Gillingham have learnt the first two opposition they will face in the EFL Trophy next season after the draw was made.
The Gills will play Cambridge United and Northampton Town in the group stage of the 2026/27 EFL Trophy.
The Gills have been placed in Group G of the southern section, with an invited Premier League U21 side to be drawn on Thursday, live on Sky Sports News, at 2:30pm.
Cambridge United were promoted to League One last season, with Northampton Town coming the other way following relegation to League Two.
The full southern section draw can be seen below:
| Group A Oxford United Cheltenham Town Exeter City | Group B Leicester City Walsall Stevenage | Group C Reading Bristol Rovers Wycombe Wanderers | Group D Luton Town Peterborough United Colchester United |
| Group E Plymouth Argyle Swindon Town Newport County | Group F AFC Wimbledon Leyton Orient Barnet | Group G Cambridge United Gillingham Northampton Town | Group H Bromley Crawley Town Milton Keynes Dons |
One of eight Premier League U21 sides will be added to our group later in the week. These are the teams who will be taking part:
- Arsenal U21
- Brentford U21
- Brighton & Hove Albion U21
- Chelsea U21
- Crystal Palace U21
- Fulham U21
- Ipswich Town U21
- Tottenham Hotspur U21
EFL Trophy Group Stage matches will commence in early September, with dates to be confirmed following the EFL’s Fixture Release Day on Thursday 25 June.
2026/27 ROUND DATES
The round dates for the EFL Trophy have been confirmed as the following:
- Group Stage: From early September
- Round of 32: w/c 7 December
- Round of 16: w/c 11 January
- Quarter Finals: w/c 15 February
- Semi Finals: w/c 8 March
- Final: Sunday 11 April
COMPETITION FORMAT
The top two from each group progress to the knockout stages, with EFL Trophy fixtures remaining regionalised until the Quarter-Final stage.
Matches level after 90 minutes will be determined by penalty kicks up to, and including, the Semi-Final stage.
A period of 30 minutes of extra-time will be played in the Final should the match be level after 90 minutes. If still level at the end of extra-time, the winners shall be determined by penalty kicks.