2024/25 UEFA Youth League

[amenina]

2024/25 UEFA Youth League dates, format

https://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/ne ... gue-dates/

The 11th edition of the UEFA Youth League, the first under a new format, runs from 17 September to the four-team finals on 25 and 28 April.

The UEFA Youth League reaches its 11th edition in 2024/25.

The contenders are split into two paths in the autumn, the UEFA Champions League path and the Domestic Champions path – both now expanded from the previous format. They come together for the knockout phase, running from the new round of 32 on 11 and 12 February to the traditional four-team final tournament between 25 and 28 April. The full list of contenders in both paths will be confirmed after the Champions League play-offs end on 28 August.

New format explained: https://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/ne ... m-2024-25/

Qualification
The competition is adapting to the format change of the senior UEFA club competitions and will include the 36 youth teams of the clubs which qualify for the league phase of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League (Champions League path).

The Domestic Champions path is restructured to include the domestic youth champions of all UEFA member associations; previously participation was limited to the top 32 associations of the ranking list.

If a club qualify for both the Champions League path and the Domestic Champions path, they automatically participate in the Champions League path and the vacancy in the domestic path is, in principle, filled by the runners-up of the same association. In case the runners-up also qualify via the Champions League path, the vacancy is not filled.

Youth League holders Olympiacos automatically qualify for the Domestic Champions path second round unless they qualify for the Champions League path.

Initial stages
The league stage will mirror the Champions League 'league stage' but limited to the first six matchdays, with the same matches played in both competitions (three at home and three away). The top 22 clubs will qualify for the round of 32.

The domestic champions path will consist of three rounds played under the cup (knockout) system with two-legged ties (home and away matches). The holders (if involved in this path) and the clubs of the top-ranked associations will enter in the second round (exact numbers depending on the level of entries). At the end of the third round, ten clubs will qualify for the round of 32.

Knockouts & final four
A single knockout phase will be played with one-leg ties starting with the round of 32. The clubs ranked 1 to 6 (Champions League path) will play against the clubs ranked 17 to 22. The clubs ranked 7 to 16 will face the ten clubs that qualify via the Domestic Champions path.

A further open draw will be held for the round of 16 onwards.

The tournament will, as before, conclude with a final four (semi-finals and final) played at a neutral venue.

Draw and match dates
UEFA Champions League path: league phase
Draw: 29 August, Monaco
Matchday 1: 17/18/19 September
Matchday 2: 1/2 October
Matchday 3: 22/23 October
Matchday 4: 5/6 November
Matchday 5: 26/27 November
Matchday 6: 10/11 December

Domestic champions path
Draw: 3 September, Nyon
First round first leg: 18 September
First round second leg: 2 October
Second round first leg: 23 October
Second round second leg: 6 November
Third round first leg: 27 November
Third round second leg: 11 December

Knockout phase
Round of 32 draw: 20 December, Nyon
Round of 32: 11/12 February
Knockout draw (round of 16 onwards): 14 February, Nyon
Round of 16: 4/5 March
Quarter-finals: 1/2 April
Semi-finals: 25 April
Final: 28 April

[amenina]

Regulations: https://documents.uefa.com/r/Regulation ... /25-Online

[amenina]

Access list: https://documents.uefa.com/r/Regulation ... ist-Online

UEFA Champions League path: league phase (36 teams)
Same 36 teams as UEFA Champions League league phase

Domestic champions path (maximum 54 teams)

Entering in second round
Title holders: Olympiacos
1. England
2. Spain
3. Germany
4. Italy
5. France
6. Netherlands
7. Portugal
8. Belgium
9. Scotland
10. Austria
11. Serbia
12. Türkiye
13. Switzerland
14. Ukraine
15. Czechia
16. Norway
17. Denmark
19. Croatia
20. Greece
21. Israel
22. Cyprus
23. Sweden
24. Poland
25. Hungary
26. Romania

Entering in first round
27. Bulgaria
28. Slovakia
29. Azerbaijan
30. Kazakhstan
31. Slovenia
32. Moldova
33. Kosovo
35. Latvia
36. Republic of Ireland
37. Finland
38. Lithuania
39. Armenia
40. Belarus
41. Bosnia and Herzegovina
42. Luxembourg
43. Faroe Islands
44. Northern Ireland
45. Malta
46. Georgia
47. Estonia
48. Iceland
49. Albania
50. Wales
51. Gibraltar
52. North Macedonia
53. Andorra
54. Montenegro
55. San Marino

Not entering
18. Russia (banned)
34. Liechtenstein (no domestic youth competition)

[pineapple stu]

I presume entry to the first/second round may vary depending on whether Olympiakos also win the Greek underage league? (Which I think they're doing at the moment). I think if a club qualifies for the CL group stages and has their underage team win the underage league, then the runners-up in the underage league qualify instead - assuring one team per country in the domestic path - but not sure if that applies where the double is Youth League/domestic league?

