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United's youngsters to learn Papa John's Trophy opponents
Newcastle United will learn their Papa John's Trophy group opponents on Thursday.
United will be one of 16 Category One academies joining the 48 teams from League One and Two for next season's competition, which was won by Rotherham United's first-team.
Those invited clubs will field under-21 teams who will be placed into respective Northern and Southern section groups, with the EFL clubs placed into pre-determined groups prior to the draw. Consideration has been given to ensure travel time is minimised and recovery time is maximised for players.
Matchday one is scheduled to take place on the week commencing Monday, 29th August, with the second group stage fixture set to take place on the week commencing Monday, 19th September.
The young Magpies will then wrap up their initial fixtures on the week commencing Monday, 17th October and will qualify for the round of 32 should they finish in the top two spots of their four-team group.
Last term, Newcastle failed to progress from a group involving Sheffield Wednesday, Harrogate Town and Mansfield Town but did reach the last-16 in 2018/19, winning all three of their group games before defeating Macclesfield Town via penalties at St. James' Park before bowing out against Sunderland in front of over 16,000 spectators at the Stadium of Light.
The draw will take place live on Sky Sports News on Thursday, 23rd June at 11.30am (BST) before the draw for the first round of the Carabao Cup, with Newcastle entering that competition at the second round stage.