Manchester City and Tottenham have accepted an invitation to enter their under-21 sides into the Checkatrade Trophy, having turned down the opportunity last season.
They join Chelsea among next season’s Champions League clubs in entering alongside League One and League Two sides. Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United have again abstained.
Invitations are extended to the top 16 teams from last season who hold category one status. Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Burnley, Watford and Hull City miss out because they do not meet the academy requirements.
The 12 remaining top-flight clubs from last season, including relegated Middlesbrough and Sunderland, will be involved. So will Newcastle and their fellow promoted side Brighton, with Reading and Fulham completing the lineup of teams from the top two divisions.
Although fans stayed away in their droves for much of last season’s competition, more than a third of the EFL clubs voted to retain the format for the next two seasons with few amendments. A regional group stage will again be used, though this time the 16 under-21 sides play all their group games away from home.
Coventry beat Oxford to win last season’s Checkatrade Trophy in front of 74,434 fans at Wembley.
The revamped competition came in for harsh criticism with sparse crowds and protests against in the involvement of the Premier League under-21 teams. But 66.6% of League One and League Two clubs voted in favour of retaining the format, rather than reverting to the previous straight knockout tournament or scrapping the competition.
Several amendments were announced to the format, including an increase in competition funding to £3m, regionalisation of fixtures being in place until the quarter-final stages and the ability to play matches outside of international weeks on the calendar.
It was the scheduling of the fixtures and the clash with international dates that played a major part in Tottenham and Manchester City opting out last season.
The group stages will be drawn in July and will begin the week commencing 28 August.
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