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Johnstone's Paint

EFL Trophy
Checkatrade EFL Trophy logo.jpg
Founded 1983 (as the Associate Members' Cup)
Region  England
 Wales
Number of teams 64
Current champions Barnsley (1st title)
Most successful club(s) Bristol City (3 titles)
2016–17 EFL Trophy

The EFL Trophy (English Football League Trophy) is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the third and fourth steps of the English football league system and, for the 2016–17 season, 16 under-21 sides from Premier League and Football League Championship teams.

The competition began in the 1983–84 season as the Associate Members' Cup but, in 1992, it was renamed the Football League Trophy, after the lower-division clubs became full members of the Football League. The competition replaced the short-lived Football League Group Cup. In 2016, the competition was renamed again, to its current title, the EFL Trophy. The competition had been associated with a title sponsor since its second edition: currently, it is known as the Checkatrade Trophy.

The first draws are made in August, then the competition runs as 16 regional groups, each containing four teams. 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 England's national stadium, Wembley. The basic north/south format of the competition has existed since its beginnings, although other details have varied over the years, including in some years inviting clubs from the semi-professional Conference Premier, and holding a round-robin group stage prior to moving into knock-out rounds.

The current (2015–16) champions are Barnsley, who beat Oxford United 3–2 in the final for their first title in the competition.


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