 Current logo | |
| Organiser(s) | English Football League |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1983; 42 years ago (1983) (as the Associate Members' Cup) |
| Region |
|
| Teams | 64 |
| Current champions | Peterborough United (3rd title) |
| Most championships | Bristol City Peterborough United (3 titles each) |
 2025–26 EFL Trophy | |
TheEnglish Football League Trophy, officially known as theVertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Englishfootballknockout competition open to all clubs inEFL League One andEFL League Two andU-21 teams from thePremier League and theEFL Championship.[1]
Launched in the1983–84 football season as theAssociate Members' Cup, the competition was renamed theFootball League Trophy in 1992 after a reorganisation following the formation of thePremier League and again as the currentEFL Trophy in 2016 due to The Football League changing its name to theEnglish Football League.[1]
The current competition begins with 16 regional groups, each containing 4 teams and divided between northern and southern sections depending on the clubs' geographic locations. The top two from each group qualify for the knockout stages before the two winners meet in late March or early April in the final atWembley Stadium. SomeMidlands andEast Anglian clubs fluctuate between the north and south each season for every draw. Other details have varied over the years, including in some years inviting clubs from theNational League, and holding a round-robin group stage before moving into knockout rounds.
The most successful clubs areBristol City andPeterborough United, who have lifted the trophy three times each. The current winners are Peterborough United, who beatBirmingham City 2–0 in the2025 final.
The competition was created in 1983, and was open to Third and Fourth DivisionFootball League clubs (levels 3 and 4 of the English football pyramid). The competition was introduced to give clubs in the lower divisions of the Football League a more realistic opportunity to play at Wembley.[2] It replaced theFootball League Group Cup (known as the Football League Trophy in its final season), in which some (but not all) Third and Fourth Division teams had competed. The first winners of the competition wereBournemouth.
In 1992 the tournament rebranded as theFootball League Trophy, coinciding with a reorganisation following the decision of theFirst Division clubs at the time to form thePremier League.[3]
In 2016 the competition rebranded to the currentEFL Trophy after The Football League rebranding as theEnglish Football League.[4]The first season under the new name saw 16Category One academies ofPremier League andEFL Championship clubs join the competition.[5]
In 2023 participating clubs received a £20,000 participation fee, with £10,000 per victory and £5,000 per draw in the group stage, and increasing prizes for the knockout matches up to £100,000 for winning the final.[6]
The 48 clubs of theThird andFourth Divisions were split into North and South sections of 24 teams each. The first round had 12 knockout ties in each section, and the second had six. In each section, the two second-round losers with the 'narrowest' defeats were reprieved and joined the six other clubs in the regional quarter-finals.[7]
Forthe 1985–86 edition, 8 three-team groups were introduced in each of the two sections. Teams played one home and one away game and the group winners proceeded to the regional knockout stages.[8] This was modified inthe following season, with two teams qualifying from each group, resulting in an additional 'round of 16' knockout stage in each section.[9]
For a number of seasons in the early to mid-1990s, the competition ran with seven 3-team groups, two teams in each section receiving abye into the knockout stages. This was a direct result of the folding ofAldershot andMaidstone United necessitating a reorganisation of the competition to accommodate fewer than 48 teams in the tournament.[10]
The group phase was abolished for the1996–97 edition. The regional sections were retained and 8 teams in each section received a bye to the second round.
Forthe 2000–01 season, 8teams in level 5 (step 1) of the football pyramid were invited to participate in the tournament, resulting in 12 ties in each of the north/south sections in the first round, with only four teams in each section receiving a bye into the second round. The number of invitees increased to 12 from2002–03, resulting in 14 first-round ties, and two teams in each regional section gaining a bye into the second round.
