The Football League Trophy, also known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy or as the "Paint Pot", is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top divisions of English league football.
The competition began in the 1983–84 season as the Associate Members' Cup but, from 1992, it has been named the Football League Trophy, after the lower-division clubs became full members of the Football League. The competition replaced the short-lived Football League Group Cup, a competition which was only played in 1981/82 and 1982/83 (although confusingly, in the second year it was also called the Football League Trophy). The competition has been associated with a title sponsor since its second edition.
The first draws are made in August, then the competition runs as two parallel north and south area competitions, before the two winners meet in late March or early April in the final at England's national stadium, Wembley. The basic north/south format of the competition has existed since its beginnings, although other details have varied over the years, including in some years inviting clubs from the semi-professional Conference National, and holding a round-robin group stage prior to moving into knock-out rounds.
Read more about Football League Trophy: History, Current Format, Participants, Status, Sponsors
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