2024–25 National League Cup

The 2024–25 National League Cup, is the 26th season in the history of the competition, and the first since its revival. It is a knock-out tournament between clubs in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, and 16 professional under-21 teams playing in Premier League 2.^[1]

2024–25 National League Cup

Tournament details
Country	England
Teams	32
Final positions
Champions	Leeds United U21 (1st title)
Runners-up	Sutton United
Tournament statistics
Matches played	46
Goals scored	177 (3.85 per match)
Attendance	23,673 (515 per match)
← 2008–09 2025–26 → All statistics correct as of 15 October 2024.

A prize fund of £1 million is distributed to non-league clubs in the fifth and sixth tiers, with the intention to provide younger players from the PL2 with senior experience. The relaunch of the competition has otherwise been controversial, with criticism and negativity from non-league clubs and their supporters.^[2][3][4]

Participating clubs

• 16 invited clubs from the National League.^[a]
• 16 invited Premier League 2 under-21 teams.^[c]

	National League	Premier League 2
Clubs	Aldershot Town Altrincham Boston United Braintree Town Dagenham & Redbridge Ebbsfleet United FC Halifax Town Forest Green Rovers Gateshead Maidenhead United Oldham Athletic Rochdale Sutton United Tamworth Wealdstone Woking	Blackburn Rovers Brighton & Hove Albion Derby County[b] Fulham Leeds United Manchester United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Southampton Stoke City Sunderland Tottenham Hotspur West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers
Total	16	16

Competition format

League phase

• Four groups of eight teams.
• All groups will include four National League sides and four academy sides.
• All National League clubs will play each academy side once, and all academy sides will play each National League side once (academy sides will play all group matches away from home).
• Clubs will be awarded three points for a win and one point for a draw. Drawn matches will end in a penalty shoot-out with an extra point for the winners.
• The top two teams in each group will progress to the knockout stage.

Knockout stage

• In Round 2, the group winners will be seeded and the group runners-up will be unseeded in the draw.
• In Round 2, teams who played in the same group as each other in the group stage will be kept apart.

Broadcasting

The National League announced all fixtures would be streamed live and free on NLTV.^[8]

League Phase

The group stage draw was made on 19 September 2024, when the competition was announced.^[1][9][10]

Group A

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	NL	Aldershot Town	4	3	0	0	1	9	5	+4	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	ACA	Brighton & Hove Albion U21	4	2	1	0	1	7	6	+1	8
3	NL	Maidenhead United	4	2	1	0	1	7	10	−3	8
4	NL	Wealdstone	4	2	0	0	2	5	4	+1	6
5	NL	Woking	4	1	1	1	1	10	9	+1	6
6	ACA	Fulham U21	4	2	0	0	2	6	6	0	6
7	ACA	Southampton U21	4	1	0	1	2	12	9	+3	4
8	ACA	Derby County U21[b]	4	0	0	1	3	3	10	−7	1

Source: Premier League

Woking v Brighton & Hove Albion U21

1 October 2024	Woking	2–2 (3–4 p)	Brighton & Hove Albion U21	Woking
19:00 BST (UTC+1)	Andrews 89' Kelly-Evans 90+6'	Report	Duffus 33' McConville 54'	Stadium: The Laithwaite Community Stadium Attendance: 227 Referee: Paul Johnson
	Penalties
	Walker Beautyman Anderson Andrews Leahy		Mullins Vickers Slater Moulton Simmonds

Maidenhead United v Fulham U21

1 October 2024	Maidenhead United	2–0	Fulham U21	Maidenhead
19:30 BST (UTC+1)	McCoulsky 35' Barratt 45+1'	Report		Stadium: York Road Attendance: 210 Referee: Ross Martin

Aldershot Town v Derby County U21

15 October 2024	Aldershot Town	3–0	Derby County U21	Aldershot
19:00 BST (UTC+1)	R. Jones 18', 59' A. Jones 32'	Report		Stadium: The EBB Stadium Attendance: 190 Referee: James Durkin

