The British League Cup was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

competition that was set up in April 1902 to raise money for the

disaster A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...

Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of . ...

, in which 25 people were killed and 517 injured at an international match between

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

at the start of that month. The four clubs that participated in this competition were the winners and runners-up of the Scottish and English football leagues. It was a predecessor to the

Empire Exhibition Trophy The Empire Exhibition Trophy was a football competition held in 1938 in conjunction with the Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938 in Glasgow. It was held to commemorate the Exhibition, then underway in Bellahouston Park, and the prize was a solid silv ...

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2 ...

and

Anglo-Scottish Cup The Anglo-Scottish Cup was a tournament arranged for teams in the English and Scottish football leagues during the summer for several years during the 1970s. It was created in 1975 as a new incarnation of the Texaco Cup, with a similar format t ...

. It succeeded the old

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

matches between English and Scottish top clubs, as football became more widespread in the world and England-Scotland club matches could no longer be billed as World Championships.

Summary

The competition took place in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, apart from one semi-final between Everton and Rangers played at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, the replay for which took place at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

where Celtic had also played Sunderland. The final, played at the first Cathkin Park, was won 3–2 by Celtic against Rangers after

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...

, with the winning goal coming so late that many newspapers reported that the result was a 2–2 draw. The event was held near to the accession date of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

and due to its Britain-wide scope was also referred to as the 'Coronation Cup' in some sources. The final was held six weeks after the semi-finals with the intention to play it as close as possible to the coronation ceremony event, but this was delayed until the August after Edward fell ill. The trophy itself had first been won by Rangers the previous year as the

Glasgow International Exhibition Cup The Glasgow Exhibition Cup was a football competition held as part of the Glasgow International Trade Fair of 1901. Eight Scottish First Division sides (acknowledged as the leading clubs in the country) were invited to the tournament, and matches ...

. Despite its inscription still stating "Awarded to Rangers F.C." after Celtic won the British League Cup competition, they kept the trophy permanently.

Participating teams

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

(runners-up in

1901–02 Scottish Division One The 1901–02 Scottish Division One season was won by Rangers by two points over nearest rival Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and An ...

) * Everton (runners-up in

1901–02 Football League The 1901– 02 season was the 14th season of The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such co ...

) * Rangers (champions in

) *

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

(champions in

)

Results

Semi-Final

----

Replay

Final

Teams

Benefit Tournament

There was a further 'Rangers Benefit Tournament' to raise funds at the start of the following season, held over a few weeks at various stadia, and with low attendances reported. Celtic also won that competition, defeating Morton 4–2 in the final at IbroxFootball.
The Glasgow Herald, 25 September 1902 after a 7–2 win over Rangers in the quarter-final.Celtic: Pride and Passion
Jim Craig, Pat Woods (Random House, 2013),

Other uses of the name

In the 21st century, suggestions have been made (mostly from Scotland, although some calls from English managers) that a 'British League Cup' could be played involving the amalgamation of the English

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by t ...

and the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existe ...

due to the perception of both competitions diminishing in appeal under their current formats, with no such changes implemented as of 2020.Celtic, Rangers and other Scottish clubs can revamp England's Carabao Cup, claims Premier League boss
The Scotsman, 22 January 2020