The 2025-26 Carabao Cup will include a preliminary round to accommodate the increased number of Premier League clubs with European commitments.

Nine top-flight sides are set to participate in European competitions next season, prompting the change to help reduce the number of clubs in the first two rounds.

The preliminary round will feature the two sides promoted from the National League and the two clubs who finished 21st and 22nd in League Two.

They will be separated regionally, as is customary with the competition's early rounds, meaning Accrington Stanley will face Oldham Athletic while Barnet take on Newport County.

The home sides for those ties will be drawn at the same time as the draw for round one, on 26 June at 16:30 BST.

All EFL clubs - other than the two eliminated in the preliminary round - will participate in round one of the competition.

The 11 Premier League sides not in Europe enter at the second-round stage while the nine sides to have qualified for Europe - Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace - come in at round three.

Palace are waiting for their participation in the Europa League to be rubber-stamped by Uefa, as John Textor's Eagle Football group has a minority shareholding in Palace and a majority stake in French side Lyon, who have also qualified for next season's European competition.

Carabao Cup 2025-26 fixture dates
Preliminary round: week commencing 4 August 2025

Round one: week commencing 11 August 2025

Round two: week commencing 25 August 2025

Round three: split between week commencing 15 September and 22 September 2025 to accommodate clubs participating in Champions League and Europa League

Round four: week commencing 27 October 2025

Round five: week commencing 15 December 2025

Semi-final first leg: week commencing 12 January 2026

Semi-final second leg: week commencing 2 February 2026

Goalkeeper Nick Townsend has joined National League side Eastleigh following his departure from Newport County.

The Antigua and Barbuda international was offered a new deal by The Exiles, but decided to leave Rodney Parade after seven years and 209 appearances.

Townsend, who was voted Newport's Supporters Player of the Year for the last two seasons, was out of contract this summer.

The 30-year-old former Barnsley keeper joins an Eastleigh side that finished 13th in the National League last season.

"It's exciting for me and my family to have a fresh start down here," Townsend told the club's website.

Hull City have appointed Sergej Jakirovic as their new head coach on a two-year deal.

The 48-year-old Bosnian joins the Championship side after a short spell in charge of Turkish Super Lig outfit Kayserispor.

The Tigers sacked boss Ruben Selles last month after they narrowly avoided relegation to League One, staying up on goal difference.

Jakirovic has managed in Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia, and was only appointed head coach of Kayserispor in January but left the club by mutual consent, external on Sunday.

A Hull City statement confirmed they had "agreed a settlement" with the Turkish club for Jakirovic to join the Tigers.

The deal has the option of a further year, in the club's favour.

Former Bosnia defender Jakirovic led Dinamo Zagreb to the Croatian league and cup double in 2023-24.

However, he left Zagreb in September two days after overseeing their heaviest ever defeat, a 9-2 reverse at Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

He is the third appointment at MKM Stadium since Liam Rosenior was sacked in May 2024 after guiding the East Yorkshire side to a seventh-placed finish in the Championship.

German Tim Walter only lasted until November when he was sacked with the Tigers in the bottom three.

Spaniard Selles followed him out of the door six months later despite securing second-tier survival with a draw at Portsmouth on the final day.

Jakirovic now moves to Humberside after guiding Kayserispor to a 13th-placed finish, having arrived when the club was in the relegation zone.

He is the fifth managerial appointment under the watch of chairman Acun Ilicali, who took over in January 2022.

"After a thorough and extensive recruitment process, we are delighted to secure the services of Sergej," Turkish businessman Ilicali told the club's website, external.

"We believe in the football that he will bring to the MKM Stadium for us and importantly, he has proven himself to be a winner throughout his career.

"My dream for our club has never changed from the first day I took over, and I believe in Sergej as we look forward to the 2025-26 Championship campaign together as one family."

Jakirovic will bring coaches Marko Salatovic, Marin Ivancic and Andjelo Roguljic with him to Humberside to work alongside Andy Dawson and Erbil Bozkurt in the Tigers' backroom staff.

Never thought I'd ever cheer for The Taffs!!! But last night was a great effort - great match - great drama.

https://www.sportsbabble.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=13808

New Norwich City boss Liam Manning says he is back in the city to win, not for old times.

The boyhood Canaries fan has been speaking for the first time since being appointed as the Championship club's new boss last week.

Manning becomes the first Norwich-born head coach at Carrow Road, having led Bristol City to the play-offs last season.

"It'll help knowing the city, the history of the club and some of the fans and former players but the biggest driver was always the club, the ambition, the project and what we're trying to achieve," he told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"It's not coming back here for niceties, it's coming back to be successful."


The 39-year-old former Norwich youth player also coached in Ipswich Town's academy before taking MK Dons to the League One play-offs in 2022 and had a brief spell at Oxford United who were second in the third tier when he left to join Bristol City.

"My first live match was here, my first season ticket was here and I've got some fond memories - it's such a fantastic city, fantastic fanbase, so if you can achieve here you can be remembered so we'll be doing everything we can to try to bring success to people," he said.

Manning admits leaving Ashton Gate was not the easiest decision having taken Bristol City to a sixth-placed finish but also with the support he was given following the death of his baby son Theo in October.