Aldershot Town v Brighton & Hove Albion U21

5 November 2024	Aldershot Town	2–3	Brighton & Hove Albion U21	Aldershot
19:00 GMT (UTC+0)	Henry 64', 86' (pen.)	Report	Ifill 80' Duffus 82' Vickers 90+3'	Stadium: The EBB Stadium Attendance: 317 Referee: Farai Hallam

Wealdstone v Fulham U21

5 November 2024	Wealdstone	0–2	Fulham U21	Ruislip
19:00 GMT (UTC+0)		Report	Gordon 43' Works 45+1'	Stadium: Grosvenor Vale Attendance: 190 Referee: Jamie O'Connor

Woking v Southampton U21

5 November 2024	Woking	4–4 (3–0 p)	Southampton U21	Woking
19:00 GMT (UTC+0)	Stretton 39' Leahy 41' Walker 53', 61'	Report	Ehibhatiomhan 2' Robinson 35' MacLeod 85' Akachukwu 90+4'	Stadium: The Laithwaite Community Stadium Attendance: 157 Referee: Michael Doyle
	Penalties
	Walker Judge Harries		Buck MacLeod Robinson

Maidenhead United v Derby County U21

5 November 2024	Maidenhead United	3–3 (7–6 p)	Derby County U21	Maidenhead
19:30 GMT (UTC+0)	Sho-Silva 17' Ajose 27', 70'	Report	Wheeldon 48' Robinson 61' Hawkins 73'	Stadium: York Road Attendance: 145 Referee: Greg Rollason
	Penalties
	Sho-Silva De Havilland Carvalho Pettit Cochrane Ajose Bell McMenemy		Spencer Rooney Robinson Eames Wheeldon Gill Hawkins Robinson

Wealdstone v Southampton U21

12 November 2024	Wealdstone	3–1	Southampton U21	Ruislip
GMT (UTC+0)	Adarkwa 4' Sandat 31' Thorpe 52'	Report	Merry 77'	Stadium: Grosvenor Vale Attendance: 160 Referee: Paul Johnson

Aldershot Town v Southampton U21

3 December 2024	Aldershot Town	2–1	Southampton U21	Aldershot
GMT (UTC+0)	Barrett 44' Frost 51'	Report	Robinson 14'	Stadium: The EBB Stadium Attendance: 272

Wealdstone v Derby County U21

3 December 2024	Wealdstone	2–0	Derby County U21	Ruislip
GMT (UTC+0)	Sandat 4' Woodman 31'	Report		Stadium: Grosvenor Vale Attendance: 93 Referee: Callum Walchester

Woking v Fulham U21

3 December 2024	Woking	2–3	Fulham U21	Woking
GMT (UTC+0)	Ward 34' Kelly-Evans 59'	Report	Loupalo-Bi 9' Osmand 64', 88'	Stadium: The Laithwaite Community Stadium Attendance: 222

Maidenhead United v Brighton & Hove Albion U21

4 December 2024	Maidenhead United	2–1	Brighton & Hove Albion U21	Maidenhead
19:30GMT (UTC+0)	Abrahams 11', 46'	Report	Vickers 87'	Stadium: York Road Attendance: 160 Referee: Jason Richardson

Woking v Derby County U21

14 January 2025	Woking	2–0	Derby County U21	Woking
GMT (UTC+0)	Beautyman 74' Lewis 89'	Report		Stadium: The Laithwaite Community Stadium Attendance: 91 Referee: Steve Parkinson

Aldershot Town v Fulham U21

21 January 2025	Aldershot Town	2–1	Fulham U21	Aldershot
19:00 GMT (UTC+0)	Tetek 21' Maghoma 60'	Report	Loupalo-Bi 84'	Stadium: The EBB Stadium Attendance: 367 Referee: Jason Richardson

