Carabao Expands 7-a-Side Cup to League Format for Fifth Year

Carabao, the primary sponsor of the English FA Cup and organizer of the Carabao Cup, is proceeding with the fifth year of its 7-a-side football tournament, offering the Thai champion an opportunity to watch football in England. On August 6 at Football Superstar Arena, Mol Disathaporn Samutkoraphrom, Vice Managing Director of Carabao Group Public Company Limited, chaired the press conference for the Carabao 7-a-Side Cup 2026.

Mol Disathaporn said: "The Carabao 7-a-Side Cup 2026 is not just another football tournament. We intend to create a platform of opportunity for every Thai person who loves football to demonstrate their abilities and progress from local neighborhood fields to a world-class experience at Wembley Stadium, because we believe dreams should not be confined to professional footballers."

"This year's competition has been designed under a local pride concept to foster participation from football communities across all regions. Our 16 partner stadiums will serve as regional competition centers and help identify representatives to advance to the national championship round."

"Carabao has also raised competition standards by selecting high-quality, well-prepared stadiums and will build on our support for the Carabao Cup, bringing world-class experience to Thai football. In the 16 qualifying rounds, we will accept 16 teams competing in a full league system where every team plays every other team, replacing the previous knockout format where only the champion of each stadium advanced to the national finals. This year's national finals will still be held in Phuket."

For the Carabao 7-a-Side Cup 2026, a total of 192 teams can register. Registration opens August 7, qualifying rounds run from August 31 to December 20, and the national finals will be held on January 10, 2027.