The EFL Trophy may not be at the forefront of the English footballing calendar, but it remains a significant competition for those that take part.
64 teams, including 16 academy sides, compete in the annual competition with the hope of participating in a Wembley final. Initially installed as a replacement for the Anglo-Scottish Cup in 1981, the EFL Trophy serves as a realistic opportunity for silverware for the EFL’s bottom dwellers – or those competing in League One and League Two.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2023/24 iteration of the competition.
Northern groups
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Group A |
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Barrow |
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Blackpool |
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Morecambe |
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Liverpool U21 |
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Group B |
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Crewe Alexandra |
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Port Vale |
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Wrexham |
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Newcastle U21 |
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Group C |
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Accrington Stanley |
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Carlisle Utd |
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Harrogate Town |
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Nottingham Forest U21 |
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Group D |
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Fleetwood Town |
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Tranmere Rovers |
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Wigan Athletic |
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Leicester U21 |
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Group E |
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Bolton Wanderers |
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Salford City |
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Stockport County |
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Man Utd U21 |
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Group F |
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Barnsley |
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Bradford City |
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Grimsby Town |
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Man City U21 |
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Group G |
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Derby County |
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Lincoln City |
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Notts County |
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Wolves U21 |
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Group H |
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Burton Albion |
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Doncaster Rovers |
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Mansfield Town |
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Everton U21 |
Southern groups
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Group A |
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Forest Green |
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Shrewsbury |
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Walsall |
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Brighton U21 |
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Group B |
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Charlton Athletic |
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Crawley Town |
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Sutton Utd |
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Aston Villa U21 |
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Group C |
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AFC Wimbledon |
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Stevenage |
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Wycombe Wanderers |
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Crystal Palace U21 |
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Group D |
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Cambridge Utd |
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Colchester Utd |
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Peterborough Utd |
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Tottenham U21 |
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Group E |