The teams from the Conference invited by season are as follows:[11]
For the2006–07 tournament onward, the Conference team invitations were abolished. This resulted in the format reverting to 8 first-round matches in each section, and 8 sides receiving byes to the second round.[12] Due to a number of clubs fielding weakened teams in the competition, a rule was introduced which required a minimum of six first-team regulars to be named in the starting lineup.[13]
64 teams enter from Round One; all 48 teams from levels three and four of the football pyramid (League One andLeague Two), along with 16 category 1 Premier League andEFL Championship academy/under-21 sides. 16 regional groups of four teams split evenly 8 northern and 8 southern. Each of the groups contains one academy team. The top two from each group progress to the knockout stages; up to and including the quarter-final the tournament remains regionalised before becoming an open draw from the semi-finals onwards.[14]
During the group phase, if the scores are level at the end of the match, then penalties are taken immediately without recourse to extra time. The winning team is awarded 2 points and the losing team 1 point.[14] During the knock-out phase, up to but not including the final, if the scores are level at the end of the match the winner is decided by penalties. In the final, if the scores are equal after 90 minutes an extra 30 minutes are played and if still equal the winner is then decided by penalties.[14]
The following academy teams have competed:
The final of the EFL Trophy is currently held atWembley Stadium inLondon, the English national stadium. The final in 1984 was due to be played atthe previous Wembley Stadium, but owing to damage caused to the pitch during theHorse of the Year Show, it was moved toBoothferry Park inHull.[15] From 2001 to 2007, during the building of the new Wembley, the Football League Trophy finals were played at theMillennium Stadium inCardiff.[citation needed]
List of tournament winners:[16][17][18]
The overall record attendance for the final is 85,021, set at theWembley Stadium in 2019 byPortsmouth andSunderland. The record attendance for the final atthe original Wembley Stadium was 80,841, set in the1988 final betweenWolverhampton Wanderers andBurnley.[19] The record attendance for the final at theMillennium Stadium inCardiff was 59,024, set in the2007 final betweenBristol Rovers andDoncaster Rovers.[20] The 2020 and 2021 finals were played behind closed doors, but clubs raised money for charity by selling supporters virtual tickets.[21]
| EFL Trophy final attendance records | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stadium | Attendance record | Year (Final) | Winner | Finalist | Result | |
| Wembley Stadium (new) | 85,021 | 2019 | Portsmouth | Sunderland | 2–2 (5–4pen.) | |
| Millennium Stadium | 59,024 | 2007 | Doncaster Rovers | Bristol Rovers | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | |
| Wembley Stadium (old) | 80,841 | 1988 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Burnley | 2–0 | |
The highest attendance for any game apart from the final came on 5 February 2013 for the Northern Area final, whenCoventry City lost toCrewe Alexandra 3–0 at theRicoh Arena in Coventry (they later won the away leg 2–0, going down 3–2 on aggregate), in front of a crowd of 31,054.[22]
The lowest attendance in the history of the competition (excluding those affected by pandemic restrictions) came during the 2018–19 season when just 202 attended aMiddlesbrough academy team's 1–0 victory againstBurton Albion in November 2018 at Burton'sPirelli Stadium.[23][24]
From 1984 to the present (except 1983–84), the League Trophy has attracted titlesponsorship, giving it the following names:
| Period | Sponsor | Name | Trophy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983–1984 | None | Associate Members Cup | Original |
| 1984–1987 | Freight Rover | Freight Rover Trophy | Unknown |
| 1987–1989 | LDV Group | Sherpa Van Trophy | |
| 1989–1992 | Leyland DAF | Leyland DAF Cup | |
| 1992–1994 | Autoglass | Autoglass Trophy | |
| 1994–2000 | Auto Windscreens | Auto Windscreens Shield | |
| 2000–2007 | LDV Group | LDV Vans Trophy[a] | Original |
| 2007–2016 | PPG Industries | Johnstone's Paint Trophy | |
| 2016–2019 | Checkatrade.com | Checkatrade Trophy[25] | |
| 2019–2020 | Leasing.com | Leasing.com Trophy[b] | |
| 2020–2023 | Papa John's | Papa Johns Trophy[26][c] | |
| 2023–2024 | Vertu Motors | Bristol Street Motors Trophy[28][d] | |
| 2024–2026 | Vertu Trophy[29][e] |
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