Wealdstone v Brighton & Hove Albion U21

21 January 2025	Wealdstone	0–1	Brighton & Hove Albion U21	Ruislip
19:00 GMT (UTC+0)		Report	Peupion 69'	Stadium: Grosvenor Vale Attendance: 116 Referee: Aaron Farmer

Maidenhead United v Southampton U21

11 February 2025	Maidenhead United	0–6	Southampton U21	Maidenhead
19:45 GMT (UTC+0)		Report	Ehibhatiomhan 18', 32', 45' Moore 51' Sesay 65' Bragg 87' (pen.)	Stadium: York Road Referee: Sam Mulhall
Note: The match was originally scheduled for 28 January, but was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.[11]

Group B

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	ACA	Manchester United U21	4	4	0	0	0	13	2	+11	12	Advance to knockout stage
2	NL	Altrincham	4	2	1	0	1	9	9	0	8
3	NL	Rochdale	4	2	0	1	1	8	4	+4	7
4	ACA	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21	4	1	2	0	1	7	6	+1	7
5	NL	Oldham Athletic	4	2	0	1	1	7	10	−3	7
6	ACA	Stoke City U21	4	1	0	0	3	6	8	−2	3
7	NL	Forest Green Rovers	4	1	0	0	3	6	11	−5	3
8	ACA	Blackburn Rovers U21	4	0	0	1	3	8	14	−6	1

Source: Premier League

Oldham Athletic v Stoke City U21

1 October 2024	Oldham Athletic	2–1	Stoke City U21	Oldham
19:00 BST (UTC+1)	Reid 29' Charsley 72'	Report	Mears 67'	Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 455 Referee: Stuart Morland

Altrincham v Blackburn Rovers U21

8 October 2024	Altrincham	3–3 (6–5 p)	Blackburn Rovers U21	Altrincham
19:30 BST (UTC+1)	Kosylo 7' Crawford 55' Weaver 83'	Report	Mafoumbi 47' Stritch 79' Leatherbarrow 88'	Stadium: Moss Lane Attendance: 783 Referee: Richard Aspinall
	Penalties
	Crawford Banks Newby Jones Reddin Kosylo Weaver		Edmondson Stritch Montgomery Tyjon Litherland Bell Powell

Forest Green Rovers v Manchester United U21

9 October 2024	Forest Green Rovers	2–3	Manchester United U21	Nailsworth
19:00 BST (UTC+1)	Doidge 3' Bunker 35'	Report	Sharpe 29' Ennis 33' Musa 77'	Stadium: The New Lawn Attendance: 1,273 Referee: Jason Richardson

Rochdale v Blackburn Rovers U21

5 November 2024	Rochdale	4–1	Blackburn Rovers U21	Rochdale
GMT (UTC+0)	Dennis 18' Barlow 47', 55' Henderson 90+1'	Report	Litherland 41'	Stadium: Crown Oil Arena Attendance: 426 Referee: Paul Cooper

Forest Green Rovers v Stoke City U21

5 November 2024	Forest Green Rovers	0–4	Stoke City U21	Nailsworth
GMT (UTC+0)		Report	Tezgel 6' (pen.), 18', 39', 49'	Stadium: The New Lawn Attendance: 257 Referee: Elliott Swallow

Oldham Athletic v Wolverhampton Wanderers U21

6 November 2024	Oldham Athletic	2–2 (2–4 p)	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21	Oldham
GMT (UTC+0)	Stones 21' Uchegbulam 27'	Report	Holman 25', 68'	Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 520 Referee: Aaron Jackson
	Penalties
	Gardner Khan Kay Hammond		Holman Okoduwa Sutherland Bradbury

Altrincham v Manchester United U21

19 November 2024	Altrincham	0–4	Manchester United U21	Altrincham
GMT (UTC+0)		Report	Ennis 16', 26', 90' Ibragimov 70'	Stadium: J. Davidson Stadium Attendance: 3,663 Referee: Stuart Morland