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Gillingham |
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Leyton Orient |
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Portsmouth |
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Fulham U21 |
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Group F |
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MK Dons |
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Northampton Town |
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Oxford Utd |
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Chelsea U21 |
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Group G |
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Exeter City |
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Reading |
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Swindon Town |
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Arsenal U21 |
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Group H |
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Bristol Rovers |
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Cheltenham Town |
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Newport County |
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West Ham U21 |
Group stage
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Date/Kick-off time |
Fixture |
Group |
|---|---|---|
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22/08/23 – 19:00 |
Walsall vs Brighton U21 |
SA |
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22/08/23 – 19:30 |
Stockport vs Man Utd U21 |
NE |
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22/08/23 – 19:45 |
Portsmouth vs Fulham U21 |
SE |
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22/08/23 – 19:00 |
MK Dons vs Chelsea U21 |
SF |
|
05/09/23 – TBC |
Bradford vs Man City U21 |
NF |
|
05/09/23 – TBC |
Morecambe vs Liverpool U21 |
NA |
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05/09/23 – TBC |
Newport vs West Ham U21 |
SH |
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05/09/23 – 19:00 |
Gillingham vs Leyton Orient |
SE |
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05/09/23 – 19:00 |
Mansfield vs Doncaster |
NH |
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05/09/23 – 19:00 |
AFC Wimbledon vs Stevenage |
SC |
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05/09/23 – 19:00 |
Fleetwood vs Tranmere |
ND |
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05/09/23 – 19:00 |
Northampton vs Oxford Utd |
SF |
|
05/09/23 – 19:00 |
Forest Green vs Shrewsbury |
SA |
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05/09/23 – 19:00 |
Barrow vs Blackpool |
NA |
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05/09/23 – 19:00 |
Swindon vs Arsenal U21 |
SG |
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05/09/23 – 19:30 |
Wrexham vs Newcastle U21 |
NB |
|
05/09/23 – 19:30 |
Barnsley vs Grimsby |
NF |
|
05/09/23 – 19:45 |
Bolton vs Salford |
NE |
|
05/09/23 – 19:45 |
Sutton vs Aston Villa U21 |
SB |
|
05/09/23 – 19:45 |
Accrington Stanley vs Carlisle |
NC |
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05/09/23 – 19:45 |
Port Vale vs Crewe Alexandra |
NB |
|
05/09/23 – 19:45 |
Harrogate Town vs Nottingham Forest U21 |
NC |
|
05/09/23 – 19:45 |
Crawley vs Charlton |
SB |
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05/09/23 – 19:45 |
Bristol Rovers vs Cheltenham |
SH |
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12/09/23 – 19:00 |
Peterborough vs Cambridge |
SD |
|
12/09/23 – 19:45 |
Notts County vs Wolves U21 |
NG |
|
19/09/23 – 19:00 |
Shrewsbury vs Brighton U21 |
SA |
|
19/09/23 – 19:00 |
Exeter vs Reading |
SG |
|
19/09/23 – 19:00 |
Doncaster vs Everton U21 |
NH |
|
19/09/23 – 19:00 |
Derby vs Lincoln |
NG |
|
19/09/23 – 19:00 |
Wycombe vs Crystal Palace U21 |
SC |
|
19/09/23 – 19:00 |
Leyton Orient vs Fulham U21 |
SE |
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19/09/23 – 19:00 |
Oxford Utd vs MK Dons |
SF |
|
19/09/23 – 19:00 |
Wigan vs Leicester U21 |
ND |
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19/09/23 – 19:30 |
Colchester vs Tottenham U21 |
SD |
|
26/09/23 – 19:00 |
Burton vs Everton U21 |
NH |
|
26/09/23 – 19:00 |
Northampton vs Chelsea U21 |
SF |
|
26/09/23 – 19:45 |
Bolton vs Man Utd U21 |
NE |
|
10/10/23 – TBC |
Barnsley vs Man City U21 |
NF |
|
10/10/23 – TBC |
Bristol Rovers vs West Ham U21 |
SH |
|
10/10/23 – TBC |
Blackpool vs Liverpool U21 |
NA |
|
10/10/23 – TBC |
Lincoln vs Wolves U21 |
NG |
|
10/10/23 – 19:00 |
Carlisle vs Nottingham Forest U21 |
NC |
|
10/10/23 – 19:00 |
Reading vs Swindon |
SG |
|
10/10/23 – 19:00 |
Cambridge Utd vs Colchester |
SD |
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10/10/23 – 19:00 |
