How much Birmingham City and Peterborough United have earned from the Vertu Trophy as six-figure prize pot awaits

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Birmingham City and Peterborough United may be at opposite ends of the League One table, but they will be on equal footing at Wembley on Sunday for the Vertu Trophy final.

Birmingham secured promotion to the Championship with six games to spare after beating Peterborough on Tuesday evening but The Posh won’t take this as a sign to lose hope ahead of Sunday.

In fact, Peterborough can retain the Vertu Trophy after triumphing at Wembley last season against Wycombe Wanderers, making them well-equipped to tackle Chris Davies’ chart-topping Blues.

Clearly, Davies’ side will be favourites for the game, with Birmingham chasing League One history and Peterborough out to secure survival in the division. However, the tempting prize money on offer will have both teams at the top of their game.

• READ MORE: Birmingham City and Peterborough United’s route to the Vertu Trophy final

The Vertu Trophy explained ahead of Sunday’s Wembley final

Since 1981, sides in League One and Two have competed for the Vertu Trophy, commonly referred to as the EFL Trophy due to its various sponsorship deals through the years.

The competition starts with EFL sides split into 16 groups of four teams, eight ‘North’ groups and eight ‘South’ groups. Each group is also assigned one of 16 Category One academy sides from the Premier League and the Championship.

After each side in the group plays each other in midweek clashes starting from September, the top two go into the knockout stages, which remain regionalised until the semi-final stage, when the draw opens up.

The final is then hosted at Wembley Stadium, the home of English football, in April, giving fans the chance to enjoy a trip to the 90,000-capacity ground and hopefully see their beloved EFL side win a piece of silverware.

The Vertu Trophy prize money on offer for Birmingham City and Peterborough United

According to the EFL website, the eventual winners of the Vertu Trophy will earn more than just the glory and silverware, but a cool financial kitty to go alongside it.

The Vertu Trophy winners will receive £100,000 prize money for their glory, with the losing team collecting £50,000 to go with their runners-up medals.

Peterborough will of course be aware of this prize pot after winning at Wembley last season, thanks to a brace from Harrison Burrows, who moved to Sheffield United in the summer.

Alongside the money on offer at Sunday’s final, the Vertu Trophy has earned both Birmingham and Peterborough a solid sum already before a ball has even been kicked at Wembley.

The prize money per round in the Vertu Trophy is crucial for EFL clubs

Birmingham will be big spenders in the Championship after spending an eye-watering amount on their League One promotion-winning side already so the prize money may not mean much to them, but other EFL sides can truly benefit from the sums on offer.

So far, Birmingham has earned £155,000 for their Vertu Trophy exploits, with a single draw in the group stage against Walsall the only blemish on their record.

However, Peterborough have actually eclipsed their opponent’s prize haul in the competition, earning the maximum possible amount of £160,000 before collecting their money for the final.

The potential of over £250,000 for the winner for their full Vertu Trophy campaign will have made the extra midweek matches worth it, taking home a sum that could be the difference in securing a top target in the transfer window.