# 2021–22 EFL Trophy

The 2021–22 EFL Trophy, known as the Papa Johns Trophy for sponsorship reasons, the 41st season in the history of the competition, was 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 clubs with Category One status.
Rotherham United won the title after beating Sutton United 4–2 after extra time in the final on 3 April 2022. Sunderland were the defending champions, but they were knocked out in the Second Round by Oldham Athletic.

## Participating clubs

* 48 clubs from League One and League Two.
* 16 invited Category One Academy teams.
| | League One | League Two | Academies |
| Clubs | Accrington Stanley AFC Wimbledon Bolton Wanderers Burton Albion Cambridge United Charlton Athletic Cheltenham Town Crewe Alexandra Doncaster Rovers Fleetwood Town Gillingham Ipswich Town Lincoln City Milton Keynes Dons Morecambe Oxford United Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Rotherham United Sheffield Wednesday Shrewsbury Town Sunderland Wigan Athletic Wycombe Wanderers | Barrow Bradford City Bristol Rovers Carlisle United Colchester United Crawley Town Exeter City Forest Green Rovers Harrogate Town Hartlepool United Leyton Orient Mansfield Town Newport County Northampton Town Oldham Athletic Port Vale Rochdale Salford City Scunthorpe United Stevenage Sutton United Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers Walsall | Arsenal Aston Villa Brighton & Hove Albion Chelsea Crystal Palace Everton Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Southampton 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 2021.
* 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 were organised on a regionalised basis.
* All groups included one invited club.
* All clubs played each other once, either home or away (Academies played all group matches away from home).
* Clubs were 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 was held with the winning team earning an additional point.
* Clubs expelled from the EFL were knocked out of the tournament automatically.
* The top two teams in each group progressed to the knockout stage.

### Knockout stage

* Round 2 and 3 of the competition were drawn on a regionalised basis.
* In Round 2, the group winners were seeded and the group runners-up were unseeded in the draw.
* In Round 2, teams who played in the same group as each other in the group stage were kept apart from each other.

## Group stage
### Northern Section
#### Group A

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Carlisle United | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 8 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Hartlepool United | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Everton U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | L1 | Morecambe | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Tranmere Rovers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Oldham Athletic | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 3 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Salford City | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | ACA | Leeds United U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 3 | |

#### Group C

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Crewe Alexandra | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Wigan Athletic | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L1 | Shrewsbury Town | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | ACA | Wolverhampton Wanderers U21 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 2 | |

#### Group D

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Bolton Wanderers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Port Vale | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Rochdale | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | ACA | Liverpool U21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 13 | −12 | 0 | |

#### Group E

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Rotherham United | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | +14 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Doncaster Rovers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Manchester City U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Scunthorpe United | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 0 | |

#### Group F

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

#### Group G

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Accrington Stanley | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 8 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Fleetwood Town | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Barrow | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | ACA | Leicester City U21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0 | |

#### Group H

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Sheffield Wednesday | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Harrogate Town | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Mansfield Town | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | ACA | Newcastle United U21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 0 | |

### Southern Section
#### Group A

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Ipswich Town | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Colchester United | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | West Ham United U21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 | |
| 4 | L1 | Gillingham | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 3 | |
* ↑ West Ham U21 deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player in their match with Gillingham.

#### Group B

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Sutton United | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Portsmouth | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 3 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L1 | AFC Wimbledon | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | ACA | Crystal Palace U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 3 | |

#### Group C

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | ACA | Aston Villa U21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Milton Keynes Dons | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L1 | Burton Albion | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 3 | |
| 4 | L1 | Wycombe Wanderers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0 | |

#### Group D

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Forest Green Rovers | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Walsall | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 5 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Brighton & Hove Albion U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | L2 | Northampton Town | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | |

#### Group E

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Exeter City | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | ACA | Chelsea U21 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Bristol Rovers | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | L1 | Cheltenham Town | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | |

#### Group F

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Swindon Town | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | ACA | Arsenal U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Newport County | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | L1 | Plymouth Argyle | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 2 | |

#### Group G

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Leyton Orient | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Charlton Athletic | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Southampton U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Crawley Town | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | −13 | 0 | |

#### Group H

| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Cambridge United | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Stevenage | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Tottenham Hotspur U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | L1 | Oxford United | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 3 | |

## Round 2

The draw for the Second Round took place on Saturday 13 November 2021.

### Southern section
## Round 3
### Southern section
## Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-final stage took place live on Talksport on 6 January 2022 with games taking place during the week commencing 24 January. From this stage onwards, the competition is no longer split between a northern section and a southern section.

## Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-final stage took place live on Sky Sports on 29 January 2022 with games taking place during the week commencing 6 March.