Carabao Cup first-round draw to bizarrely be held in Morrisons supermarket with John Barnes and Ray Parlour
THE Carabao Cup draw has been held in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City in recent years and even Piers Morgan was drafted in last season.
But now the EFL have gone one step further - by heading to a Morrisons supermarket.
That's right, the first-round draw on Thursday evening will be staged at the Morrisons in Colindale, close to Wembley Stadium where the trophy will be lifted next February.
John Barnes and Ray Parlour are the two stars brought in to complete the draw - and can able to pick up their weekly groceries afterwards with the store open until 11pm.
A total of 35 matches will be drawn for the week beginning August 12, split into northern and southern sections, with Salford City making their debut in the competition.
The 13 Premier League clubs not involved in Europe next season - with relegated sides Fulham and Cardiff joining the competition in the second round.
For fans desperate to catch a glimpse of the unmissable action, the draw will be shown live at 7pm on the Carabao Cup Facebook page.
John Luck, CMO of Intercarabao UK, explained the decision to have the draw inside a supermarket.
He said: "We sell lots of our great tasting low sugar energy drinks in supermarkets, so we thought why not let football fans watch the draw whilst stocking up on Carabao?
"Even better still, we’re delighted that it means we can continue to keep the Cup as inclusive as possible by giving fans the chance to come along to watch live."
AISLE BE TUNING IN
Unsurprisingly, Twitter was quick to provide some hilarious responses to the news, with some disappointed Clinton Morrison didn't get the call up to pull the names out.
One wrote: "Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and now a Morrisons in North London. What is happening with the league cup?????"
Another said: "The home teams will be drawn in aisle seven (frozen goods) while the away teams will be drawn in aisle 25 (confectionery)."
A third added: "'Why don’t clubs bother with the league cup anymore?' Oh I don’t know maybe because they do the draws next to the sodding bananas in a supermarket."
And a final user quipped: "Any chance of you doing the 2nd round draw in the Surbiton branch of Poundland?"
Parlour played it straight and told the EFL: "I always enjoy watching the Carabao Cup so it’s great to be involved in the Round One draw.
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"Hosting the draw in a supermarket as fans go about their daily lives provides them with a great opportunity to engage with the competition and I can’t wait to see who will be crowned Carabao Cup winners this season."
Manchester City beat Chelsea on penalties in last season's final, the first part of their domestic treble.
But the competition did throw out some shocks, including Frank Lampard getting the better of former boss Jose Mourinho as Derby dumped out Manchester United at Old Trafford.
