Youth competitions
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UEFA’s youth competitions offer a crucial learning platform for young players, on and off the pitch.
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The revenue generated by our senior competitions provides funding for UEFA to run six youth competitions. Whether nurturing young talents on the pitch or running educational sessions off it, each show how the principles of the European sports model drive the organisation of our competitions.
Player pathways
At some stage, every young footballer’s learning curve will include their first experience of playing in front of large crowds. By organising competitions at Under-17, then Under-19 level, our youth competitions provide promising young players with a step-by-step introduction to performing on the biggest stages in European football.
They also offer invaluable experience of international tournament football that will help Europe’s young footballers excel at the highest levels of the game. Since the UEFA Youth League kicked off in 2013/14, more than 800 players have gone on to play in one of our senior club competitions.
Developing players on and off the pitch
"That supply of talent coming into the first team, which then means that if you have a good supply; and you’re giving them the proper education to be footballers; and you give them the experience of playing in the Youth League, then you don’t need to always go and buy."
Sporting merit
In June 2023, we changed the format of our Youth League to give even more European clubs and players the chance to qualify.
The competition is currently contested by the youth teams of clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League group stage, plus the domestic youth champions of the best-ranked national associations. From the 2024/25 season, the domestic champions path will be expanded to include youth champions representing all 55 of our member associations – a significant increase on the current limit of the top-32-ranked associations. The Champions League path will also add four teams to its starting roster, matching the senior competition’s shift to a 36-team league phase.
New formats to raise standards
Like the senior game, we also evolve the formats of our youth competitions to improve the level of competitiveness.
In 2021, we allocated national teams taking part in our women’s Under-17 and Under-19 competitions across two leagues – A and B – based on their coefficient rankings. Each side now plays two rounds of matches with promotion and relegation directly linked to results. By guaranteeing a minimum of five highly competitive matches per season against similarly ranked teams, the new format has raised the standards of women’s youth football – with clear long-term benefits for the senior game.
"UEFA youth competitions are vital to the development of young female players. The impact can be seen with the senior national teams, with many of today’s most prominent players starting their international careers at women’s Under-17 level."
Reinvestment in football’s pyramid
Each season, we use our HatTrick development programme, which reinvests men’s EURO revenue back into all levels of the European game, to help national associations cover the costs of entering their youth teams in our men’s and women’s competitions.
HatTrick has also helped associations fund more than 400 projects through the UEFA elite youth player development programme as well as build 34 national training centres across Europe to prepare promising young footballers.
Social impact
Our youth competitions are about more than growth on the pitch. Each season, we organise educational initiatives that contribute to the all-round development of players, with clubs and associations encouraged to take part in social initiatives.
During the 2021/22 season, for instance, we briefed players from teams in the Youth League semi-finals and national team youth tournaments on anti-doping and match-fixing. The 2022/23 Youth League saw all 64 participating squads invited to watch and discuss at least one of the five episodes of our OUTRAGED documentary series – an exploration of racism, sexism, homophobia, refugee discrimination and online abuse through the personal experiences of well-known footballers.
Each season, we also award each competing club a €500 UEFA grant to participate in social initiatives, encouraging young players to fully appreciate football’s strong roots in local communities. In 2022/23, Manchester United’s squad conducted mental health education and awareness sessions at local high schools partnered with the Manchester United Foundation. Other initiatives saw clubs supporting the adoption of abandoned pets (Hajduk Split) and backing local cancer charities (Deportivo).
Sporting integrity
Our club licensing and financial sustainability regulations are not just aimed at the senior game. Since June 2022, we require all clubs taking part in our competitions to meet UEFA standards on youth development, coaching and social responsibility.
The first-ever licensing regulations for the women’s game, approved in 2022, oblige clubs that qualify for the UEFA Women’s Champions League to invest in increased support for youth development. We also raised the number of mandatory youth teams.