Last updated on .From the section Football

Coventry City won the EFL Trophy for the first time in their history in April

Tottenham and Manchester City are among the new clubs who will play in next season's Checkatrade Trophy.

Premier League champions Chelsea will also enter an Under-21 side, as they did last season.

Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool have turned down the chance to participate.

The competition features 16 Under-21 teams from clubs with Category A academies, in addition to the 48 League One and League Two clubs.

Last season was the first time it was played under the new format.

Coventry beat Oxford in front of almost 75,000 at Wembley but prior to that the competition had been heavily criticised due to its low crowds, restrictive rules for the League One and Two teams, and the absence of most of England's major clubs.

Tournament regulations were tweaked in the summer, allowing greater flexibility in selection and fixture dates.

This has encouraged City and Tottenham to enter, in addition to Newcastle and Fulham, who are new entrants from last season.

Prize money has been increased to £3m per season, with the winner getting £100,000.

Tottenham head of player development, John McDermott, said: "We know the Checkatrade Trophy will provide a massive challenge for us and we look forward to testing ourselves."

The full list of invited under-21 sides is as follows:

Brighton & Hove Albion Reading Chelsea Southampton Everton Stoke City Fulham Sunderland Leicester City Swansea City Manchester City Tottenham Hotspur Middlesbrough West Bromwich Albion Newcastle United West Ham United

*new teams highlighted in bold