I am on the Football League mailing list and they sent this out as a media advisory today. There is some guff in here but some good stats re attendances/records.
2016/17 CHECKATRADE TROPHY
The competition
·The revised format was introduced as a one year pilot and its success in helping clubs to develop young home grown players will be assessed after this year’s final.
·It was approved and supported by the majority of the EFL clubs as a way to bring much-needed innovation to the competition.
·A meeting with League One and League Two clubs will take place on 11 April and all ideas and suggestions for the future of the competition will be discussed.
·The competition was devised to provide some of England’s brightest young talent the opportunity to gain experience and develop their game as part of EFL’s wider commitment to support home grown players. A strong national team is important for clubs at all levels of the game.
·League One and League Two clubs have accumulated more than 75% of the available £1.95million prize pot this season.
oFor comparison, last year’s fund was £478,000 for the competition as a whole.
The final
·Over 70,000 tickets have been sold for this Sunday’s Final.
oThe record attendance for an EFL Trophy Final is 80,841 for the match between Wolves and Burnley in 1988. Further attendance statistics are below.
·Kick-off is at 2.30pm.
·If scores are level at full-time, the match will go to extra-time and penalties.
Match Officials
·Referee: Chris Sarginson
·Assistant Referees: Neil Radford and Matthew Parry
·Fourth Official: Dean Whitestone
·Reserve Assistant Referee: Chris Husband
The teams
Coventry City
·It’s a first visit to Wembley Stadium for Coventry City in 30 years, since their 1987 FA Cup final victory and subsequent Charity Shield appearance
·They come into the final with a 100% record and will be hoping to continue their cup form here today.
·They beat Wycombe, Swansea U21s, Brighton U21s and Crawley in the knock-out stages.
·Results:
oSemi-Final – Beat Wycombe 2-1
oQuarter-Final – Beat Swansea U21 on Penalties after 1-1 draw
oRound Three – Beat Brighton U21 3-0
oRound Two – Beat Crawley 1-0
oGroup stages (Southern Group D) – Beat West Ham 4-2, beat Northampton Town 3-1 and beat Wycombe Wanderers 4-2.
Oxford United
·For Oxford United, it’s a chance to avenge last season’s narrow defeat to Barnsley and Michael Appleton’s team should be applauded for making it to successive EFL Trophy finals.
·Oxford beat Luton, Bradford and Scunthorpe in the knock-out stages.
·Results:
oSemi-Final – Beat Luton 3-2
oQuarter-Final - Beat Bradford 2-1
oRound Three – Beat Scunthorpe 4-1
oRound Two – Beat Southend on penalties after 1-1 draw
oGroup Stages (Southern Group C) - Beat Exeter 4-2, drew 0-0 with Swindon (Swindon won 3-1 on pens) and drew 1-1 with Chelsea (Chelsea won 13-12 on pens). This game was attended by 5,200 supporters.
2016/17 Competition statistics
Supporting young players
·A total of 1529 players have appeared in this season’s competition, of which 1,130 represented EFL Clubs.
·Of these:
o612 players were under 21
§381 were under 21 and English.
oA further 212 players were English and aged 21-23
·27% players in the starting 11s of this season’s competition were aged 21 or under and were English.
oThis compares to 23% in 2015/16 and 18% in 2014/15
EFL Clubs versus Invited Clubs
·A total of 56 games were played by invited clubs during the competition, of which 52 were against EFL opposition.
·The results of these games were that EFL Clubs won 24, drew 12 and lost 16.
Attendances
·Ahead of this year’s final, aggregate attendances are comparable to last season and 21% higher than 2014/15
o174,835 in 2016/17
o177,850 in 2015/16
o144,384 in 2014/15
Prize Money
The financial benefits of the competition
·League One and League Two clubs have accumulated more than £1.5million in prize money from the competition so far
oLeague One clubs have already amassed £850,000 in prize money
oLeague Two clubs have already amassed £725,000 in prize money
·Invited clubs have amassed £325,000 in prize money
·Sponsorship income increase of 35%.
·The introduction of a group stage provided the opportunity for increased prize money with £10,000 available for each group stage win and £5,000 for a draw
Attendances
Last Five Finals
2012 – Chesterfield 2 Swindon Town 0 – Attendance 49,602
2013 – Crewe Alexandra 2 Southend United 0 – Attendance 43,842
2014 – Chesterfield 1 Peterborough United 3 – Attendance 35,663
2015 – Bristol City 2 Walsall 0 – Attendance 72,315
2016 – Barnsley 3 Oxford United 2 – Attendance 59,230
Record Attendance
1988 – Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Burnley 0 - 80,841
Over 70,000
2015 – Bristol City 2 Walsall 0 – Attendance 72,315
2010 – Southampton 4 Carlisle United 1 – 73,476
2000 – Stoke 2 Bristol City 1 – 75,057
1995 - Birmingham City 1 Carlisle United 0 – 76,663
2016/17 CHECKATRADE TROPHY
The competition
·The revised format was introduced as a one year pilot and its success in helping clubs to develop young home grown players will be assessed after this year’s final.
