Birmingham City and the Vertu Trophy draw, ball numbers, prize money and Wembley date
Birmingham City are through to the quarter-finals of the Vertu Trophy after they edged past League Two Swindon Town on Tuesday night. Blues forced in a last-gasp winner from Alex Cochrane's corner after Ayumu Yokoyama's opening goal had been cancelled out.
Blues, who are the big favourites with the bookmakers to win the competition, are now in the final eight and remain in the southern section of the draw, meaning there are still four potential clubs they could play in the next round.
The draw is set to take place this coming Saturday, live on Sky Sports, prior to the Welsh derby between Cardiff City and Swansea City. Sky Sports’ David Prutton will host the draw alongside former Cardiff defender Sean Morrison and former Swans forward Lee Trundle. The games are likely to take place on Tuesday, February 4.
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The draw remains regionalised for this one final round. If Blues make it through and reach the semi-finals, the draw then opens up and all four sides have the possibility of playing each other. There remain a couple of games in the last 16 round to conclude - Leyton Orient play Stevenage on Tuesday 21 January and Port Vale and Wrexham face off on Tuesday 4 February.
Ball numbers
Northern Section
1 Bolton Wanderers
2 Bradford City
3 Rotherham United
4 Port Vale or Wrexham
Southern Section
1 Birmingham City
2 Cheltenham Town
3 Peterborough United
4 Leyton Orient or Stevenage
Prize money
Blues have banked a few quid already for their exploits in this competition; it's £10,000 a group stage win and £5,000 if it goes to penalties. Blues collected £25,000 for their haul in the groups as well as the £20,000 given to every club who entered the competition in the first place.
Since, they won £20,000 more when beating Exeter City in the last 32 and then £40,000 when easing past Swindon last night, accumulating more than £100,000 thus far. You get £50,000 for winning your quarter final and £100,000 if you win the final at Wembley, while the runners up get £50,000.
Key dates
Vertu Trophy Quarter-final – w/c February 3.
Vertu Trophy Semi–final – w/c February 17.
Vertu Trophy Final – w/c April 13.
