Season Description The 2025–26 EFL Trophy, known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is the 45th season in the history of the competition, and is 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. They have won two consecutive EFL Trophy finals, after beating Wycombe Wanderers in the 2024 final and are the first team to retain the trophy.