Any indications on which teams have qualified as yet? The wiki page isn't up and running yet. From what I can see, we have -

Norway - Stromsgodset
Israel - Maccabi Petah Tikva
Sweden - IFK Göteborg
Ireland - UCD
Faroe Islands - HB Torshavn
Northern Ireland - Cliftonville
Georgia - Dinamo Tbilisi?
Gibraltar - Lincoln Red Imps?

Soccerway has great info on the main leagues, though some like Scotland don't publish underage tables at all as it's felt to hinder player development, and info from around Azerbaijan down is very hard to find.

[amenina]

I presume entry to the first/second round may vary depending on whether Olympiakos also win the Greek underage league? (Which I think they're doing at the moment). I think if a club qualifies for the CL group stages and has their underage team win the underage league, then the runners-up in the underage league qualify instead - assuring one team per country in the domestic path - but not sure if that applies where the double is Youth League/domestic league?

Hello, good question. Here are the possibilities according to Article 3 of the regulations: https://documents.uefa.com/r/Regulation ... ion-Online

1. If the senior team of Olympiacos qualify for the UCL league stage (i.e., they win the Greek senior league and then qualify through the qualifying rounds)

- Olympiacos will enter the Youth League UEFA Champions League path. In this case, the title holder spot in the domestic champions path will not be used, and the two domestic champions of the highest-ranked associations which would have entered the first round will now enter the second round.

- The champions of the Greek youth league enter the domestic champions path.

= If the youth team of Olympiacos also win the Greek youth league, then the runners-up of the Greek youth league will enter the domestic champions path.

2. If the senior team of Olympiacos do not qualify for the UCL league stage

- Olympiacos will enter the domestic champions path, and as the title holders, they will enter the second round.

- The champions of the Greek youth league also enter the domestic champions path.

- However, if the youth team of Olympiacos also win the Greek youth league, then the runners-up of the Greek youth league will NOT enter the domestic champions path. In this case, the Greek youth champions spot in the domestic champions path will not be used, and the two domestic champions of the highest-ranked associations which would have entered the first round will now enter the second round.

[amenina]

Any indications on which teams have qualified as yet? The wiki page isn't up and running yet. From what I can see, we have -

Norway - Stromsgodset
Israel - Maccabi Petah Tikva
Sweden - IFK Göteborg
Ireland - UCD
Faroe Islands - HB Torshavn
Northern Ireland - Cliftonville
Georgia - Dinamo Tbilisi?
Gibraltar - Lincoln Red Imps?

Soccerway has great info on the main leagues, though some like Scotland don't publish underage tables at all as it's felt to hinder player development, and info from around Azerbaijan down is very hard to find.

These are the youth leagues that were decided in 2023 (I am assuming these youth leagues are the designated ones by the national associations):

16. Norway: Strømsgodset (NM G19 Telenor Cup)
https://www.fotball.no/turneringer/nm-g ... pfyllelse/

23. Sweden: IFK Göteborg (P17 Allsvenskan)
https://www.svenskelitfotboll.se/ifk-go ... lsvenskan/

35. Latvia: BFC Daugavpils (LJFČ U18)
https://lff.lv/zinas/17211/zinami-latvi ... as-grupas/

36. Republic of Ireland: UCD (MU17 League)
https://twitter.com/leagueofireland/sta ... 3ZKIA&s=08

37. Finland: Honka (P17 SM, aka B-junior league)
https://fchonka.fi/2023/09/tapiolassa-t ... puturnaus/

43. Faroe Islands: HB (U17 Dreingir)
https://hb.fo/foroyameistarar-2/

46. Georgia: Dinamo Tbilisi (U19 Gold League)
https://fcdinamo.ge/ge/news/?n=104800

So far I cannot find the relevant information for Iceland and Kazakhstan.

