2025–26 EFL Trophy
The 2025–26 EFL Trophy, known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, was the 45th season in the history of the competition, and was a knock-out tournament for clubs in EFL League One and League Two, the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system, as well as the "Academy teams" of 16 Premier League teams. The defending champions were Peterborough United, who defeated Birmingham City 2–0 in the previous season's final, but they were knocked out of round of 32 by Swindon Town.