With news of 16 Premier League Development Squads being invited into the Football League Trophy for the coming 2016/17 season, those clubs taking part with their Under 21 sides have been confirmed.
As fans may remember – the blurb.
The Football League, or as it now wants to be called, the English Football League (EFL), have held their Summer Conference and confirmed that member clubs have agreed that from the 2016/17 season, 16 Category One Premier League/Under 21 sides will be welcomed into a new and fresh format for the Football League Trophy.
The former Johnstone’s Paint Trophy is set for a one year trial and the Premier League have donated £1million to the prize fund for the competition and obviously there are various caveats such as Under 21 sides taking part have at least one game on home soil, and they have to donate 45% of the gate receipts to the prize fund as well.
Reaction has been mixed from Football League clubs seeing it as a devaluation of the competition and a first step towards Premier League B Sides, but those taking part have now been confirmed.
The competition will see 64 sides from League One and Two, plus the 16 Under 21 set ups, and the competition itself will now include a group stage format with 16 regional groups of four sides competing against each other.
Each side will play the other once, but the Under 21 side will have only one home game
The top two sides in each group will progress through to the knockout stages of the competition, which will continue to be North/South based, and the Final will be, as usual, at Wembley Stadium in April.
The 16 Category One Academy/Under 21 sides invited are from Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swansea City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United.
Chief Executive of the Football League, Shaun Harvey explained.
‘The new format is intended to rejuvenate this competition and also assist the development of the very best young players in English football. This will help us deliver more and better home grown players which will deliver benefits to the national team and domestic league football at all levels. I believe this is the right time to pilot these changes to the EFL Trophy, which we will review at the end of the 2016/17 season following discussions with our clubs and having consulted with the other football bodies and supporter organisations.’
A Premier League spokesman added.
‘The overriding aim of the Elite Player Performance Plan across the Premier League and English Football League is to produce more and better home grown players capable of performing at first team and international levels. Participation for a selection of Premier League clubs’ teams to take part in the EFL Trophy is an important part of a range developments that both we and the EFL believe will help young, talented players progress physically and mentally on top of the technical aspect of their game developed in the Academy system. It is a progressive move by both leagues; one that we welcome.’
Full terms of the competition format.
Clubs:
48 clubs from League One & Two.
16 invited Category One Academy teams.
Eligibility Criteria:
EFL Clubs – a minimum of 5 ‘First Team` players in the starting 11 as defined under the competition`s existing rules.
Invited Clubs – 6 of the starting 11 to be U21 (as at June 30).
Group Stage:
16 groups of 4 teams organised on a regionalised basis.
Groups to include one invited club and at least one club from each of Leagues One & Two.
Clubs to play each other once, either home or away. Invited clubs will play one home game at the club`s first team stadium.
Clubs will be awarded 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. In the event of a drawn game (after 90 minutes), a penalty shootout will be held with the winning team earning an additional point.
The top two teams will progress to the Knockout Stage.
Knockout Stage:
Round 2 (32 teams) will remain regionalised with each group winner being drawn at home to a second placed team from a different qualifying group.
Round 3 (16 teams) and Round 4 (8 teams) will be ‘free` draws.
Semi-finals (4 teams) will be a ‘free` draw and will consist of single ties played at the stadium of the club drawn first in each tie.
If scores are level after 90 minutes in Rounds 2, 3 and 4, the game will be determined by the taking of penalties. The EFL will confirm arrangements for the Semi-Finals and Final in due course following further consultation.
Dates:
Group Stage
– w/c 29th August 2016
– w/c 3rd October 2016
– w/c 7th November 2016
Round 2
– w/c 5th December 2016
– Round 3 – w/c 9th January 2017
– Round 4 – w/c 23rd January 2017
– Semi- Final – w/c 20th February 2017
– Final – 2nd April 2017 (Wembley Stadium)
The date of the draw for the group stage will be announced in due course.
Match Proceeds:
After deduction of match expenses, all proceeds will be split:
– 45% Home Club
– 45% Away Club
– 10% to the pool account
Invited clubs will donate all or some of their share of gate receipts to a fund that will be shared equally by League One and Two clubs.
Group Stage – Invited Clubs will donate their 45% share to the fund.
Knockout Stage – Invited Clubs will retain 25% of their share and donate 20% to the fund.
Semi-finals & Final – Invited Clubs will retain 30% of their share and donate 15% to the fund.