The youth leagues of Belarus, Estonia and Lithuania should be completed in spring/summer 2024 (even though their senior leagues were completed in autumn/winter 2023).

If soccerway (or other football score websites) do not have the info of the youth league, my suggestion is just to go directly to the country's football association website and see if you can find any info there. For example, you can find the Azerbaijan youth league here: https://www.affa.az/index.php/yarlar/gn ... /cdvl/2419

The Scottish youth league is weird because the SFA always gatekeep the youth league standings like the secret formula of Coca-Cola, but one can of course find all results and then do the standings on your own. Here are the results and (manually done) standings of CAS Elite Under 18 League 2023-24: https://rfcyouths.wordpress.com/under-1 ... e-2023-24/

[pineapple stu]

Thanks - very useful info there!

Ireland has definitely changed to being the U17 league winners qualifying, which is UCD (the only underage title Shamrock Rovers didn't win). See here - https://twitter.com/leagueofireland/sta ... 3ZKIA&s=08

And Cliftonville are confirmed for the North here - https://www.nifootballleague.com/news/2 ... champions/

I had found a few on the national association (or club) sites but evidently hadn't been looking as hard as you!

[amenina]

Thanks - very useful info there!

Ireland has definitely changed to being the U17 league winners qualifying, which is UCD (the only underage title Shamrock Rovers didn't win). See here - https://twitter.com/leagueofireland/sta ... 3ZKIA&s=08

And Cliftonville are confirmed for the North here - https://www.nifootballleague.com/news/2 ... champions/

I had found a few on the national association (or club) sites but evidently hadn't been looking as hard as you!

Thanks for your info on the Republic of Ireland changing their age group of the qualifying competition.

I will look more when I have the time on the other leagues. Please gladly share what you found on this thread.

[pineapple stu]

Not much more to share really. Lincoln Red Imps have won the Gibraltar U17 league - though I'm not sure if that's what decides Youth League qualification. They don't seem to have an U19 league though. https://www.gibraltarfa.com/competition ... 24-2493311

Similarly the Maltese U17 league is coming to the closing stages, but I'm not sure if that's what decides Youth League qualification. It might be the National Youth League; I don't know what age limit that is. https://stats.maltafootball.info/inhobb ... -17-league

Sheriff Tiraspol's site has info on the Moldova youth league - toggle the table on the right. http://www.fc-sheriff.com/en/akademiya/

Racing Union are leading the Luxembourg U19 league - https://www.f91.lu/tabellen-52513v4/lea ... easons/214

Can't find anything on Belgium, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Slovenia, Kosovo, Lithuania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia, Estonia, Iceland, Albania, Wales, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Andorra and San Marino. The rest (mostly top half of the UEFA rankings) are all on soccerway

[amirbachar]

I presume entry to the first/second round may vary depending on whether Olympiakos also win the Greek underage league? (Which I think they're doing at the moment). I think if a club qualifies for the CL group stages and has their underage team win the underage league, then the runners-up in the underage league qualify instead - assuring one team per country in the domestic path - but not sure if that applies where the double is Youth League/domestic league?

Hello, good question. Here are the possibilities according to Article 3 of the regulations: https://documents.uefa.com/r/Regulation ... ion-Online

1. If the senior team of Olympiacos qualify for the UCL league stage (i.e., they win the Greek senior league and then qualify through the qualifying rounds)

- Olympiacos will enter the Youth League UEFA Champions League path. In this case, the title holder spot in the domestic champions path will not be used, and the two domestic champions of the highest-ranked associations which would have entered the first round will now enter the second round.

- The champions of the Greek youth league enter the domestic champions path.

= If the youth team of Olympiacos also win the Greek youth league, then the runners-up of the Greek youth league will enter the domestic champions path.

2. If the senior team of Olympiacos do not qualify for the UCL league stage

- Olympiacos will enter the domestic champions path, and as the title holders, they will enter the second round.

- The champions of the Greek youth league also enter the domestic champions path.

- However, if the youth team of Olympiacos also win the Greek youth league, then the runners-up of the Greek youth league will NOT enter the domestic champions path. In this case, the Greek youth champions spot in the domestic champions path will not be used, and the two domestic champions of the highest-ranked associations which would have entered the first round will now enter the second round.

It's actually an unfair rule IMHO, Greece should have been given a second spot in CH path for the RU.

