Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank is advocating for a significant alteration to the Carabao Cup format, specifically the abolishment of two-legged semi-finals. Frank's proposal aims to alleviate the congested schedules faced by clubs and create a more level playing field for smaller teams.

Speaking ahead of Tottenham's fourth-round match against Newcastle, Frank, whose team won the Europa League in May, highlighted the increasing strain on players due to the ever-expanding football calendar. He believes reducing the semi-finals to a single match would provide smaller clubs with a greater opportunity to advance and break the dominance of larger, more established teams.

Frank emphasized that a single-leg semi-final would make it "much, much easier" for smaller clubs to beat bigger clubs. He argued that the current format often leads to the same "boring teams" consistently winning the competition. He playfully excluded his own team, Tottenham, from this criticism. Aside from Newcastle's victory last season, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool have dominated the competition in the past decade.

The Tottenham boss acknowledged the financial implications of such a change, suggesting that the Premier League should compensate the English Football League (EFL) if necessary. He stated, "If it's about money, then someone needs to fix it. If it's the Premier League paying money to the EFL, because as far as I understand it, it's because of that, so someone fix it". Frank believes finding a solution should be "very, very easy".

The Carabao Cup semi-finals have traditionally been contested over two legs, with the exception of the 2020-21 season, when fixture congestion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic forced a temporary switch to single-leg ties. During that season, Frank's Brentford side, then in the Championship, were defeated by Tottenham in a one-off semi-final.

The current format sees the first leg of the semi-finals played in the week commencing January 12, with the return fixture in early February. For a team like Tottenham, the second leg could fall between Premier League matches against Manchester City and Manchester United, further intensifying their schedule. Frank's call for change comes amid growing concerns about player workload and the need to maintain the competitiveness of domestic cup competitions.