Bristol Street Motors Trophy: Trio face Manchester United under-21s - plus prize money on offer for Yorkshire clubs
MANCHESTER United under-21s will provide the plum opposition for Yorkshire trio Barnsley, Huddersfield Town and Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Trophy this autumn.
The quartet will compete in group F of the northern section of the trophy, now known as the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
A total of 64 teams will take part nationwide in the 2024-25 competition and they have been split into 16 regional groups of four teams, with eight apiece in the northern and southern regions respectively.
Sixteen invited under-21 teams from Premier League clubs with category one academies have been placed into their respective regional groups, with 48 EFL clubs previously placed into pre-determined groups prior to the draw.
In Group H, which contains Bradford City, Rotherham United and Mansfield Town, the top-flight ‘opposition’ will be Newcastle United under-21s.
Harrogate Town, in Group E alongside Blackpool and Crewe Alexandra, will face Liverpool under-21s, who will provide marquee opposition for the four sides.
Former Barnsley managers Paul Heckingbottom and Lee Johnson – who have both previously won the competition - helped conduct the draw, which was shown live on Sky Sports News on Thursday afternoon.
The group matches commence in early September, with all EFL clubs in each group having two of their three matches at home, including against the ‘invited’ clubs.
All participants in the competition will bank an initial £20,000.
Clubs will receive a further £10,000 for each win in the group stages and £5,000 for every draw.
In the round of 32 stage, the prize money will increase to £20,000 per win and will then double to £40,000 for those who are victorious in the round of 16.
Winning quarter-finalists will pocket an additional £50,000.
Runners-up in the final will receive an extra £50,000 while a total of £100,000 is on offer for the competition winners at Wembley next spring.
Every Bristol Street Motors Trophy match will be available live on Sky Sports for fans in the UK as part of a record domestic rights deal between the EFL broadcaster.