[Lorric]

At long last, England will have a team on the Champions Path. In the North, Manchester United have built an unassailable lead over their city rivals in 2nd. And in the South, Chelsea have built an unassailable lead over Arsenal in 3rd. West Ham are second, but it's highly likely Chelsea win, they'd have to lose their last three and West Ham would have to win their last two. So it should be either United or Chelsea.

United also won the cup, beating City in the final.

[amenina]

Not much more to share really. Lincoln Red Imps have won the Gibraltar U17 league - though I'm not sure if that's what decides Youth League qualification. They don't seem to have an U19 league though. https://www.gibraltarfa.com/competition ... 24-2493311

Similarly the Maltese U17 league is coming to the closing stages, but I'm not sure if that's what decides Youth League qualification. It might be the National Youth League; I don't know what age limit that is. https://stats.maltafootball.info/inhobb ... -17-league

Sheriff Tiraspol's site has info on the Moldova youth league - toggle the table on the right. http://www.fc-sheriff.com/en/akademiya/

Racing Union are leading the Luxembourg U19 league - https://www.f91.lu/tabellen-52513v4/lea ... easons/214

Can't find anything on Belgium, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Slovenia, Kosovo, Lithuania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia, Estonia, Iceland, Albania, Wales, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Andorra and San Marino. The rest (mostly top half of the UEFA rankings) are all on soccerway

Here are the info I know from these leagues. Again, disclaimer, these are the leagues the associations used to enter the 2023/24 UYL, and they may have changed to another league for 2024/25 UYL.

Belgium: The league is "U18 Elite". You can find the league on the web, it is currently at the championship play-off stage: https://www.worldfootball.net/schedule/ ... pieltag/5/ (although I am not sure if the points total on this page are correct since I think they should have added the points of the regular stage).

Cyprus: The league is "U-19 Youth Championship A' Division". You can find the standings at their FA website: https://www.cfa.com.cy/Gr/competitions/60868298

Looks like the league has finished and Pafos won it for the second consecutive year: https://www.cfa.com.cy/Gr/news/49054

Kazakhstan: The league is "Youth League 1, age category 2005-2006". The league should have been completed in the second half of 2023, and in previous years, the Kazakhstan FA usually posted news about who won the league of each age category, but they did not do so for this league last year. Due to the language it is quite difficult to find relevant information on the web, so perhaps I will try a bit more later.

Slovenia: In previous years, they used the points total of the U19 and U17 leagues to determine who qualify for UYL. Not sure if they will use the same rule again this season. Anyway, you can find standings of both leagues in their FA website.

U19: https://www.nzs.si/tekmovanja/?action=l ... d_menu=338
U17: https://www.nzs.si/tekmovanja/?action=l ... d_menu=355

Kosovo: Has never had a team in UYL before. Most likely they will use the league "Superliga U19" or "Superliga U17". You can find the standings at their FA website.

U19: https://www.ffk-kosova.com/superliga-u19-2023-24/
U17: https://www.ffk-kosova.com/superliga-u17/

Lithuania: The league is "EJL U18". You can find the standings here: https://lietuvosfutbolas.lt/varzybos/15 ... -i-etapas/

The league has completed the regular stage (double round-robin), and will now split into two halves, with the teams 1-6 playing the championship stage (single round-robin) to decide the title.

Armenia: The league is "Under-18 Championship". You can find the standings at their FA website: https://www.ffa.am/en/youth-football?qy ... B378%3B629

Although there are also other competitions, such as U18 Cup or U17 League, that the FA may use.

Belarus: The league is "U-18 Premier League". Unfortunately, their FA website only have the standings of the 2022/23 season, but not the 2023/24 season. But I found the latest standings from the Dynamo Minsk website: https://dinamo-minsk.by/press-centr/new ... e-viktorii

The league has completed the first stage (teams divided into West and East), and is now in the championship stage (Group "A", for 1-8 places) to decide the title.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: The league is "*U-19 Premier League". You can find the standings at their FA website: https://www.nfsbih.ba/takmicenja/nogome ... -bih-u-19/

Estonia: In previous seasons, their ranking is usually too low to enter UYL, so they will be finally having an entry this season (I think they may have entered once or twice before). Anyway, I think (although not 100% sure) they will use their U19 league to decide their UYL entry, which is actually available at soccerway: https://int.soccerway.com/national/esto ... al-stages/

Iceland: They also rarely played in UYL before because of their low ranking. There is a "U19 league" reported in soccerway, which consists of three rounds: https://int.soccerway.com/national/icel ... -a/r73016/

I do not understand what is going on there, so I am hesitant to say if this is the league they will use.

