Jersey Mike’s takes over as EFL Trophy title sponsor in a five-year deal as the US sandwich chain prepares to open its first UK restaurants.
The American sandwich chain has signed a five-year title sponsorship deal with the EFL, turning one of English football’s development competitions into the Jersey Mike’s Trophy just as the brand prepares to open its first British restaurants.
There are gentler ways to introduce a sandwich chain to Britain. Jersey Mike’s has chosen football.
The American brand has become title sponsor of the EFL Trophy in a five-year agreement running to the end of the 2030/31 season, with the competition renamed the Jersey Mike’s Trophy immediately.
It is a sizeable opening move for a company preparing to make its physical debut in the UK this autumn. Jersey Mike’s first British restaurant is due to open on Argyll Street, just off Oxford Circus, with three more central London locations to follow before a wider expansion around the country.
Rather than arrive quietly with a shopfront and a few balloons, it now has its name attached to a competition involving League One and League Two clubs across England and Wales, plus invited Premier League Under-21 sides including Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City.
For a brand trying to become familiar in a new market, there are worse places to start.
A five-year bet on football communities
The deal has been built around community, which suits the geography of the competition rather neatly.
EFL clubs are rooted in towns and cities far beyond the usual collection of major metropolitan markets, giving Jersey Mike’s a route into both national exposure and local supporter communities as its UK operation develops.
Jersey Mike’s already has more than 3,300 stores across the United States and Canada. Its origins are rather less corporate: the business began as a neighbourhood shop in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, with founder Peter Cancro buying the original storefront at the age of 17.
That local identity remains central to the company’s positioning, including charitable activity and community involvement. The EFL evidently sees enough common ground for a partnership stretching across five seasons.
EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said: “The business has built its reputation on quality, service and supporting local communities, which makes this a strong fit for the EFL and our Clubs, who sit at the heart of towns and cities across England and Wales.”
More than naming rights
The Trophy occupies a slightly unusual piece of English football territory.
It offers League One and League Two clubs another route to Wembley while also providing competitive senior football for young players, including those from invited Premier League academies.
More than 270,000 supporters attended matches during the 2025/26 competition before Luton Town lifted the trophy at Wembley.
The development numbers are arguably just as important. For the second successive season, 43% of players named in starting line-ups during the 2025/26 tournament were under 21. That amounted to 1,189 players, with 692 of them eligible to represent England.
Another 123 EFL Academy players made their professional debuts during the competition.
The pathway goes rather further than giving teenagers somewhere to spend a Tuesday evening. Twelve members of the England squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup made their professional debuts in the competition, among them Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Reece James and Djed Spence.
That gives the new sponsor something more substantial to attach itself to than a logo board and a final at Wembley.
The ‘Super Sub’ launch
Jersey Mike’s is leaning enthusiastically into the obvious football pun.
Former strikers Charlie Austin and Cameron Jerome, both associated with the art of arriving from the bench and scoring goals, will join Cancro at Wembley for the partnership launch. Alan Pardew, who won the Trophy as Southampton manager in 2010, will also attend.
Yes, the incoming sandwich company has recruited “Super Subs”. Sometimes sponsorship practically writes the gag itself.
Jersey Mike’s branding will appear during the latest round of group-stage fixtures, giving the new identity an immediate introduction rather than waiting for next season.
The current campaign will conclude with the final at Wembley on Sunday 11 April.
An American brand with a British football platform
Cancro described the agreement as considerably more than a naming exercise.
“For us, this is about far more than putting our name on a trophy. Jersey Mike’s has always been rooted in community, and we see a real connection with the passion that football creates, bringing people together at every level of the game.”
For the EFL, there is another side to the arrangement. Birch said the partnership provides an opportunity to build awareness of the League in the United States while showcasing its football to a wider audience.
That makes this a two-way introduction: Jersey Mike’s gets an established football platform as it enters Britain, while the EFL gains a partner with thousands of North American locations and an obvious reason to talk about English football on the other side of the Atlantic.
The name on the trophy has changed overnight. The more interesting question is how much familiarity Jersey Mike’s can build before its restaurants begin appearing beyond central London.
For now, English football has acquired a new Super Sub — and this one comes with bread.
For more information, visit www.jerseymikes.co.uk
