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Reading Football Club's participation in the EFL Trophy and Premier League International Cup will start this month.
The EFL Trophy (formerly Johnstone's Paint, LDV Vans, etc) has been revamped to include 16 teams with Category 1 academies and the 48 clubs in League 1 and League 2. The Royals must enter a side which will feature at least six Under-21 players in the starting XI for each game.
The Berkshire side were drawn with in the same group as Portsmouth, Bristol Rovers and Yeovil Town.
Fixtures as follows:
Bristol Rovers – Tuesday 30th August, 7.45pm – Memorial Stadium
Portsmouth – Tuesday 4th October, 7.45pm – Fratton Park
Yeovil Town – Wednesday 9th November, 7.30pm – Madejski Stadium
The Royals are also participating in the Premier League Cup this season.
The competition is designed to be contested by Under-23 squads from some of Europe’s best youth teams. The 24 participating teams have been split into six pools of four, comprising of two English clubs and two from the continent.
Everton are the other domestic club in their group, while Athletic Bilbao and Hertha Berlin will be visitors. Each of the group winners will progress to the next stage, along with the two best-placed runners-up.
Fixtures as follows:
Everton – Thursday 18th August, 7pm – Haig Avenue, Southport
Athletic Bilbao – Wednesday 23rd November, 7pm – venue TBC
Hertha Berlin – Wednesday 14th December, 7pm – venue TBC