. |
Brighton |
2 |
|
5. |
Lewes |
2 |
The 2022/23 quarter-finals were all played in late January, a week after the last of the delayed group games had been completed. Chelsea and Arsenal also joined the competition at this stage.
The final four of the 2022/23 Conti Cup played their semi-final ties in the second week into February, with all of the dominant big three making it this far.
The 2022/23 Conti Cup final will be played at Selhurst Park on 5 March 2023 and will smash the previous record attendance for a final in the competition.
More than 20,000 tickets had been snapped up in the week leading up to the game, well over double the 8,004 who attended the 2021/22 final hosted at AFC Wimbledon’s Plough Lane.
