Newcastle United's participation in the newly-named Papa John’s Trophy will be shortlived as they prepare to bid farewell to this season's competition at Bolton Wanderers tonight.
Having lost already in the EFL Trophy to Crewe Alexandra and Shrewsbury Town, the encounter with the Trotters is very much a dead rubber with the Magpies' Under-21 side bidding to avoid the wooden spoon in Group C.
A horrendous run of results in the competition this season means Newcastle have now failed to win in any of their eight games in the trophy since 2018 when they reached the knockout stages.
Newcastle, coached by Chris Hogg and Toon old boy Peter Ramage, may be out but will still bank cash for playing in the group stages and will get another chance to gain a slice of the action in the Papa John's Trophy in the next few years with the sponsorship deal running until 2022/23.
EFL Chief Commercial Officer Ben Wright said: “The EFL is delighted to welcome Papa John’s as title sponsor of the EFL Trophy and a new addition to the League’s portfolio of partners.
“As we continue to navigate through the challenging times that the coronavirus pandemic presents, it is testament to the growing appeal of the EFL that we are able to attract new partners and invest the sponsorship fee into the competition through payments to clubs, which is important during this difficult period."
