The 2001 Football League Trophy final was a football match between Port Vale and Brentford on 22 April 2001 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2000–01 Football League Trophy, which was in its 18th season, a cup competition for teams from the Second Division and Third Division of the Football League. The match was played at the Millennium Stadium, due to the ongoing reconstruction of its usual venue, Wembley Stadium. Each club had one previous appearance in the final of the Football League Trophy, Port Vale winning the competition in 1993 and Brentford beaten finalists in 1985.

Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in EFL League One but will play in EFL League Two in the 2024–25 season after suffering relegation. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal. They have never played top-flight football, and hold the record for the most seasons in the English Football League (112) without reaching the first tier. After playing at the Athletic Ground in Cobridge and The Old Recreation Ground in Hanley, the club returned to Burslem when Vale Park was opened in 1950. Outside the ground is a statue to Roy Sproson, who played 842 competitive games for the club. The club's traditional rivals are Stoke City, and games between the two are known as the Potteries derby.