The EFL Trophy is a knockout cup competition in English football organised by and named after the English Football League. The competition was first played in 1983–84. It is open to the 48 members of the Football League bottom two divisions, Football League One and Football League Two. Until 2015–16, the competition was split into North and South sections, with the winners of each section meeting in the finals (in recent years, only the earlier rounds have been split into sections). On several occasions, leading teams from the next league down in the English football league system, the Conference National, have been admitted into the competition but have never won the title. For the 2016–17 season, 16 category 1 Premier League and Championship academy/under-21 sides were allowed to participate.[1] The final was held at the home stadium of Hull City in 1984, before it switched to Wembley Stadium in 1985. It was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff from 2001 while Wembley was rebuilt, before returning to the new Wembley in 2008.
Finals
- Key
| Final |
Winners |
Score |
Runners-Up |
Venue |
Attendance[B] |
Winning Manager |
| 1984 |
Bournemouth |
2–1 |
Hull City |
Boothferry Park |
6,544 |
 Harry Redknapp |
| 1985 |
Wigan Athletic |
3–1 |
Brentford |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
39,897 |
 Bryan Hamilton |
| 1986 |
Bristol City |
3–0 |
Bolton Wanderers |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
54,502 |
Terry Cooper |
| 1987 |
Mansfield Town |
1–1 |
Bristol City |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
58,586 |
Ian Greaves |
| 1988 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers |
2–0 |
Burnley |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
80,841 |
Graham Turner |
| 1989 |
Bolton Wanderers |
4–1 |
Torquay United |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
46,513 |
Phil Neal |
| 1990 |
Tranmere Rovers |
2–1 |
Bristol Rovers |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
48,402 |
John King |
| 1991 |
Birmingham City |
3–2 |
Tranmere Rovers |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
58,750 |
 Lou Macari |
| 1992 |
Stoke City |
1–0 |
Stockport County |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
48,339 |
Lou Macari |
| 1993 |
Port Vale |
2–1 |
Stockport County |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
35,885 |
John Rudge |
| 1994 |
Swansea City |
1–1 |
Huddersfield Town |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
47,773 |
Frank Burrows |
| 1995 |
Birmingham City |
1–0 |
Carlisle United |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
76,663 |
Barry Fry |
| 1996 |
Rotherham United |
2–1 |
Shrewsbury Town |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
35,235 |
Archie Gemmill
John McGovern |
| 1997 |
Carlisle United |
0–0 |
Colchester United |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
45,077 |
Mervyn Day |
| 1998 |
Grimsby Town |
2–1 |
Bournemouth |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
62,432 |
Alan Buckley |
| 1999 |
Wigan Athletic |
1–0 |
Millwall |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
55,349 |
Ray Mathias |
| 2000 |
Stoke City |
2–1 |
Bristol City |
Wembley Stadium (original) |
75,057 |
 Guðjón Þórðarson |
| 2001 |
Port Vale |
2–1 |
Brentford |
Millennium Stadium |
25,654 |
Brian Horton |
| 2002 |
Blackpool |
4–1 |
Cambridge United |
Millennium Stadium |
20,287 |
Steve McMahon |
| 2003 |
Bristol City |
2–0 |
Carlisle United |
Millennium Stadium |
50,913 |
Danny Wilson |
| 2004 |
Blackpool |
2–0 |
Southend United |
Millennium Stadium |
34,031 |
Steve McMahon |
| 2005 |
Wrexham |
2–0 |
Southend United |
Millennium Stadium |
36,216 |
Denis Smith |
| 2006 |
Swansea City |
2–1 |
Carlisle United |
Millennium Stadium |
42,028 |
.svg.png) Kenny Jackett |
| 2007 |
Doncaster Rovers |
3–2 |
Bristol Rovers |
Millennium Stadium |
59,024 |
Sean O'Driscoll |
| 2008 |
Milton Keynes Dons |
2–0 |
Grimsby Town |
Wembley Stadium (new) |
56,618 |
Paul Ince |
| 2009 |
Luton Town |
3–2 |
Scunthorpe United |
Wembley Stadium (new) |
55,378 |
Mick Harford |
| 2010 |
Southampton |
4–1 |
Carlisle United |
Wembley Stadium (new) |
73,476 |
Alan Pardew |
| 2011 |
Carlisle United |
1–0 |
Brentford |
Wembley Stadium (new) |
40,476 |
Greg Abbott |
| 2012 |
Chesterfield |
2–0 |
Swindon Town |
Wembley Stadium (new) |
49,602 |
 John Sheridan |
| 2013 |
Crewe Alexandra |
2–0 |
Southend United |
Wembley Stadium (new) |
43,842 |
Steve Davis |
| 2014 |
Peterborough United |
3–1 |
Chesterfield |
Wembley Stadium (new) |
35,663 |
Darren Ferguson |
| 2015 |
Bristol City |
2–0 |
Walsall |
Wembley Stadium (new) |
72,315 |
Steve Cotterill |
| 2016 |
Barnsley |
3–2 |
Oxford United |
Wembley Stadium (new) |
59,230 |
Paul Heckingbottom |
| 2017 |
Coventry City |
2–1 |
Oxford United |
Wembley Stadium (new) |
74,434 |
Mark Robins |
| 2018 |
Lincoln City |
1–0 |
Shrewsbury Town |
Wembley Stadium (new) |
41,261 |
Danny Cowley |
Notes
- A The sponsored name changed every couple of years. The competition lost the sponsorship of LDV Vans after the 2005 final and was simply called the Football League Trophy in the 2005–06 competition.