Rochdale v Manchester United U21

3 December 2024	Rochdale	0–1	Manchester United U21	Rochdale
GMT (UTC+0)		Report	Ibragimov 82'	Stadium: Crown Oil Arena Attendance: 3,681 Referee: John Mulligan

Altrincham v Stoke City U21

3 December 2024	Altrincham	4–1	Stoke City U21	Altrincham
GMT (UTC+0)	Jones 43' Golden 50' Crawford 58' Bickerstaff 90+1'	Report	Griffiths 23'	Stadium: J. Davidson Stadium Attendance: 879 Referee: Paul Cooper

Oldham Athletic v Blackburn Rovers U21

10 December 2024	Oldham Athletic	3–2	Blackburn Rovers U21	Oldham
GMT (UTC+0)	Teixeira 18' Garner 38' Moore 41'	Report	Stritch 35' Doherty 90+1'	Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 356 Referee: Callum Jones

Forest Green Rovers v Wolverhampton Wanderers U21

18 December 2024	Forest Green Rovers	0–2	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21	Nailsworth
GMT (UTC+0)		Report	Ojinnaka 49' Holman 56'	Stadium: The New Lawn

Forest Green Rovers v Blackburn Rovers U21

21 January 2025	Forest Green Rovers	4–2	Blackburn Rovers U21	Nailsworth
GMT (UTC+0)	Marquez 8', 33' Quigley 57' McCormick 90+1'	Report	Baker 17' Doherty 53'	Stadium: The New Lawn Attendance: 117 Referee: Ross Martin

Rochdale v Stoke City U21

21 January 2025	Rochdale	2–0	Stoke City U21	Rochdale
GMT (UTC+0)	Ayinde 14' Weston 47'			Stadium: Crown Oil Arena

Altrincham v Wolverhampton Wanderers U21

28 January 2025	Altrincham	2–1	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21	Altrincham
19:30 GMT (UTC+0)	Pasiek 67' Weaver 77'	Report	Sutherland 31'	Stadium: J. Davidson Stadium Attendance: 1,038 Referee: James Westgate

Oldham Athletic v Manchester United U21

29 January 2025	Oldham Athletic	0–5	Manchester United U21	Oldham
19:00 GMT (UTC+0)		Report	Moorhouse 64' Obi 70' Sharpe 73' Mather 84' Musa 90+3'	Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 1,895 Referee: Jamie O’Connor

Rochdale v Wolverhampton Wanderers U21

11 February 2025	Rochdale	2–2 (1–4 p)	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21	Rochdale
19:00 GMT (UTC+0)	Henderson 36', 67'	Report	Whittingham 2' Hubner 90+6'	Stadium: Crown Oil Arena Attendance: 331 Referee: Gareth Rhodes
	Penalties
	Allarakhia Edwards Weston		Ángel Whittingham Lopes Hubner

Group C

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	ACA	Newcastle United U21	4	2	1	0	1	9	7	+2	8	Advance to knockout stage
2	ACA	Leeds United U21	4	2	1	0	1	9	8	+1	8
3	NL	Boston United	4	2	1	0	1	8	7	+1	8
4	ACA	Middlesbrough U21	4	2	0	1	1	7	3	+4	7
5	NL	Gateshead	4	1	1	0	2	6	8	−2	5
6	ACA	Sunderland U21	4	1	0	1	2	8	6	+2	4
7	NL	FC Halifax Town	4	1	0	1	2	6	9	−3	4
8	NL	Tamworth	4	1	0	1	2	4	9	−5	4

Source: Premier League

FC Halifax Town v Newcastle United U21

1 October 2024	FC Halifax Town	1–2	Newcastle United U21	Halifax
19:00 BST (UTC+1)	Oluwabori 18'	Report	Emerson 59' Ford 71' (o.g.)	Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 292 Referee: Michael Crusham

