The competition began on 1 October 1991 and ended with the final on 29 March 1992 at Wembley Stadium. The competition was then cancelled after seven seasons, when the Premier League arose from the old Football League First Division and reduced the Football League to three divisions.
In the first round, there were two sections: North and South. In the following rounds each section gradually eliminates teams in knock-out fashion until each has a winning finalist. At this point, the two winning finalists face each other in the combined final for the honour of the trophy.
Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham and Sunderland opted out of this competition.