Northampton Town drawn in group with League Two clubs for 2025/26 Vertu Trophy

Placed in Southern Group C for 2025/26, an academy side will be confirmed as Northampton’s third opponents in Thursday’s draw after the EFL confirmed the 16 invited sides from Premier League clubs with Category One academies that will take part in next season’s competition.

The under-21 sides hail from Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, West Ham and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The draw to complete the groups for the 2025/26 Vertu Trophy will take place live on Sky Sports News tomorrow, Thursday, at 2.30pm. All 64 teams will enter from round one and will be split into 16 regional groups of four teams, eight in the northern region and eight in the southern region. The 16 invited under-21 teams will be placed into their respective northern and southern regional groups, with the 48 EFL clubs placed into pre-determined groups prior to the draw.

Cobblers have been paired with Walsall, who were beaten in the League Two play-off final, and Shrewsbury, relegated from League One, and they will also face one of Arsenal U21, Aston Villa U21, Brighton & Hove Albion U21, Chelsea U21, Crystal Palace U21, Fulham U21, Tottenham Hotspur U21 and West Ham United U21.

Vertu Trophy group stage matches will commence in early September, with dates to be confirmed following the EFL’s Fixture Release Day at midday on Thursday.

The top two from each group progress to the knockout stages, with Vertu Trophy fixtures remaining regionalised until the quarter-final stage. Matches level after 90 minutes will be determined by penalty kicks up to the semi-final stage. A period of 30 minutes of extra-time will be played in the final should the match be level after 90 minutes. If still level at the end of extra time, the winners shall be determined by a penalty shoot-out.

The EFL’s record domestic rights deal with broadcaster Sky Sports will see every Vertu Trophy match broadcast live on Sky Sports for fans in the UK.

PRIZE MONEY

£20,000 per club

Group Stages

£10,000 per win / £5,000 per draw

Round of 32

£20,000 per win

Round of 16

£40,000 per win

Quarter-finals

£50,000 per win

Runners-up

£50,000

Winners

£100,000