| Organiser: | English Football League |
| Founded: | (as the Football League Group Cup) |
| Number Of Teams: | 64 |
| Current Champions: | Peterborough United (2nd title) |
| Most Successful Club: | Bristol City (3 titles) |
| Current: | 2024–25 EFL Trophy |
The English Football League Trophy, currently known as Bristol Street Motors Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in levels three and four of the English football pyramid (EFL League One and EFL League Two), with the addition of 16 under-21 teams from Premier League and EFL Championship clubs since the 2016–17 season.[1]
Launched in the 1981–82 football season as the Football League Group Cup, it was a replacement for the Anglo-Scottish Cup, which had been discontinued after the withdrawal of Scottish League clubs.[2] It reconstituted as Associate Members' Cup during the 1983–84 season. The competition was renamed the Football League Trophy in 1992 after a reorganisation following the formation of the Premier League and again as the current EFL Trophy in 2016 due to The Football League changing its name to the English Football League.
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 at Wembley Stadium. Some Midlands and East 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 the National League, and holding a round-robin group stage prior to moving into knockout rounds. The current champions are Peterborough United, who beat Wycombe Wanderers 2–1 in the 2024 final. The most successful club is Bristol City, who have lifted the trophy three times, in 1986, 2003 and 2015, and were finalists in 1987 and 2000.
A secondary football league competition was launched in the 1981–82 football season as the Football League Group Cup, which ran as an invitation tournament for 32 clubs from all four levels of the football league. The format was a group stage and knockout tournament. This format ran for two seasons.[3] [4] For the 1983–84 season the tournament was reconstituted as the Associate Members' Cup. The group stage was removed and open only to teams from levels 3 and 4 of the football pyramid. The group stage was subsequently reintroduced in 1985 and later removed in 1996. In 2016 the group stage was brought back. Between 2000 and 2006 teams from level 5 (step 1) of the football pyramid were invited to participate.
In 1992 the tournament rebranded as the Football League Trophy, coinciding with a reorganization following the decision of the First Division clubs at the time to form the Premier League.[5]
In 2016 the competition rebranded to the current EFL Trophy after The Football League rebranding as the English Football League.[6] The first season under the new name saw 16 Category One academies of Premier League and EFL Championship clubs join the competition,.[7]
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.[8]
32 invited teams from the four levels of the football league were split into eight regional groups of four teams each, with three round-robin games played by each side. The eight group winners qualified for the quarter-finals, and the knockout stages were played as a single leg, with the game going to extra time and penalties if necessary. The final was played on the home ground of one of the two teams.[9]
The 48 clubs of the Third and Fourth 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.[10]
For the 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.[11] This was modified in the following season, with two teams qualifying from each group, resulting in an additional 'round of 16' knockout stage in each section.[12]
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 a bye into the knockout stages. This was a direct result of the folding of Aldershot and Maidstone United necessitating a reorganisation of the competition to accommodate fewer than 48 teams in the tournament.[13]
The group phase was abolished for the 1996–97 edition. The regional sections were retained and 8 teams in each section received a bye to the second round.
For the 2000–01 season, 8 teams 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 from 2002–03, 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:[14]
For the 2006–07 tournament onward, the Conference team invitations were abolished. This resulted in the format reverting to 8 first-round teams in each section, and 8 sides receiving byes to the second round.[15]
64 teams enter from Round One; all 48 teams from levels three and four of the football pyramid (League One and League Two), along with 16 category 1 Premier League and EFL 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 remains regionalised before becoming an open draw from the semi-finals onwards.[16]
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. 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.
The following academy teams have competed:
See main article: List of EFL Trophy finals.
The final of the EFL Trophy is currently held at Wembley Stadium in London, the English national stadium. The final in 1984 was due to be played at the then Wembley Stadium, but owing to damage caused to the pitch during the Horse of the Year Show, it was moved to Boothferry Park in Hull.[17] The Football League Group Cup finals were played at Blundell Park in 1982 and Sincil Bank in 1983. From 2001 to 2007, during the rebuilding of the former Wembley, the Football League Trophy finals were played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Birmingham City (2)
Grimsby Town (2)
Wigan Athletic (2)
Stoke City (2)
Port Vale (2)
Bristol City (2)
Blackpool (2)
Swansea City (2)
Carlisle United (2)
Bristol City (3)
Rotherham United (2)
Bolton Wanderers (2)
The overall record attendance for the final is 85,021, set at the Wembley Stadium in 2019 by Portsmouth and Sunderland. The record attendance for the final at the original Wembley Stadium was 80,841, set in the 1988 final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley.[21] The record attendance for the final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was 59,024, set in the 2007 final between Bristol Rovers and Doncaster Rovers.[22] The 2020 and 2021 finals were played behind closed doors, but clubs raised money for charity by selling supporters virtual tickets.[23]
| EFL Trophy final attendance records | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stadium | Attendance record | Year | Winner | Finalist | Result | |
| 85,021 | 2–2 (5–4 pen.) | |||||
| 59,024 | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | |||||
| 80,841 | 2–0 | |||||
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 a Middlesbrough academy team's 1–0 victory against Burton Albion in November 2018 at Burton's Pirelli Stadium.[25] [26]
From 1984 to the present (except from 1981–84), the League Trophy has attracted title sponsorship, giving it the following names:
| Period | Sponsor | Name | Trophy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–1982 | Football League Group Cup | Original | |
| 1982–1983 | Football League Trophy | ||
| 1983–1984 | Associate Members Cup | ||
| 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 Shield | ||
| 2000–2007 | LDV Group | LDV Vans Trophy | Original |
| 2007–2016 | PPG Industries | Johnstone's Paint Trophy | |
| 2016–2019 | Checkatrade.com | Checkatrade Trophy[27] | |
| 2019–2020 | Leasing.com | Leasing.com Trophy | |
| 2020–2023 | Papa John's Pizza | Papa Johns Trophy[28] | |
| 2023–2026 | Vertu Motors | Bristol Street Motors Trophy[29] |