Boston United v Leeds United U21

1 October 2024	Boston United	3–4	Leeds United U21	Boston
19:30 BST (UTC+1)	Ward 14', 76' Marriott 39'	Report	Green 15' (o.g.) Thomas 54', 85' Cresswell 83'	Stadium: Boston Community Stadium Attendance: 467 Referee: Jamie O'Connor

Gateshead v Middlesbrough U21

1 October 2024	Gateshead	1–0	Middlesbrough U21	Gateshead
19:45 BST (UTC+1)	Malcolm 13'	Report		Stadium: Gateshead International Stadium Attendance: 407 Referee: Ross Martin

Boston United v Sunderland U21

5 November 2024	Boston United	1–0	Sunderland U21	Boston
GMT (UTC+0)	Mooney 42'	Report		Stadium: Boston Community Stadium Attendance: 414 Referee: William Davis

Tamworth v Newcastle United U21

5 November 2024	Tamworth	1–1 (5–6 p)	Newcastle United U21	Tamworth
GMT (UTC+0)	Tshikuna 84'	Report	Donaldson 63'	Stadium: The Lamb Ground Attendance: 387 Referee: Robert Massey-Ellis
	Penalties
	Wallace Fletcher Creaney Tshikuna Digie Cockerill-Mollett Williams		Parkinson Huntley Turner-Cooke Donaldson Emerson McArthur Shahar

Gateshead v Leeds United U21

6 November 2024	Gateshead	1–2	Leeds United U21	Gateshead
GMT (UTC+0)	Adom 40'	Report	Chadwick-Chaplin 2'	Stadium: Gateshead International Stadium Attendance: 272 Referee: Gareth Rhodes

FC Halifax Town v Middlesbrough U21

12 November 2024	FC Halifax Town	1–4	Middlesbrough U21	Halifax
GMT (UTC+0)	Bray 55'	Report	Matthews 24' Finch 37', 49', 81'	Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 256 Referee: James Westgate

Tamworth v Sunderland U21

19 November 2024	Tamworth	1–5	Sunderland U21	Tamworth
GMT (UTC+0)	Cockerill-Mollett 42'	Report	Samuel-Ogunsuyi 2', 52' Lavery 11' Jones 69' Crompton 83'	Stadium: The Lamb Ground Attendance: 403 Referee: Mr. R. Eley

Boston United v Newcastle United U21

3 December 2024	Boston United	3–2	Newcastle United U21	Boston
GMT (UTC+0)	Osbourne 3' Aderoju 76' Maguire 81'	Report	Parkinson 11', 40'	Stadium: Boston Community Stadium Attendance: 386 Referee: Michael Crusham

FC Halifax Town v Leeds United U21

3 December 2024	FC Halifax Town	2–2 (3–5 p)	Leeds United U21	Halifax
GMT (UTC+0)	Bray 62' Senior 90+5'	Report	Chadwick-Chaplin 34' Snowdon 80'	Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 471 Referee: Stuart Morland
	Penalties
	Senior Hoti Alimi-Adetoro Cooke		Snowdon Chadwick-Chaplin Toulson Chambers Cresswell

Gateshead v Sunderland U21

4 December 2024	Gateshead	2–2 (5–4 p)	Sunderland U21	Gateshead
GMT (UTC+0)	Hannant 52' Malcolm 56'		Aouchiche 63' Samuel-Ogunsuyi 68'	Stadium: Gateshead International Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Robert Massey-Ellis
	Penalties
	Whelan Malcolm Home Worman Radcliffe		Jones Ba Bennette Aouchiche Aleksić

Boston United v Middlesbrough U21

21 January 2025	Boston United	1–1 (5–4 p)	Middlesbrough U21	Boston
GMT (UTC+0)	Hazel 90'	Report	Woolston 86'	Stadium: Boston Community Stadium Attendance: 273 Referee: John Mulligan
	Penalties
	Green Weston Hazel Ward Marriott		Stott Nkrumah Woolston Lennon Matthews

