The 2023–24 EFL Trophy, known as the Bristol Street Motors Trophy for sponsorship reasons, was the 43rd season in the history of the competition, and was a knock-out tournament for clubs in

EFL League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

and

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

, the third and fourth tiers of the

English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...

, as well as the " Academy teams" of 15 Premier League and one Championship club with Category One status. For the first time since 1984, the competition lacked a sponsor. Following the expiration of

Papa Johns Papa John's International, Inc., d/b/a Papa Johns, is an American pizza restaurant chain. It is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States, with headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan ...

's sponsorship contract, the EFL attempted to find new sponsor but were unable to do so. On 2 November 2023, EFL announced they had reached a sponsorship agreement with car dealership brand

Bristol Street Motors Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

and the tournament's name was changed to reflect that from that point. The defending champions were

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

who defeated

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

4–0 in the previous season's

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, but they were knocked out in the quarter-finals on penalties by

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Participating clubs

*48 clubs from

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

and

. *16 invited Category One Academy teams.

Eligibility criteria for players

;For EFL clubsEFL: "EFL Trophy Rules Season 2021/22"
/ref> *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 The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

, or

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

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 2023. *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 The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

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. ;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 2, 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 finalised on 22 June 2023.

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

Round of 32

The draw for the Round of 32 was made on Friday 24 November 2023, with ties scheduled to take place on the week commencing 4 December.

Northern section

Southern section

Round of 16

The draw was made on Friday 8 December 2023, with ties scheduled to take place on the week commencing 8 January 2024.

Northern section

Southern section

Quarter-finals

The draw was made on Friday 12 January 2024 with ties scheduled to take place on the week commencing 29 January 2024.

Northern section

Southern section

Semi-finals

The draw was made on Friday 2 February 2024 with ties scheduled taking place in the week commencing 19 February 2024. The draw was not regionalised. Both semi-final games were broadcast on Sky Sports.

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2023-24 EFL Trophy EFL Trophy

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

2023–24 English Football League