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The Football League Trophy is the general name of an English football competition for clubs in the two lower divisions of The Football League and, in some seasons, the leading sides in the Conference National. It was originally called the Associate Members' Cup.
The official name is periodically changed to match changes in sponsors and is now the Johnstone's Paint Trophy (for three years from 2006).
Bristol City have won twice, 1986 and 2003, to the single victory achieved by Carlisle in 1997. Seven clubs share the record for most wins in the competition with two successes apiece, but no club has yet won the tournament for a third time.
Structure
The Trophy is currently contested by just Football League One and Football League Two clubs and, from season 2006-07, is played in a knock-out format in two regional sections. As in the Football League Cup, the semifinals are two-legged. The final, which is traditionally held at Wembley, was played at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, from 2001 to 2007 due to its redevelopment.
History
From 1934 to 1939 the competition for Third and Fourth clubs include the individual Football League Third Division North Cup and Football League Third Division South Cup.
Prior to 1984 there had been a couple of different attempts to fill the gap in the calendar left by the collapse of the Texaco Cup-Anglo-Scottish Cup in 1981.
The 1982-83 season saw the setting up of the Football League Group Cup, a competition which was re-named the Football League Trophy for the 1983-84 season.
Various attempts have been made to solve the problem of reducing the 48 lower-division clubs to a round power of two: often the first round of the cup was played in round-robin groups of three; at other times the more senior clubs have been given byes into the second round. The addition of 8 or 12 (rather than 16) teams from the Conference (from 2000-01 to 2005-06) has not solved this problem. This season, 16 teams of the bottom two League divisions will receive byes, and the remaining 32 will play the first round in four regional sections.
The current holders of the Football League Trophy are Milton Keynes Dons, having beaten Grimsby Town in the Final 2-0 on 30 March 2008 at Wembley Stadium.
For the 2008/2009 season, Leicester City will make their first appearance in the trophy following their relegation to League 1; they will be the only first-timer as every other club has appeared in the tournament before.
Previous Names
- Associate Members' Cup (1983-1984 – official unsponsored name until 1992)
- Freight Rover Trophy (1984-1987)
- Sherpa Van Trophy (1987-1989)
- Leyland DAF Cup (1989-1991)
- Autoglass Trophy (1991-1994)
- Auto Windscreens Shield (1994-2000)
- LDV Vans Trophy (2000-2006)
- Football League Trophy (2006 – final only, but the official unsponsored name since 1992)
- Johnstone's Paint Trophy (from 2006)