Editing EFL Trophy (section)

==History==
A secondary football league competition was launched in the 1981–82 football season as the Football League Group Cup, which ran as an invitation tournament for 32 clubs from all four levels of the football league. The format was a group stage and knockout tournament. This format ran for two seasons.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Bateson|editor-first1=Bill|editor-last2=Sewell |editor-first2=Albert|title=News of the World Football Annual 1992–93|publisher=Invincible Press|date=1992|isbn=9780855431884|location=London|page=211}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=20 December 2007|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablest/texaco.html|website=[[RSSSF]]|title=Football League Group Cup/Trophy 1982-83|first=James M.|last=Ross|access-date=12 November 2020|archive-date=21 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921045939/http://www.rsssf.com/tablest/texaco.html|url-status=live}}</ref> For the 1983–84 season the tournament was reconstituted as the ''Associate Members' Cup''. The group stage was removed and open only to teams from levels 3 and 4 of the football pyramid. The group stage was subsequently reintroduced in 1985 and later removed in 1996. In 2016 the group stage was brought back. Between 2000 and 2006 teams from [[National League (English football)|level 5 (step 1) of the football pyramid]] were invited to participate.

In 1992 the tournament rebranded as the ''Football League Trophy'', coinciding with a reorganization following the decision of the [[Football League First Division|First Division]] clubs at the time to form the [[Premier League]].<ref>{{cite web|title=English Autoglass Trophy 1991–1992: Results|url=http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/football-league-trophy/1991-1992/results|website=Statto|access-date=30 January 2015|archive-date=17 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317032505/http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/football-league-trophy/1991-1992/results|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2016 the competition rebranded to the current ''EFL Trophy'' after The Football League rebranding as the [[English Football League]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 November 2015|title=FOOTBALL LEAGUE TO BE RE-NAMED THE ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE|url=http://www.efl.com/news/article/2015/football-league-to-be-re-named-the-english-football-league-2798210.aspx|website=[[English Football League]]|access-date=23 December 2015|archive-date=10 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810201223/http://www.efl.com/news/article/2015/football-league-to-be-re-named-the-english-football-league-2798210.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> [[2016–17 EFL Trophy|The first season under the new name]] saw 16 [[Elite Player Performance Plan|Category One]] academies of [[Premier League]] and [[EFL Championship]] clubs join the competition.<ref>{{cite web|date=10 June 2016|title=Premier League academy teams to be added to EFL Trophy|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36503204|website=[[BBC Sport]]|access-date=1 August 2020|archive-date=2 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102091214/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36503204|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2023 participating clubs received a £20,000 participation fee, with £10,000 per victory and £5,000 per draw in the group stage, and increasing prizes for the knockout matches up to £100,000 for winning the final.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Unwin |first=Will |date=2023-10-10 |title='There is a bigger picture': why teams still want a cut of the EFL Trophy |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/oct/10/prize-money-and-player-development-why-the-efl-trophy-is-on-the-rise |access-date=2023-11-06 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>