The competition was open to all teams from the top two levels of the
English Leagues, namely the
First and
Second Divisions. The six First Division teams that qualified for 1985–86 European play were invited to the English
Super Cup tournament rather than the Full Members' Cup. Some eligible teams chose not to compete in the tournament in a particular year, while four teams in the First Division throughout the seven seasons of the tournament never entered the competition –
Arsenal,
Liverpool,
Manchester United and
Tottenham Hotspur. Details of numbers of teams competing in each of the seasons: •
1985–86: 21 teams – 5 (of 16, with 6 in Super Cup) from Division 1 and 16 (of 22) from Division 2 •
1986–87: 36 teams – 14 (of 22) from Division 1 and all 22 from Division 2 •
1987–88: 40 teams – 17 (of 21) from Division 1 and all 23 from Division 2 •
1988–89: 40 teams – 16 (of 20) from Division 1 and all 24 from Division 2 •
1989–90: 37 teams – 13 (of 20) from Division 1 and all 24 from Division 2 •
1990–91: 39 teams – 15 (of 20) from Division 1 and all 24 from Division 2 •
1991–92: 41 teams – 18 (of 22) from Division 1 and 23 (all but
Sunderland) from Division 2 ==Finals==