Swans to compete in Checkatrade Trophy
Swansea City will once again take part in the Checkatrade Trophy next season.
The Swans are one of 16 clubs with category one academies who have been invited to take part in the competition in the 2018-19 campaign.
They will join the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea in the Checkatrade Trophy, which is to continue in its current format.
That sees academy under-21 sides taking on senior teams from the 48 League One and League Two clubs.
The Swans are one of four Championship clubs who will take part, alongside Middlesbrough, Stoke City and West Brom.
They will feature in the round one group stage draw, which will take place in July, with the first round of fixtures scheduled to take place in early September.
The invited teams were selected based on their final league position at the end of the 2017-18 season. The first 16 were invited to take part, and then subsequent teams – with category one academy status – invited as required.
EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey said: “Feedback from all levels of the game is indicating that the competition is starting to reap the benefits that we all envisaged at the outset of the revamp and I’m confident the format will continue to prosper with increasing support from Clubs and their fans.
“The Checkatrade Trophy will continue to provide young players, from Invited teams and EFL clubs alike, with a unique opportunity to experience first-team football and I look forward to seeing the stars of 2018-19 emerge as the competition progresses.”
A number of minor rule changes have been confirmed for 2018-19, with EFL clubs now being given the opportunity to name players who are out on-loan at National League clubs, whilst invited teams will only be able to name two players who are over the age of 21 and have made more than 40 first-team appearances.
Last season, the Swans saw off Newport County, Forest Green and Cheltenham in the group stage of the Checkatrade Trophy, before losing out to Charlton in the last 16 of the competition's southern section.
