The 2026–27 EFL Trophy, known as the Jersey Mike's Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is the 46th 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 clubs.
The defending champions are Luton Town, who defeated Stockport County 3–1 in the previous season's final.
Participating clubs 48 clubs from League One and League Two. 16 invited Category One Academy teams.
League OneLeague TwoAcademiesNorthBarnsley Blackpool Bradford City Burton Albion Doncaster Rovers Huddersfield Town Mansfield Town Notts County Sheffield Wednesday Stockport County Wigan AthleticAccrington Stanley Chesterfield Crewe Alexandra Fleetwood Town Grimsby Town Oldham Athletic Port Vale Rochdale Rotherham United Salford City Shrewsbury Town Tranmere Rovers York CityAston Villa Everton Leeds United Liverpool Manchester City Newcastle United Nottingham Forest SunderlandSouthAFC Wimbledon Bromley Cambridge United Leicester City Leyton Orient Luton Town Milton Keynes Dons Oxford United Peterborough United Plymouth Argyle Reading Stevenage Wycombe WanderersBarnet Bristol Rovers Cheltenham Town Colchester United Crawley Town Exeter City Gillingham Newport County Northampton Town Swindon Town WalsallArsenal Brentford Brighton & Hove Albion Chelsea Crystal Palace Fulham Ipswich Town Tottenham HotspurTotal242416
Eligibility criteria for players For EFL clubsEFL: "EFL Trophy Rules Season 2021/22" 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 2026. 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 a no further date than the second, third or fourth Tuesday of November 2026. Knockout stage The Round of 32, the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals of the competition will be drawn on a regionalised basis, even with the reinstated teams. In Round 2, the group winners will be seeded and the group runners-up will be unseeded in the draw. Semi-final pairings are determined by means of an unseeded draw with no regionalisation.
Group stage The group stage draw was announced on 23 June 2026, with the Academy teams being drawn on 25 June 2026.
Northern section Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Southern section Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
References