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Newcastle United and Sunderland are set to take part in next season’s EFL Trophy – the re-modelled Johnstone’s Paint Trophy – with their under-23 sides taking on League One and League Two teams.

The North East pair among 16 sides with Category One Academies who have been invited by the Football League to play in the EFL Trophy, which has the prize of a trip to Wembley at the end of it.

But the new tournament structure – which includes a regionalised group stage that kicks off next month – is highly controversial among Football League fans, with many calling for a boycott at what they see as plans to sneak Premier League ‘B teams’ into the lower leagues through the backdoor.

There will be 64 teams in the new-league competition. Newcastle and Sunderland are two of the clubs with Category One Academies invited to join in – Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Southampton, Stoke City, Swansea City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United are the others.

All clubs in the bottom two divisions must field at least five first teamers. Invited clubs must play at least six players who are under 21.

But lower league clubs feel it will cause fixture congestion and is another example of their interests being jettisoned in favour of those of the Premier League.

Perhaps to mitigate that, the EFL have boosted the prize pot. Clubs will be given £10,000 per win and £5,000 per draw during the Group Stage and £100,000 for the eventual winner.

EFL Chief Executive Shaun Harvey said: “The new format is intended to rejuvenate this competition and also assist the development of the very best young players in English football. This will help us deliver more and better home grown players which will deliver benefits to the national team and domestic league football at all levels.

“I believe this is the right time to pilot these changes to the EFL Trophy, which we will review at the end of the 2016/17 season following discussions with our clubs and having consulted with the other football bodies and supporter organisations.”

A Premier League spokesman said it was a “progressive move”: “The overriding aim of the Elite Player Performance Plan across the Premier League and English Football League is to produce more and better home grown players capable of performing at first team and international levels.

“Participation for a selection of Premier League clubs’ teams to take part in the EFL Trophy is an important part of a range developments that both we and the EFL believe will help young, talented players progress physically and mentally on top of the technical aspect of their game developed in the Academy system.

“It is a progressive move by both leagues; one that we welcome.”

The format in full:

Group Stage:

- 16 groups of 4 teams organised on a regionalised basis.

- Groups to include one invited club and at least one club from each of Leagues One & Two.

- Clubs to play each other once, either home or away. Invited clubs will play one home game at the club’s first team stadium.

- Clubs will be awarded 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. In the event of a drawn game (after 90 minutes), a penalty shootout will be held with the winning team earning an additional point.

- The top two teams will progress to the Knockout Stage.

Knockout Stage:

- Round 2 (32 teams) will remain regionalised with each group winner being drawn at home to a second placed team from a different qualifying group.

- Round 3 (16 teams) and Round 4 (8 teams) will be ‘free’ draws.

- Semi-finals (4 teams) will be a ‘free’ draw and will consist of single ties played at the stadium of the club drawn first in each tie.

- If scores are level after 90 minutes in Rounds 2, 3 and 4, the game will be determined by the taking of penalties. The EFL will confirm arrangements for the Semi-Finals and Final in due course following further consultation.