Gateshead v Newcastle United U21

21 January 2025	Gateshead	2–4	Newcastle United U21	Gateshead
GMT (UTC+0)	Malcolm 14' Tripp 23'	Report	Harrison 8' Donaldson 18' Kuol 75' Palmer 82'	Stadium: Gateshead International Stadium Attendance: 470

Tamworth v Leeds United U21

21 January 2025	Tamworth	2–1	Leeds United U21	Tamworth
GMT (UTC+0)	Digie 25' Tshikuna 42'	Report	Coleman 74'	Stadium: The Lamb Ground Attendance: 351

FC Halifax Town v Sunderland U21

28 January 2025	FC Halifax Town	2–1	Sunderland U21	Halifax
19:00 GMT (UTC+0)	Emmerson 57' Cummings 90'	Report	Samuel-Ogunsuyi 20'	Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 195 Referee: Michael Barlow

Tamworth v Middlesbrough U21

28 January 2025	Tamworth	0–2	Middlesbrough U21	Tamworth
19:45 GMT (UTC+0)		Report	McCabe 62' Finch 76'	Stadium: The Lamb Ground Attendance: 355 Referee: Stuart Morland

Group D

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	NL	Braintree Town	4	4	0	0	0	11	5	+6	12	Advance to knockout stage
2	NL	Sutton United	4	2	1	0	1	8	6	+2	8
3	NL	Dagenham & Redbridge	4	2	0	1	1	8	9	−1	7
4	ACA	West Ham United U21	4	2	0	0	2	6	5	+1	6
5	NL	Ebbsfleet United	4	0	2	1	1	4	5	−1	5
6	ACA	Nottingham Forest U21	4	1	0	1	2	6	6	0	4
7	ACA	Tottenham Hotspur U21	4	0	2	0	2	7	12	−5	4
8	ACA	West Bromwich Albion U21	4	0	0	2	2	5	7	−2	2

Source: Premier League

Ebbsfleet United v West Bromwich Albion U21

1 October 2024	Ebbsfleet United	2–2 (5–4 p)	West Bromwich Albion U21	Northfleet
19:00 BST (UTC+1)	Domi 17' Ondo 35'	Report	Williams 81' Deeming 90+4' (pen.)	Stadium: Kuflink Stadium Attendance: 213 Referee: Abigail Byrne
	Penalties
	Wright Thomas Tanga Cundle Randall		Deeming Onyemachi Sule Chimeziri Higgins

Dagenham & Redbridge v Tottenham Hotspur U21

1 October 2024	Dagenham & Redbridge	5–5 (3–5 p)	Tottenham Hotspur U21	Dagenham
19:30 BST (UTC+1)	Stephenson 4' Hill 5', 39' Remy 37' Mbiya-Kalambayi 71'	Report	Williams 29', 78' Kyerematen 51' Robson 68' Akhamrich 80'	Stadium: Chigwell Construction Stadium Attendance: 184 Referee: Alan Dale
	Penalties
	Morias Stephenson Vincent Remy		Williams Hall Black Andiyapan Akhamrich

Ebbsfleet United v Tottenham Hotspur U21

29 October 2024	Ebbsfleet United	1–1 (3–4 p)	Tottenham Hotspur U21	Northfleet
19:00 GMT (UTC+0)	Chapman 41'	Report	Kyerematen 23'	Stadium: Kuflink Stadium Attendance: 865 Referee: Elliott Swallow
	Penalties
	Domi Fonguck John Tanga Manktelow Chapman Tanner		Hall Williams Black Akhamrich Cassanova Kyerematen McKnight

Braintree Town v West Ham United U21

5 November 2024	Braintree Town	4–2	West Ham United U21	Braintree
GMT (UTC+0)	Akinde 15' Effiong 60' Lisbie 64' Langston 86'		Ajala 9' Scarles 36'	Stadium: Rare Breed Meat Co. Stadium Attendance: 437

