Editing Full Members' Cup (section)

==Participants==
The competition was open to all teams from the top two levels of the [[The Football League|English Leagues]], namely the [[Football League First Division|First]] and [[Football League Second Division|Second]] Divisions. The six First Division teams that qualified for 1985–86 European play were invited to the English [[Football League Super Cup|Super Cup]] tournament rather than the Full Members' Cup.<ref name=PlanetFootball>{{Cite news|url=http://www.planetfootball.com/quick-reads/five-forgotten-cup-competitions-full-members-cup-artemio-franchi-trophy/|title=Five forgotten cup competitions: Full Members Cup, Artemio Franchi Trophy|date=3 October 2017|work=Planet Football|access-date=8 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108145751/http://www.planetfootball.com/quick-reads/five-forgotten-cup-competitions-full-members-cup-artemio-franchi-trophy/|archive-date=2017-11-08|url-status=live}}</ref>

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 F.C.|Arsenal]], [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]], [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] and [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]].

Details of numbers of teams competing in each of the seasons:<ref>[http://www.statto.com/ Old Cup Competitions/Full Members Cup at Statto.com]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102235351/http://www.statto.com/ |date=2 November 2010 }}</ref>

*'''[[1985–86 Full Members' Cup|1985–86]]''': 21 teams  – 5 (of 16, with 6 in Super Cup) from Division 1 and 16 (of 22) from Division 2
*'''[[1986–87 Full Members' Cup|1986–87]]''': 36 teams – 14 (of 22) from Division 1 and all 22 from Division 2
*'''[[1987–88 Full Members' Cup|1987–88]]''': 40 teams – 17 (of 21) from Division 1 and all 23 from Division 2
*'''[[1988–89 Full Members' Cup|1988–89]]''': 40 teams – 16 (of 20) from Division 1 and all 24 from Division 2
*'''[[1989–90 Full Members' Cup|1989–90]]''': 37 teams – 13 (of 20) from Division 1 and all 24 from Division 2
*'''[[1990–91 Full Members' Cup|1990–91]]''': 39 teams – 15 (of 20) from Division 1 and all 24 from Division 2
*'''[[1991–92 Full Members' Cup|1991–92]]''': 41 teams – 18 (of 22) from Division 1 and 23 (all but [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]]) from Division 2