The 2021–22 EFL Trophy, known as the Papa Johns Trophy for sponsorship reasons, the 41st season in the history of the competition, was a knock-out tournament for clubs in EFL League One and League Two, the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system, as well as the "Academy teams" of 16 Premier League clubs with Category One status.^[1]

Rotherham United won the title after beating Sutton United 4–2 after extra time in the final on 3 April 2022. Sunderland were the defending champions, but they were knocked out in the Second Round by Oldham Athletic.

Participating clubs

• 48 clubs from League One and League Two.
• 16 invited Category One Academy teams.

Eligibility criteria for players

For EFL clubs^[2]

• Minimum of four qualifying outfield players in their starting XI. A qualifying outfield player was one who met any of the following requirements:
  • Any player who started the previous or following first-team fixture.
  • Any player who is in the top 10 players at the club who has made the most starting appearances in league and domestic cup competitions this season.
  • Any player with forty or more first-team starting appearances in their career, including International matches.
  • Any player on loan from a Premier League club or any EFL Category One Academy club.
• A club can play any eligible goalkeeper in the competition.
• Any player out on a long loan term at a National League, National League North, or National League South team can play as long as the loaning team agree to allow the player to return for the match.

For invited teams^[2]

• Minimum of six players in the starting line-up who are aged under 21 on 30 June 2021.
• Maximum of two players on the team sheet who are aged over 21 and have also made forty or more senior appearances.

Competition format

Group stage

• Sixteen groups of four teams were organised on a regionalised basis.
• All groups included one invited club.
• All clubs played each other once, either home or away (Academies played all group matches away from home).
• Clubs were awarded three points for a win and one point for a draw.
• In the event of a drawn game (after 90 minutes), a penalty shoot-out was held with the winning team earning an additional point.
• Clubs expelled from the EFL were knocked out of the tournament automatically.
• The top two teams in each group progressed to the knockout stage.

Knockout stage

• Round 2 and 3 of the competition were drawn on a regionalised basis.
• In Round 2, the group winners were seeded and the group runners-up were unseeded in the draw.
• In Round 2, teams who played in the same group as each other in the group stage were kept apart from each other.^[3]

Group stage

Northern Section

Group A

Carlisle United v Hartlepool United

31 August 2021 (2021-08-31)	Carlisle United	3–3 (4–3 p)	Hartlepool United	Carlisle
19:00 BST	Charters 11' Mampala 59',  67' Abrahams 78'	Report	Daly 18' Molyneux 81' Olomola 89' (pen.)	Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 1,360 Referee: James Bell
	Penalties
	Clough Abrahams Young Armer Charters		Burey Daly Olomola Crawford Molyneux

Morecambe v Everton U21

14 September 2021 (2021-09-14)	Morecambe	0–1	Everton U21	Morecambe
19:00 BST		Report	McAllister 64'	Stadium: Globe Arena Attendance: 1,004 Referee: Andy Haines

Carlisle United v Everton U21

28 September 2021 (2021-09-28)	Carlisle United	2–0	Everton U21	Carlisle
19:00 BST	Young 44', 67'	Report		Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 875 Referee: Seb Stockbridge

Group B