The EFL Trophy exists to give small clubs a day at Wembley
For most clubs in England's third and fourth tiers, playing at Wembley is a distant dream. In 1983 the Football League created a knockout cup just for them, giving lower-division sides a realistic shot at a final beneath the famous arch. Bournemouth were the first to take it.
It began as the Associate Members' Cup in 1983–84, open to Third and Fourth Division clubs, and replaced an earlier group cup that not every such club had entered. It became the Football League Trophy in 1992, when the old top division broke away to form the Premier League, and the EFL Trophy in 2016 after the league itself was renamed.
The format has been tinkered with constantly. The first edition split 48 clubs into northern and southern halves and even reprieved the two second-round losers with the narrowest defeats. Three-team groups arrived in 1985–86 and returned in the early 1990s when Aldershot and Maidstone United folded, leaving the field short. From 2000–01 non-league Conference clubs were invited, eight at first and later twelve, until the invitations ended in 2006–07. Because some clubs sent out weakened teams, a rule now requires at least six first-team regulars in the starting line-up.
The biggest shake-up came in 2016, when 16 academy sides from Premier League and Championship clubs joined. Today 64 teams start in 16 regional groups of four, each containing one academy team. A drawn group game goes straight to penalties, with 2 points for the shoot-out winner and 1 for the loser. The draw stays regional until the semi-finals, and the final falls in late March or early April.
In 2023 each club received £20,000 just for taking part, with the winner of the final collecting £100,000. Bristol City and Peterborough United share the record with three wins each, and Luton Town beat Stockport County 3–1 in the 2026 final.
Source: EFL Trophy