Dagenham & Redbridge v West Bromwich Albion U21

5 November 2024	Dagenham & Redbridge	2–1	West Bromwich Albion U21	Dagenham
GMT (UTC+0)	Umerah 40' Adigun 49'	Report	Chimeziri 66'	Stadium: Chigwell Construction Stadium Attendance: 183

Braintree Town v West Bromwich Albion U21

3 December 2024	Braintree Town	3–2	West Bromwich Albion U21	Braintree
GMT (UTC+0)	Fyfield 15' Lisbie 45' Effiong 77'	Report 1 Report 2	Cleary 29', 40'	Stadium: Rare Breed Meat Co. Stadium Attendance: 123

Dagenham & Redbridge v Nottingham Forest U21

3 December 2024	Dagenham & Redbridge	1–3	Nottingham Forest U21	Dagenham
GMT (UTC+0)	Rees 32'	Report	Berry 43', 55' Nadin 79'	Stadium: Chigwell Construction Stadium Attendance: 174

Sutton United v Tottenham Hotspur U21

3 December 2024	Sutton United	3–0	Tottenham Hotspur U21	Sutton
GMT (UTC+0)	Simper 8' Williams 51' Ransom 90+2'	Report		Stadium: VBS Community Stadium Attendance: 1,092 Referee: Stephen Parkinson

Braintree Town v Nottingham Forest U21

10 December 2024	Braintree Town	1–0	Nottingham Forest U21	Braintree
GMT (UTC+0)	Blackwell 45'			Stadium: Rare Breed Meat Co. Stadium Attendance: 148

Sutton United v West Ham United U21

17 December 2024	Sutton United	0–2	West Ham United U21	Sutton
GMT (UTC+0)		Report	Ajala 29' Robinson 82'	Stadium: VBS Community Stadium Attendance: 1,164 Referee: Matthew Russell

Ebbsfleet United v West Ham United U21

7 January 2025	Ebbsfleet United	1–2	West Ham United U21	Northfleet
GMT (UTC+0)	Odokonyero 86'	Report	Ajala 9' Simon-Swyer 55'	Stadium: Kuflink Stadium Attendance: 508

Ebbsfleet United v Nottingham Forest U21

21 January 2025	Ebbsfleet United	1–1 (2–1 p)	Nottingham Forest U21	Northfleet
19:00 GMT (UTC+0)	Thomas 90+2'	Report	McAdam 84'	Stadium: Kuflink Stadium Attendance: 215 Referee: Stephen Parkinson
	Penalties
	Bingham Thomas Moncur Tanga		Norkett Berry Sinclair McAdam Thompson

Sutton United v West Bromwich Albion U21

21 January 2025	Sutton United	2–2 (3–1 p)	West Bromwich Albion U21	Sutton
19:30 GMT (UTC+0)	Boateng 24' Coley 29'	Report	Mandey 14', 55'	Stadium: VBS Community Stadium Attendance: 657 Referee: Richard Aspinall
	Penalties
	Simper Trickett Moore Boateng		Deeming Williams Dupont Richards

Dagenham & Redbridge v West Ham United U21

21 January 2025	Dagenham & Redbridge	2–0	West Ham United U21	Dagenham
19:45 GMT (UTC+0)	Pereira 3' (pen.) Mahorn 52'	Report		Stadium: Chigwell Construction Stadium Attendance: 733 Referee: Paul Johnson

Braintree Town v Tottenham Hotspur U21

29 January 2025	Braintree Town	3–1	Tottenham Hotspur U21	Braintree
19:45 GMT (UTC+0)	Cooper 28', 45' Lisbie 82' (pen.)	Report	Irow 76'	Stadium: Rare Breed Meat Co. Stadium Attendance: 543 Referee: Jason Richardson

Sutton United v Nottingham Forest U21

4 February 2025	Sutton United	3–2	Nottingham Forest U21	Sutton
19:30 GMT (UTC+0)	De Silva 10' Kirk 16' Boateng 75' (pen.)	Report	Fletcher 39' McAdam 90'	Stadium: VBS Community Stadium Attendance: 723 Referee: Jason Richardson

