Nottingham Forest Under-21s will begin their EFL Trophy campaign with a clash against Harrogate Town in September.
The Reds have accepted an invitation to participate in the competition for the 2023/24 season. It will be the first time a Forest academy team has participated in the tournament.
They will face Harrogate, Carlisle United and Accrington Stanley in the group stage. And the dates for those fixtures have now been confirmed.
Forest will head to North Yorkshire on Tuesday, September 5 for their first EFL Trophy match, with a 7.45pm kick-off. They take on Carlisle on Tuesday, October 10 (7pm kick-off) and will then travel to Accrington Stanley on Tuesday, November 14 (7.45pm kick-off).
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All of the Reds’ group fixtures will be played away from home. Forest are one of 16 invited clubs to enter an Under-21s side in the trophy, joining all 48 teams from League One and League Two. The participants are divided into respective Northern and Southern section groups to begin with, with Forest in Group C of the Northern section.
Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers make up the list of invited clubs.
The Reds narrowly missed out on promotion to Premier League 2 Division 1 last season. They were toppled 3-0 by Leeds United at Elland Road in the Division 2 play-off final.
Bolton Wanderers are the current holders of the EFL Trophy. They beat Plymouth Argyle 4-0 at Wembley in April. Next season, the final will take place on Sunday, April 7, 2024.
