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"Mickey Mouse Cup" is a pejorative and biased term used particularly in English football to describe some seasonal competitions based in elimination rounds regarded with lesser prestige than others such as the English Football League Cup, compared with the FA Cup, or single annual match tournaments as the UEFA Super Cup. Despite its status as worldwide competition organised by the sport's governing body, FIFA, the term has also been applied to the FIFA Club World Cup, a competition won by an English club three times since its debut in 2000.
Often, a club that perceives a competition as a "Mickey Mouse Cup" – usually a stronger Premier League side – will field a weakened, reserve or youth team in the competition, resting more high-profile players and further weakening the perception of the competition. However, this often has the effect of giving chances to play to developing players, who may progress into the first team.
The term may also be applied to a competition to intentionally disparage the winning of it by a rival side, or to minimize the importance of the competition to a club if knocked out. This may be done as part of a mind game with rival clubs in other competitions, or for reasons to maintain team morale.