"Any move you make in this game is difficult so in terms of the 18 months I had there it was successful and obviously a challenging time personally which creates a a level of affiliation and empathy with the people there," he said.

"But when we had the discussions (at Norwich) of what it looks like and the direction - knowing the club and the fanbase and the ambition here, it matches with me extremely well so it was a difficult decision but I'm sure it's the right one."

Norwich finished 13th in the Championship last season, 11 points short of the play-offs, and sacked head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup in April, leaving Manning to become the Norfolk club's fourth permanent boss in under four years.

"We're in the results business so we have to win and I want to win but to sustain winning it has to be underpinned by some really good practices and processes and a really strong culture," said the new boss.

"You go into the season wanting to finish in the top six, it's understanding how you do that - that's the end goal."

He will immediately turn his attentions to building Norwich's squad for next season with speculation surrounding the futures of forwards Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz in particular, while they have been linked with Swansea's out-of-contract defender Harry Darling, who Manning worked with at MK Dons.

"I had a terrific time with Harry at MK Dons and he was outstanding - he's really excelled at the level and there isn't a huge amount of players at his age or his profile who are available," said Manning.

"He'll have a large amount of interest but he's definitely someone for me who would be a good fit."

NO-ONE

Morecambe have said a takeover by Panjab Warriors has been given clearance to continue by the English Football League.

The club have been up for sale since 2022 with a protracted takeover overshadowing their previous three seasons.

The Shrimps were relegated from the EFL to the National League last term having finished bottom of League Two, amid financial issues challenging the club off the field.

"This is more than a business venture; it's a commitment to the fans, the town, and the future of Morecambe FC," said Gurpreet Singh,, external head of communications for Panjab Warriors.

"Our aim is to build upon the club's rich heritage, ensuring stability and fostering unity across all parts of the community.

"Panjab Warriors would like to extend their thanks to the club and its Board of Directors for their co-operation in obtaining EFL approval, and also to the EFL for their patience and support in getting to this stage".

Morecambe's board previously said that "positive progress" had been made towards selling the club in an update given in April after their relegation was confirmed.

They will play National League football for the first time since 2007 after a season to forget, which included having to scramble a side together last summer after a transfer embargo was lifted, while transfers were blocked mid-season until funds to see out the season were guaranteed.

Morecambe spent virtually the whole 2024-25 season in the bottom two and four successive defeats at the tail end of the campaign confirmed a second relegation in three seasons.

Shortly after their relegation, boss Derek Adams said the club still did not have a plan for the coming 2025-26 season as their ownership struggles continued.

"In the interests of transparency and until final due diligence and contracts are finalised, we are not in a position to say anything further at this stage," Gurpreet added.

"However, once we are in this position we are looking forward to meeting with supporters and media to update via the appropriate channels."

Boston United have rejected an approach from fellow National League side Hartlepool United for their manager Graham Coughlan.

BBC Radio Lincolnshire understands that Pools want the 50-year-old former Mansfield and Newport County boss to replace Anthony Limbrick - who is still in position.

Coughlan is under contract with the Pilgrims so the clubs would have to agree to compensation for the move to go ahead.

Pools finished 11th in the National League in their second season since relegation from the EFL.

Boston were seven points adrift at the bottom at one stage but a run of 11 wins in their final 18 games saw the Lincolnshire side finish the season in 19th place.

Hartlepool are up for sale and said last month that they were currently behind with critical planning for next season as a potential takeover drags on.

Ten players left the club at the end of the season, while Limbrick - who took over in February - said he wanted to stay in charge.

"I think this is a Football League club, I've said that before," he said after the final day draw with Forest Green Rovers.

"I love this little stadium, it's like a small, boutique stadium; when the fans get going, it always feels like there are a lot more than there actually are, I love the passion and the people here.

"It means so much to them, and it does to us as well. That's why I came here, I want to try and push this club forward and be here for a long, long time."

Gateshead expect to appoint a replacement for departed manager Carl Magnay by the end of next week despite confirming a Fifa registration ban on transfers is hanging over the club.

Chairman Bernard McWilliams released a statement, external on Wednesday regarding the restriction on player registrations, arising from what he described as a "situation with Fifa relating to a previous transfer from several years ago".

But both club and board are confident the issue will not stop the club interviewing candidates to succeed Magnay, with a new appointment likely to be announced at the end of next week.

Gateshead are dealing with major upheaval following takeover uncertainty and the resignations of former chairman Neil Pinkerton and manager Magnay, plus the departures of head of recruitment Luke Clark, club doctor Ross Floyd and captain Greg Olley.

"A Fifa registration ban that covers both domestic and international transfers had been imposed against us," said a statement from the chairman, external. "Once I became aware, I contacted Fifa over the matter to identify what needs to be done to rectify and lift the ban and we should have it resolved swiftly.

"This will not impact any planning we have in place with both manager and player recruitment."

Magnay, who guided the club to eighth place in the National League last season, resigned on Monday but McWilliams said the club had already been "inundated" with applications for the manager's role.

The club plan to shortlist candidates this weekend for interviews and hope to be in a position to appoint a new manager by the end of next week.