Information about EFL competitions
Sky Bet EFL
Established in 1888, the Sky Bet EFL is comprised of three divisions – the Sky Bet Championship, Sky Bet League One and Sky Bet League Two. Each season there are 1,610 regular season matches (552 for the Sky Bet Championship and League Two, and 506 for Sky Bet League One) with 15 end-of-season Play-Off Matches, including three finals at Wembley Stadium.
Attendances across all EFL Clubs have consistently topped 18 million in recent seasons and were at their highest in 60 years in 2018/19, illustrating the ever-increasing appetite for matchday football, whether that’s experiencing the unique atmosphere in stadiums up and down the country or live on TV from the comfort of a supporters’ own home.
Supporters’ desire for live football has proved higher than ever before, with EFL Clubs having more than 500,000 season ticket holders and Sky Bet Championship attendances surpassing the 11-million mark for the third successive season. Such attendances positioned the Sky Bet Championship as the third best attended division in Europe in the season 2017/18, with Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A just some of the high-profile leagues posting lower figures.
Carabao Cup
Alongside the success of the Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two, the EFL Cup (currently known as the Carabao Cup) continues to be the EFL’s showpiece cup competition, providing midweek football for all professional clubs in both the EFL and the Premier League. The winner receives automatic entry into the following season’s UEFA Europa League.
Papa Johns Trophy
The Papa Johns Trophy is a midweek knockout cup competition which includes all Sky Bet League One and League Two Clubs, plus an additional 16 sides from Category One Academies.
The competition was first established in 1983 and offers Clubs a realistic opportunity of appearing in a showpiece final. The early stages of the competition follow a group stage format, where the top two teams progress to the knockout stages, with the Final staged at Wembley Stadium. The competition has a history of promoting innovation, with a platform designed to provide under-21 players increased opportunities to develop in the EFL.
Having undergone several changes in format since its inception as the Associates Members Cup in 1983, it became more recognisable to its current status when it became the Football League Trophy in 1992 and has since provided supporters of League One and League Two Clubs with 28 years’ worth of memories that can only come from being part of a cup final experience.