Quarter-finals

Teams who played in the same group in the group stage are kept apart. The draw was completed on 13 February 2025.^[12]

Qualified teams

Group	Winners	Runners-up
A	Aldershot Town	Brighton & Hove Albion U21
B	Manchester United U21	Altrincham
C	Newcastle United U21	Leeds United U21
D	Braintree Town	Sutton United

Sutton United v Manchester United U21

25 February 2025	Sutton United	3–0	Manchester United U21	Sutton
19:00	Barbrook 27' Boateng 66' Wadham 68'	Report		Stadium: VBS Community Stadium Attendance: 1,729 Referee: Stephen Parkinson

Altrincham v Newcastle United U21

25 February 2025	Altrincham	3–3 (3–2 p)	Newcastle United U21	Altrincham
19:30	Reddin 6' Taylor 9' Amaluzor 89'	Report	Kuol 19', 57' Turner-Cooke 29' (pen.)	Stadium: Moss Lane Attendance: 623 Referee: William Davis
	Penalties
	Griffiths Reddin Cooper Kosylo Amaluzor		Harrison Stanton Turner-Cooke Neave Shahar

Aldershot Town v Leeds United U21

11 March 2025	Aldershot Town	1–3	Leeds United U21	Aldershot
19:00	Corbett 31'	Report	Chadwick-Chaplain 56', 71' Pickles 60'	Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 851 Referee: Harry Wager

Braintree Town v Brighton & Hove Albion U21

11 March 2025	Braintree Town	2–1	Brighton & Hove Albion U21	Braintree
19:45	Francis 1' Lisbie 52'	Report	Bashir 47'	Stadium: Cressing Road Attendance: 408 Referee: Aaron Farmer

Semi-finals

Leeds United U21 were the only remaining semi-finalist who plays in Premier League 2. The semi-finals were scheduled to be played on April 1st. ^[12]

Qualified teams

Altrincham (Group B)

Braintree Town (Group D)

Leeds United U21 (Group C)

Sutton United (Group D)

Altrincham v Leeds United U21

1 April 2025	Altrincham	1–2	Leeds United U21	Altrincham
19:30 PM	Amaluzor 66'	Report	Monteiro 38' McDonald 52'	Stadium: Moss Lane Attendance: 1,025 Referee: Gary Rhodes

Braintree Town v Sutton United

1 April 2025	Braintree Town	0–0 (4–5 p)	Sutton United	Braintree
19:45 PM		Report		Stadium: Cressing Road Attendance: 728 Referee: Stephen Parkinson
	Penalties
	Akinde Robinson Marshall-Miranda Langston Francis Clampin Pinnington		Simper Odelusi Topalloj Boateng Wadham Nadesan Vaz

Final

Main article: 2025 National League Cup final

29 April 2025

19:00

Sutton United	1–2	Leeds United U21
Simper 77'	Report	Monteiro 25' Gray 56'

VBS Community Stadium, Sutton

Attendance: 3,062

Referee: Sam Mulhall

Notes

1. Initially the 14 teams in the 2023-24 National League who were not promoted, plus the two teams relegated from League Two, were due to compete. However Barnet, Eastleigh, Hartlepool United, Solihull Moors and Southend United declined the invitation to the competition. AFC Fylde, Yeovil Town and York City also declined to compete, with the remaining teams from outside the top 16 from the previous season making up the numbers.^[2]
2. Reading were originally allocated to Group A.^[5] On 25 September, Reading withdrew citing lack of available players and due to the "higher than expected demands on the squad",^[2] adding the "original decision to enter [the competition] was made back in June".^[1][6] On the same day, Derby County confirmed their participation in the competition as Reading's replacement.^[7]
3. Premier League 2 side Reading withdrew from the competition and were replaced by Derby County.^[b]