Charlton vs Aston Villa U21 |
SB |
|
10/10/23 – 19:00 |
Walsall vs Forest Green |
SA |
|
10/10/23 – 19:00 |
Notts County vs Derby |
NG |
|
10/10/23 – 19:00 |
Doncaster vs Burton |
NH |
|
10/10/23 – 19:00 |
Stevenage vs Wycombe |
SC |
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10/10/23 – 19:00 |
Tranmere vs Leicester U21 |
ND |
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10/10/23 – 19:00 |
Wigan vs Fleetwood |
ND |
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10/10/23 – 19:15 |
Exeter vs Arsenal U21 |
SG |
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10/10/23 – 19:30 |
Salford vs Stockport |
NE |
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10/10/23 – 19:30 |
Crewe Alexandra vs Wrexham |
NB |
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10/10/23 – 19:30 |
Cheltenham vs Newport County |
SH |
|
10/10/23 – 19:30 |
Grimsby vs Bradford |
NF |
|
10/10/23 – 19:45 |
Harrogate Town vs Accrington Stanley |
NC |
|
10/10/23 – 19:45 |
Portsmouth vs Gillingham |
SE |
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10/10/23 – 19:45 |
Morecambe vs Barrow |
NA |
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10/10/23 – 19:45 |
Sutton vs Crawley |
SB |
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10/10/23 – 19:45 |
Port Vale vs Newcastle U21 |
NB |
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31/10/23 – 19:00 |
Peterborough vs Tottenham U21 |
SD |
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31/10/23 – 19:45 |
Salford vs Man Utd U21 |
NE |
|
07/11/23 – 19:00 |
Forest Green vs Brighton U21 |
SA |
|
07/11/23 – 19:00 |
Mansfield vs Everton U21 |
NH |
|
07/11/23 – 19:00 |
Oxford Utd vs Chelsea U21 |
SF |
|
07/11/23 – 19:00 |
Gillingham vs Fulham U21 |
SE |
|
07/11/23 – 19:00 |
AFC Wimbledon vs Crystal Palace U21 |
SC |
|
07/11/23 – 19:00 |
Derby vs Wolves U21 |
NG |
|
07/11/23 – 19:00 |
Cambridge Utd vs Tottenham U21 |
SD |
|
07/11/23 – 19:00 |
Barrow vs Liverpool U21 |
NA |
|
07/11/23 – 19:00 |
Lincoln vs Notts County |
NG |
|
07/11/23 – 19:00 |
Fleetwood vs Leicester U21 |
ND |
|
07/11/23 – 19:00 |
Leyton Orient vs Portsmouth |
SE |
|
07/11/23 – 19:30 |
Cheltenham vs West Ham U21 |
SH |
|
14/11/23 – TBC |
Grimsby vs Man City U21 |
NF |
|
14/11/23 – 19:00 |
Blackpool vs Morecambe |
NA |
|
14/11/23 – 19:00 |
Stevenage vs Crystal Palace U21 |
SC |
|
14/11/23 – 19:00 |
Tranmere vs Wigan |
NC |
|
14/11/23 – 19:00 |
Charlton vs Sutton |
SB |
|
14/11/23 – 19:00 |
Shrewsbury vs Walsall |
SA |
|
14/11/23 – 19:00 |
Burton vs Mansfield |
NH |
|
14/11/23 – 19:00 |
Reading vs Arsenal U21 |
SG |
|
14/11/23 – 19:00 |
Carlisle vs Harrogate Town |
NC |
|
14/11/23 – 19:30 |
Wrexham vs Port Vale |
NB |
|
14/11/23 – 19:30 |
Bradford vs Barnsley |
NF |
|
14/11/23 – 19:30 |
Stockport vs Bolton |
NE |
|
14/11/23 – 19:45 |
Newport County vs Bristol Rovers |
SH |
|
14/11/23 – 19:45 |
Crewe Alexandra vs Newcastle U21 |
NB |
|
14/11/23 – 19:45 |
Accrington Stanley vs Nottingham Forest U21 |
NC |
|
14/11/23 – 19:45 |
Crawley vs Aston Villa U21 |
SB |
|
21/11/23 – 19:00 |
Wycombe vs AFC Wimbledon |
SC |
|
21/11/23 – 19:00 |
MK Dons vs Northampton |
SF |
|
21/11/23 – 19:00 |
Swindon vs Exeter |
SG |
|
21/11/23 – 19:30 |
Colchester vs Peterborough |
SD |
|
Round |
Dates |
|---|---|
|
Group stage Matchday 1 |
w/c 4 September 2023 |
|
Group stage Matchday 2 |
w/c 9 October 2023 |
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Group stage Matchday 3 |
w/c 13 November 2023 |
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Round of 32 |
w/c 4 December 2023 |
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Round of 16 |
w/c 8 January 2024 |
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Quarter-finals |
w/c 29 January 2024 |
|
Semi-finals |
w/c 19 February 2024 |
|
Final |
Sunday 7 April 2024 |
The 2024 EFL Trophy has been scheduled for Sunday 7 April 2024.
The 2024 EFL Trophy final will be held under the iconic arch at Wembley Stadium.
Bolton were victorious in the 2023 EFL Trophy final as they thumped Plymouth 4-0.
Bolton were dominant from the outset, scoring twice in the opening ten minutes before taking a 3-0 lead into half-time. Gethin Jones put the icing on the cake just after the hour.
Bristol City have won the EFL Trophy a record three times since its inception. The Robins were first successful in 1986 and their last triumph arrived in 2015.
Carlisle, Grimsby, Bolton, Birmingham, Blackpool, Port Vale, Rotherham, Stoke, Swansea and Wigan are all two-time winners of the competition.
Brentford and Southend have each got to the EFL Trophy final three times but have never prevailed in the competition’s showpiece event.
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