Nottingham Forest Under-21s will compete in the EFL Trophy for the first time next season.
The Reds have accepted an invitation to participate in the competition for the 2023/24 campaign. It will be the first time an academy team from the club has participated in the tournament.
Forest and 15 other invited clubs will enter an Under-21s team in the trophy, joining all 48 sides from League One and League Two. The participants will be divided into respective Northern and Southern section groups to begin with.
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Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers make up the list of invited clubs.
All of Forest’s group fixtures will be played away from home. The draw for the group stage will take place live on Sky Sports on Thursday, June 22, at 11.30am.
The Reds narrowly missed out on promotion to Premier League 2 Division 1 during the campaign just gone. They were toppled 3-0 by Leeds United at Elland Road in the Division 2 play-off final last month.
Bolton Wanderers are the current holders of the EFL Trophy. They beat Plymouth Argyle 4-0 at Wembley in April.
The announcement comes as the first-team are set to discover their Premier League fixtures for next term. The 2023/24 schedule will be released at 9am on Thursday, with Steve Cooper’s side eager to push on in the top-flight.
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