2023–24 EFL Trophy

Tournament details
Country	England Wales
Teams	64
Final positions
Champions	Peterborough United(2nd title)
Runners-up	Wycombe Wanderers
Tournament statistics
Matches played	127
Goals scored	413 (3.25 per match)
Attendance	293,253 (2,309 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Tyler Smith Bradford City (6 goals)
← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The2023–24 EFL Trophy, known as theBristol Street Motors Trophy^[a] for sponsorship reasons, was the 43rd season in the history ofthe competition, and was a knock-out tournament for clubs inEFL League One andLeague Two, the third and fourth tiers of theEnglish football league system, as well as the "Academy teams" of 15 Premier League and one Championship club withCategory One status.^[1] For the first time since 1984, the competition lacked a sponsor. Following the expiration ofPapa Johns's sponsorship contract, the EFL attempted to find a new sponsor but were unable to do so.^[2] On 2 November 2023, EFL announced they had reached a sponsorship agreement with car dealership brandBristol Street Motors and the tournament's name was changed to reflect that from that point.^[3]

The defending champions wereBolton Wanderers who defeatedPlymouth Argyle 4–0 in the previous season'sfinal, but they were knocked out in the quarter-finals on penalties byBlackpool.

• 48 clubs fromLeague One andLeague Two.
• 16 invitedCategory One Academy teams.

For EFL clubs^[4]

• Minimum of four qualifying outfield players in their starting XI. A qualifying outfield player was one who met any of the following requirements:
  • Any player who started the previous or following first-team fixture.
  • Any player who is in the top 10 players at the club who has made the most starting appearances in league and domestic cup competitions this season.
  • Any player with forty or more first-team starting appearances in their career, including International matches.
  • Any player on loan from a Premier League club or any EFL Category One Academy club.
• A club can play any eligible goalkeeper in the competition.
• Any player out on a long loan term at aNational League,National League North, orNational League South team can play as long as the loaning team agree to allow the player to return for the match.

For invited teams^[4]

• Minimum of six players in the starting line-up who are aged under 21 on 30 June 2023.
• Maximum of two players on the team sheet who are aged over 21 and have also made forty or more senior appearances.

Group stage

• Sixteen groups of four teams will be organised on a regionalised basis.
• All groups will include one invited club.
• All clubs will play each other once, either home or away (academy sides will play all group matches away from home).
• Clubs will be awarded three points for a win and one point for a draw.
• In the event of a drawn game (after 90 minutes), apenalty shoot-out will be held with the winning team earning an additional point.
• Clubs expelled from the EFL will be knocked out of the tournament automatically.
• The top two teams in each group will progress to the knockout stage.

Knockout stage

• Rounds 2 and 3 of the competition will be drawn on a regionalised basis.
• In Round 2, the group winners will be seeded and the group runners-up will be unseeded in the draw.
• In Round 2, teams who played in the same group as each other in the group stage will be kept apart.^[5]

The group stage draw was finalised on 22 June 2023.^[6]

Charlton Athletic vSutton United

21 November 2023	Charlton Athletic	3–0	Sutton United	Charlton
19:00GMT	Blackett-Taylor 11' McGrandles 50' May 68'	Report		Stadium:The Valley Attendance: 1,377 Referee: Carl Brook