League vs Cup

Often the dispute is brought up as to whether the League format or the Cup format is better in football. The Premier League, La Liga and the other big leagues are played in the League format while the Copa Del Rey, FA Cup and similar competitions are played in the Cup format. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Lets first have a quick look at the rules of each format.

Rules:

The League format rules are simple – Each team in the League plays the other at home and away over the season – A win means 3 points, a draw is 1 and loss means no points. The team with the highest total at the end of the season is declared as the Champion. As opposed to this, Cup formats mean elimination rounds. Each round has teams playing each other and the losing team gets eliminated and cannot participate in the tournament further in the same season. The match is usually played at the stadium of the team whose name is drawn first in the draws. In some competitions, if a tie is experienced for a round then a match is played again between the two teams at the home stadium of the second team. If a tie is still experienced, then it is decided on penalties.

League Format:

The League format tests each team against all the other teams in the tournament. It also gives an opportunity for each team to play the other at Home as well as Away. This could be seen as a sort of ‘fair’ format. However, a team has to first qualify for a League to be able to play. The effect of injuries, transfers and management changes are more pronounced in this League. Player fitness plays a vital role as matches are played every weekend over the entire season. The ‘unfairness’ of the league can be seen that for a team to win the Championship, not only does it have to perform consistently well over the season, but it has to hope that all weaker teams play strong football against the other title contenders as well. For example, if Chelsea and Manchester City are title contenders on equal points and Chelsea’s opponents play poor football on the last day while City’s opponents play strong football – it might be looked upon as unfair. But that is the nature of the League – every team has to put in 100% every match and hope for the best.

Another feature of the League is the excitement and rivalries. If a team loses a match early in the season to a rival it has another chance in the same season for ‘revenge’. This factor drives not only players but even the fans to a higher level of excitement. Continuous matches over the season also guarantees revenue generation for local economy, more consistent employment and overall financial development for areas around the club.

Cup Format:

The cup format can be looked at in a different way – It gives an opportunity to teams in lower leagues to play teams in a higher league. The fact that the matches (except the semi-finals in most competitions) are played at one of the teams Home ground gives a slight edge to that team and might make it seem unfair. However, ‘Cupsets’ give a chance to lower down teams to be recognized at a higher level. It is also a chance for the players in smaller clubs to shine at the top level and gain recognition. The example of Wigan can be taken, where they got relegated 2 seasons back from the Premier but also won the FA Cup beating Manchester City.

                            Wigan got relegated while winning the FA Cup 2 seasons back

Each format has its own advantages and drawbacks. However, one thing remains common for both – the spirit to win for both the clubs and the fans. This is what drives all competitions and makes the game of football unpredictable and the most loved game on the planet!