·It was approved and supported by the majority of the EFL clubs as a way to bring much-needed innovation to the competition.
·A meeting with League One and League Two clubs will take place on 11 April and all ideas and suggestions for the future of the competition will be discussed.
·The competition was devised to provide some of England’s brightest young talent the opportunity to gain experience and develop their game as part of EFL’s wider commitment to support home grown players. A strong national team is important for clubs at all levels of the game.
·League One and League Two clubs have accumulated more than 75% of the available £1.95million prize pot this season.
oFor comparison, last year’s fund was £478,000 for the competition as a whole.
The final
·Over 70,000 tickets have been sold for this Sunday’s Final.
oThe record attendance for an EFL Trophy Final is 80,841 for the match between Wolves and Burnley in 1988. Further attendance statistics are below.
·Kick-off is at 2.30pm.
·If scores are level at full-time, the match will go to extra-time and penalties.
Match Officials
·Referee: Chris Sarginson
·Assistant Referees: Neil Radford and Matthew Parry
·Fourth Official: Dean Whitestone
·Reserve Assistant Referee: Chris Husband
The teams
Coventry City
·It’s a first visit to Wembley Stadium for Coventry City in 30 years, since their 1987 FA Cup final victory and subsequent Charity Shield appearance
·They come into the final with a 100% record and will be hoping to continue their cup form here today.
·They beat Wycombe, Swansea U21s, Brighton U21s and Crawley in the knock-out stages.
·Results:
oSemi-Final – Beat Wycombe 2-1
oQuarter-Final – Beat Swansea U21 on Penalties after 1-1 draw
oRound Three – Beat Brighton U21 3-0
oRound Two – Beat Crawley 1-0
oGroup stages (Southern Group D) – Beat West Ham 4-2, beat Northampton Town 3-1 and beat Wycombe Wanderers 4-2.
Oxford United
·For Oxford United, it’s a chance to avenge last season’s narrow defeat to Barnsley and Michael Appleton’s team should be applauded for making it to successive EFL Trophy finals.
·Oxford beat Luton, Bradford and Scunthorpe in the knock-out stages.
·Results:
oSemi-Final – Beat Luton 3-2
oQuarter-Final - Beat Bradford 2-1
oRound Three – Beat Scunthorpe 4-1
oRound Two – Beat Southend on penalties after 1-1 draw
oGroup Stages (Southern Group C) - Beat Exeter 4-2, drew 0-0 with Swindon (Swindon won 3-1 on pens) and drew 1-1 with Chelsea (Chelsea won 13-12 on pens). This game was attended by 5,200 supporters.
2016/17 Competition statistics
Supporting young players
·A total of 1529 players have appeared in this season’s competition, of which 1,130 represented EFL Clubs.
·Of these:
o612 players were under 21
§381 were under 21 and English.
oA further 212 players were English and aged 21-23
·27% players in the starting 11s of this season’s competition were aged 21 or under and were English.
oThis compares to 23% in 2015/16 and 18% in 2014/15
EFL Clubs versus Invited Clubs
·A total of 56 games were played by invited clubs during the competition, of which 52 were against EFL opposition.
·The results of these games were that EFL Clubs won 24, drew 12 and lost 16.
Attendances
·Ahead of this year’s final, aggregate attendances are comparable to last season and 21% higher than 2014/15
o174,835 in 2016/17
o177,850 in 2015/16
o144,384 in 2014/15
Prize Money
The financial benefits of the competition
·League One and League Two clubs have accumulated more than £1.5million in prize money from the competition so far
oLeague One clubs have already amassed £850,000 in prize money
oLeague Two clubs have already amassed £725,000 in prize money
·Invited clubs have amassed £325,000 in prize money
·Sponsorship income increase of 35%.
·The introduction of a group stage provided the opportunity for increased prize money with £10,000 available for each group stage win and £5,000 for a draw
Attendances
Last Five Finals
2012 – Chesterfield 2 Swindon Town 0 – Attendance 49,602
2013 – Crewe Alexandra 2 Southend United 0 – Attendance 43,842
2014 – Chesterfield 1 Peterborough United 3 – Attendance 35,663
2015 – Bristol City 2 Walsall 0 – Attendance 72,315
2016 – Barnsley 3 Oxford United 2 – Attendance 59,230
Record Attendance
1988 – Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Burnley 0 - 80,841
Over 70,000
2015 – Bristol City 2 Walsall 0 – Attendance 72,315
2010 – Southampton 4 Carlisle United 1 – 73,476
2000 – Stoke 2 Bristol City 1 – 75,057
1995 - Birmingham City 1 Carlisle United 0 – 76,663
