Sunderland will participate in the 2017-18 Checkatrade Trophy.
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The Black Cats are among 16 under-21 teams invited to participate in the competition, with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur also taking part.
Last season the Lads faced Rochdale, Notts County and Hartlepool United in the group stages, picking up two wins and a draw to progress to the knockout phase where they were bested on penalties by Wolverhampton Wanderers.
And this season’s competition will once again see the country’s leading Category One Academies pit their stars against professionals, young and old, from the 48 League One and League Two teams.
The draw will take place in July with the first round of fixtures scheduled to take place in the week commencing 28 August.
The announcement follows the overwhelming support of League One and League Two clubs to allow the continued involvement of 16 invited sides in the Checkatrade Trophy for the next two seasons, alongside several format amendments to provide increased flexibility in team selection for League One and League Two Clubs.
And the invited teams were selected based on their final league position at the end of the 2016/17 season.
EFL Chief Executive Shaun Harvey has welcomed the growing strength in the number of Clubs wanting to take part in the competition.
“I was delighted when EFL Clubs collectively backed the competition following a full and comprehensive review of last season’s pilot format and we can see from the increasing interest from Category One Academies that the Checkatrade Trophy has genuine appeal.
“The competition provides a unique challenge to young players and seasoned professionals alike and I strongly believe players from League One and League Two clubs will look forward to taking on some of the country’s brightest prospects, who will themselves learn a lot from participating in a first team competition.”
He continued: “I want to thank EFL Clubs and the Category One Academies for their support.
“I believe the balance of the competition should benefit all sides and will make for some intriguing matches when the Group Stages get under way in August.”
