2025–26 Northern Ireland Football League Cup
| BetMcLean League Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Dates | 12 Aug 2025 – 8 Mar 2026 |
| Teams | 38 |
| Defending champions | Cliftonville |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 29 (4.83 per match) |
The 2025–26 Northern Ireland Football League Cup (known as the BetMcLean Cup for sponsorship purposes)[1] is the 39th edition of Northern Ireland's football knockout cup competition for national league clubs, and the tenth edition of the competition as the Northern Ireland Football League Cup. The competition will be contested by the 38 member clubs of the Northern Ireland Football League, commencing on 12 August 2025 with the preliminary round and concluding with the final on 8 March 2026.[2] The competition was sponsored by McLean Bookmakers, the title sponsors of the cup since the 2017–18 season.[1]
Cliftonville F.C. are the defending champions after defeating Glentoran 1–0 to win the trophy for the seventh time.
Format and schedule
The competition is open to the 38 members of the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL). The 14 NIFL Premier Intermediate League clubs entered the draw for the preliminary round, with 12 of those clubs being drawn to face each other in six ties and the remaining two clubs receiving byes.
The six preliminary round winners and the two clubs which received byes joined the remaining 24 clubs from the NIFL Premiership and NIFL Championship in the first round. The 16 highest-ranked clubs from the previous season's league system (all 12 NIFL Premiership clubs along with the top 4 NIFL Championship clubs) were then seeded in the first round to avoid drawing each other.
The first round is the only round of the competition in which seeding is used. From there on the competition used an open draw with a standard knockout format, with the remaining rounds consisting of the second round, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.[2]
Replays are not used in the competition, with all matches using extra time and penalties to determine the winner if necessary.
| Round | First match date | Fixtures | Clubs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary round | 12 August 2025 | 6 | 38 → 32 |
| First round | 7 October 2025 | 16 | 32 → 16 |
| Second round | 4 November 2025 | 8 | 16 → 8 |
| Quarter-finals | 2 December 2025 | 4 | 8 → 4 |
| Semi-finals | 13 January 2026 | 2 | 4 → 2 |
| Final | 8 March 2026 | 1 | 2 → 1 |
Rounds
The competition takes place over six rounds; a preliminary round and five rounds proper.
Preliminary round
Six preliminary ties featuring twelve teams from the third-tier Northern Ireland Intermediate League. Ties were played on 12 and 16 August 2025.[3]
First Round
The six preliminary round winners join the 12 NIFL Premiership (tier 1), 12 NIFL Championship (tier 2) and the remaining two intermediate teams in the First Round Proper. Ties to be played on 7 and 8 October 2025.[4]
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Ards | 1–1(a.e.t.) (3–4 p) | Dungannon Swifts |
| Armagh City | 3–2 | Carrick Rangers |
| Ballymena United | 1–0 | Ballinamallard United |
| Bangor | 4–1 | Lisburn Distillery |
| Cliftonville | 4–1 | Coagh United |
| Crusaders | 3–1 | Ballymacash Rangers |
| Dergview | 3–7 | Larne |
| Dollingstown | 0–8 | Coleraine |
| H&W Welders | 6–0 | Dundela |
| Institute | 0–1 | Glentoran |
| Linfield | 2–0 | Queen's University |
| Loughgall | 2–3(a.e.t.) | Strabane Athletic |
| Moyola Park | 3–0 | Annagh United |
| Newington | 3–1 | Limavady United |
| Newry City | 1–0 | Portadown |
| Warrenpoint Town | 0–2 | Glenavon |
Second round
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Ballymena Utd | 3–0[5] | Newington |
| Coleraine | 7–1[6] | Armagh City |
| Dunganon Swifts | 0–1[7] | Moyola Park |
| Glentoran | 2–1[8] | Crusaders |
| Larne | 2–1[9] | Bangor |
| Newry City | 1–0[10] | Glenavon |
| Cliftonville | 5–2[11] | Strabane Athletic |
| H&W Welders | 3–6[12](a.e.t) | Linfield |
Quarter-finals
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Ballymena Utd | - | Larne |
| Glentoran | - | Cliftonville |
| Moyola Park | - | Coleraine |
| Newry City | - | Linfield |
Semi-finals
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| - | ||
| - |
BetMcClean NI League Cup final
References
- ^ a b "BETMcLEAN CUP SPONSORSHIP EXTENSION AND DRAW". Northern Ireland Football League. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
- ^ a b "BETMcLEAN CUP - PRELIMINARY ROUND DRAW". Northern Ireland Football League. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
- ^ "Results". NI Football League. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
- ^ "Fixtures". NI Football League. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
- ^ "League Cup - Last 16: Ballymena v Newington".
- ^ "League Cup - Last 16: Coleraine v Armagh City".
- ^ "League Cup - Last 16: Dungannon Swifts v Moyola Park".
- ^ "League Cup - Last 16: Glentoran v Crusaders".
- ^ "League Cup - Last 16: Larne v Bangor".
- ^ "League Cup - Last 16: Newry v Glenavon".
- ^ "League Cup - Last 16: Cliftonville v Strabane".
- ^ "League Cup - Last 16: H&W Welders v Linfield".