The 2016–17 Northern Ireland Football League Cup was the 31st edition of Northern Ireland's football knockout cup competition for national league clubs, and the third edition of the competition as the Northern Ireland Football League Cup. Following a reduction in the number of clubs in the three Northern Ireland Football League divisions, this season's League Cup was contested by 36 clubs - down from 40 last season. The competition began on 6 August 2016 with the first round, and concluded on 18 February 2017. For the first time in the competition's history, the League Cup did not have a title sponsor for this season.
For the fourth consecutive season Cliftonville were the defending champions, following their 3–0 win over Ards in the 2016 final. This secured the trophy for the fourth consecutive season and the fifth time overall.[1] This season, their four-year grip on the Cup was finally broken by Glenavon, who defeated Cliftonville 3–2 after extra time in the quarter-finals.[2] This inflicted Cliftonville's first League Cup defeat since December 2011, when they lost 2–1 to Coleraine in the semi-finals of the 2011–12 competition.
Ballymena United were the eventual winners of the Cup, defeating Carrick Rangers 2–0 in the final to win the competition for the first time.[3] Ballymena United had been appearing in the final for the second time in three seasons, having been runners-up to Cliftonville in their first ever League Cup final appearance in the 2014–15 competition. Carrick Rangers were appearing in the final for the first time.
Format and schedule
The competition was played in a straight knockout format and was open to the 36 members of the NIFL Premiership, NIFL Championship and NIFL Premier Intermediate League. Replays were not used in the competition, with all matches using extra time and penalties to determine the winner if necessary.
The matches took place on 30 August 2016.[4] The top 16 league clubs from the previous season were seeded in this round in order to avoid drawing each other.
