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The EFL Trophy has officially been renamed the Jersey Mike’s Trophy after the American sandwich chain agreed a five-year sponsorship deal reportedly worth £5 million.
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The partnership represents the competition’s biggest commercial agreement and coincides with Jersey Mike’s planned expansion into the UK and Ireland.
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Participating clubs will benefit from an increased prize fund, with an initial distribution of approximately £900,000 available during the current season.
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The competition has undergone several commercial rebrands in recent years but continues to provide a platform for emerging talent from English football’s lower leagues and academy system.
September 22, (THEWILL) – The English Football League (EFL) has confirmed a major commercial partnership that will see its trophy competition renamed the Jersey Mike’s Trophy, with the five-year agreement reportedly worth £5 million.
The rebrand takes immediate effect, with the competition adopting its new name ahead of this evening’s group-stage fixtures. The agreement represents the most valuable sponsorship deal in the tournament’s history and marks a significant commercial move for Jersey Mike’s as the American sandwich chain prepares to enter the UK and Irish markets.
The competition, previously known as the Vertu Trophy, features clubs from League One and League Two alongside invited Category One academy teams from Premier League clubs. Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are among the clubs involved in the academy section of the tournament.
Jersey Mike’s Targets UK Expansion
Jersey Mike’s operates more than 3,300 restaurants across the United States and Canada and is preparing to open its first UK outlet this autumn. Its debut restaurant is planned for Argyll Street near Oxford Circus in London, with three additional central London locations expected to follow before a broader expansion across the country and Ireland.
The sponsorship provides the brand with an opportunity to build awareness among English football supporters while establishing a connection with clubs outside the Premier League spotlight.
EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch welcomed the agreement, highlighting the shared emphasis on quality, service and community between Jersey Mike’s and the competition’s participating clubs.
He said the partnership was a strong fit for a tournament involving clubs that remain closely connected to towns and cities across England and Wales.
Jersey Mike’s founder Peter Cancro also described the agreement as more than a traditional naming-rights arrangement, pointing to the connection between the company’s community-based origins and the passion surrounding football at different levels of the English game.
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Prize Money to Increase for Participating Clubs
The new agreement will also provide a financial boost for clubs competing in the tournament. An initial prize fund of approximately £900,000 has been made available for the current season, with the overall value of the arrangement expected to increase over the five-year period.
The deal reportedly surpasses the previous sponsorship agreement, under which clubs received an average of around £720,000 annually during the Vertu arrangement.
To celebrate the launch, former strikers Charlie Austin and Cameron Jerome joined Cancro and former Southampton manager Alan Pardew at Wembley Stadium. Pardew was part of the Southampton team that won the competition in 2010.
The event marked the latest chapter in a tournament that has carried several different commercial names over the past decade, including the Checkatrade Trophy, Leasing.com Trophy, Papa John’s Trophy and Vertu Trophy.
A Competition with a History of Developing Talent
Despite its repeated sponsorship changes, the EFL Trophy remains an important competition for clubs and emerging players.
The tournament has provided opportunities for academy prospects to gain experience against senior opposition, while several players who later represented England began their professional careers in the competition.
Among the players linked to the tournament’s development pathway are Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Reece James and Djed Spence, who were part of England’s 2026 World Cup squad.
The new Jersey Mike’s Trophy branding will now become part of that history, as the EFL seeks to strengthen the competition’s commercial appeal while continuing to support clubs and young players across the English football pyramid.
Olumide Atiba is a sports journalist with THEWILL, known for his keen news sense and compelling storytelling. He has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, well-structured reports that resonate with readers, with a strong focus on football coverage
