The competition began on 7 December 1999 and ended with the final on 16 April 2000 at the Wembley Stadium.
In the following rounds each section gradually eliminates teams in knock-out fashion until each has a winning finalist.
At this point, the two winning finalists face each other in the combined final to determine the winners of the Football League Trophy.
The teams that given byes to the second round are Carlisle United, Chester City, Chesterfield, Lincoln City, Macclesfield Town, Oldham Athletic, Rochdale and Scunthorpe United.
The teams that given byes to the second round are Bristol City, Bournemouth, Bristol Rovers, Wycombe Wanderers, Brentford, Peterborough United, Exeter City and Plymouth Argyle.