# 2024–25 EFL Trophy

The 2024–25 EFL Trophy, known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is the 44th season in the history of the competition, and is a knock-out tournament for clubs in EFL League One and League Two, the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system, as well as the "Academy teams" of 16 Premier League teams.
The defending champions are Peterborough United who defeated Wycombe Wanderers 2–1 in the previous season's final.

## Participating clubs

* 48 clubs from League One and League Two.
* 16 invited Category One Academy teams.
| | League One | League Two | Academies |
| Clubs | Barnsley Birmingham City Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Bristol Rovers Burton Albion Cambridge United Charlton Athletic Crawley Town Exeter City Huddersfield Town Leyton Orient Lincoln City Mansfield Town Northampton Town Peterborough United Reading Rotherham United Shrewsbury Town Stevenage Stockport County Wigan Athletic Wrexham Wycombe Wanderers | Accrington Stanley AFC Wimbledon Barrow Bradford City Bromley Carlisle United Cheltenham Town Chesterfield Colchester United Crewe Alexandra Doncaster Rovers Fleetwood Town Gillingham Grimsby Town Harrogate Town Milton Keynes Dons Morecambe Newport County Notts County Port Vale Salford City Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers Walsall | Arsenal Aston Villa Brighton & Hove Albion Chelsea Crystal Palace Everton Fulham Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| Total | 24 | 24 | 16 |

## Eligibility criteria for players
### For EFL clubs

* 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 a National League, National League North, or National League South team can play as long as the loaning team agree to allow the player to return for the match.

### For invited teams

* Minimum of six players in the starting line-up who are aged under 21 on 30 June 2024.
* Maximum of two players on the team sheet who are aged over 21 and have also made forty or more senior appearances.

## Competition format
### 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), a penalty 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.
* In an Event of which group stage match has been postponed, the Postponed Group stage match will be rescheduled to no further date than the second Tuesday of November 2024.

### 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 3, teams who played in the same group as each other in the group stage will be kept apart.

## Group stage

The group stage draw was announced on 24 June 2024, with the Academy teams being drawn on 27 June 2024 on Sky Sports News.

### Northern section
#### Group A

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Stockport County | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Tranmere Rovers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Everton U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Accrington Stanley | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Wrexham | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Port Vale | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Salford City | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | ACA | Wolverhampton Wanderers U21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 1 | |

#### Group C

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Morecambe | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Wigan Athletic | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Nottingham Forest U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | L2 | Carlisle United | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | |

#### Group D

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Bolton Wanderers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 7 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | ACA | Aston Villa U21 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 5 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Fleetwood Town | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Barrow | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 3 | |

#### Group E

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Blackpool | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Crewe Alexandra | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Liverpool U21 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Harrogate Town | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | |

#### Group F

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Doncaster Rovers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 7 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Huddersfield Town | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Manchester United U21 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 5 | |
| 4 | L1 | Barnsley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 0 | |

#### Group G

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Chesterfield | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 8 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Lincoln City | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Manchester City U21 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Grimsby Town | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 | |

#### Group H

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Rotherham United | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Bradford City | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L1 | Mansfield Town | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | ACA | Newcastle United U21 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 2 | |

### Southern section
#### Group A

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Walsall | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 8 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Birmingham City | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 | +10 | 7 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Fulham U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 3 | |
| 4 | L1 | Shrewsbury Town | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Wycombe Wanderers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | AFC Wimbledon | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Brighton & Hove Albion U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 4 | |
| 4 | L1 | Crawley Town | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 2 | |

#### Group C

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Charlton Athletic | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Cambridge United | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Chelsea U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Bromley | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 2 | |

#### Group D

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Peterborough United | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Stevenage | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Crystal Palace U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Gillingham | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 2 | |

#### Group E

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Colchester United | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Leyton Orient | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 5 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Arsenal U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 4 | |
| 4 | L2 | Milton Keynes Dons | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 2 | |

#### Group F

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Burton Albion | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Northampton Town | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Notts County | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | |
| 4 | ACA | Leicester City U21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0 | |

#### Group G

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Exeter City | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Swindon Town | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Tottenham Hotspur U21 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 2 | |
| 4 | L1 | Bristol Rovers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 1 | |

#### Group H

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Cheltenham Town | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Reading | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Newport County | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | ACA | West Ham United U21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 | |

## Round of 32

The draw for the Round of 32 took place on 22 November 2024, on Sky Sports News. The 38-penalty shootout between Blackpool and Aston Villa U21s on 17 December was the longest penalty shootout in English professional football history.

### Southern section
## Round of 16

The draw for the Round of 16 took place on 14 December 2024, on Sky Sports News.

### Southern section
## Quarter-finals

The quarter-final draw was made on 18 January 2025.

### Southern Section
## Semi-finals

The semi-final draw was made on 8 February.