2021–22 EFL Trophy
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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 The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...
and League Two, 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 ...
, as well as the " Academy teams" of 16 Premier League clubs with Category One status.
Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...
won the title after beating
Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional association football club from Sutton, South London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Sutton started out playing in junior, ...
4–2 after
extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...
in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
on 3 April 2022.
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
were the defending champions, but they were knocked out in the Second Round by
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...
.


Participating clubs

*48 clubs from League One and League Two. *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 National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
,
National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...
, or
National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...
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 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 pe ...
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


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 2

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


Northern section


Southern section


Round 3


Northern section


Southern section


Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-final stage took place live on
Talksport Talksport (styled as talkSPORT) is a sports radio station in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, owned by News Broadcasting. Its content includes live coverage of sporting events, interviews with the leading names in sport and entertai ...
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 Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
on 29 January 2022 with games taking place during the week commencing 6 March.


Final


External links


EFL Trophy section of official English Football League website


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 EFL Trophy EFL Trophy seasons
EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...
Trophy A trophy is a tangible, decorative item used to remind of a specific achievement, serving as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most commonly awarded for sports, sporting events, ranging from youth sports to professional level athlet ...