Despite vastly reduced numbers going through the turnstiles for the early rounds of this season’s revamped Checkatrade Trophy, more than 72,000 tickets have been sold for the final, between Coventry City and Oxford United. Sunday’s crowd at Wembley will fall short of the record for a Football League Trophy denouement – 80,841 watched Wolves beat Burnley in 1988 – but it is a significant increase on the 59,230 supporters who attended last year’s decider, when Oxford lost a thriller 3-2 to Barnsley.
The Football League is likely to see Sunday’s attendance as vindication for its much-maligned overhaul of the tournament, which has left fans of lower-league clubs nonplussed, but there is little doubt the appearance of two League One teams in the final has done them a huge favour.
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