Albania: The league is "U-19 Superior". You can find the standings at their FA website: https://fshf.org/competition/u-19-superiore/

Although I must say I do not understand the standings. It seems all teams receive many penalty points.

Wales: They have never had a team in UYL before. So far I am not yet able to find any info on youth leagues at their FA website.

Okay I found a news article that says The New Saints U19 won the "Cymru Premier Development League North": https://www.bordercountiesadvertizer.co ... gue-title/

Maybe they will play against the champions of "Cymru Premier Development League South"?

North Macedonia: Used to have a team in UYL when their ranking was higher, but not in recent seasons. Unfortunately their FA website is down (and if I remember correctly, rather useless anyway). There is a fan website dedicated to their football leagues, you may try that: https://macedonianfootball.com/

Andorra: Another association which have never played in UYL. From their FA website, you can find standings of their leagues of different age groups, but I do not know which one they will use since there is no precedent, but probably the one that says "Youth League": https://www.faf.ad/pnfg/NPcd/NFG_VisCla ... upo=588621

Montenegro: Also have not had a team for many seasons. On their FA website, you can find the standings of their U19 and U17 leagues, I don't know which one they will use.

U19: https://fscg.me/takmicenja/prva-omladinska-liga/
U17: https://fscg.me/takmicenja/prva-kadetska-liga/

San Marino: Well I don't need to tell you that they have never played in UYL, right? And also I cannot find any relevant information on their FA website.

So here are all the information I can find so far. And, if you really want to have a definite answer, maybe I have one suggestion. We used to have a rather famous (or should I say infamous) forum member (who is not posting anymore in recent months), who will actually email the football authorities such as FIFA or UEFA if he (I assume not she) has any questions, and quite a lot of times he will actually receive a reply. So perhaps you can try to contact the individual FAs, but of course many of them are not English-speaking so perhaps you need to use an auto-translate tool first.

[amenina]

I presume entry to the first/second round may vary depending on whether Olympiakos also win the Greek underage league? (Which I think they're doing at the moment). I think if a club qualifies for the CL group stages and has their underage team win the underage league, then the runners-up in the underage league qualify instead - assuring one team per country in the domestic path - but not sure if that applies where the double is Youth League/domestic league?

Hello, good question. Here are the possibilities according to Article 3 of the regulations: https://documents.uefa.com/r/Regulation ... ion-Online

1. If the senior team of Olympiacos qualify for the UCL league stage (i.e., they win the Greek senior league and then qualify through the qualifying rounds)

- Olympiacos will enter the Youth League UEFA Champions League path. In this case, the title holder spot in the domestic champions path will not be used, and the two domestic champions of the highest-ranked associations which would have entered the first round will now enter the second round.

- The champions of the Greek youth league enter the domestic champions path.

= If the youth team of Olympiacos also win the Greek youth league, then the runners-up of the Greek youth league will enter the domestic champions path.

2. If the senior team of Olympiacos do not qualify for the UCL league stage

- Olympiacos will enter the domestic champions path, and as the title holders, they will enter the second round.

- The champions of the Greek youth league also enter the domestic champions path.

- However, if the youth team of Olympiacos also win the Greek youth league, then the runners-up of the Greek youth league will NOT enter the domestic champions path. In this case, the Greek youth champions spot in the domestic champions path will not be used, and the two domestic champions of the highest-ranked associations which would have entered the first round will now enter the second round.

It's actually an unfair rule IMHO, Greece should have been given a second spot in CH path for the RU.

Well, the title holders are only given an entry if they do not qualify on their own. So if Olympiacos already win their domestic youth league, there will be no second team from Greece in the domestic champions path. On the other hand, if Olympiacos qualify for the UCL path, there must be an entry for Greece in domestic champions path, so the league runners-up will enter.

Is this rule fair or sensible? I don't know. Just as I don't understand why if Bayern win UCL, Germany will have 5 teams in next season's UCL, but if Dortmund win UCL and finish 5th, Germany will have 6 teams in next season's UCL (if the media reports are true).

[amenina]

@pineapple stu These are the youth leagues decided in 2024 so far, from the info you gave me and others I can find:

21. Israel: Maccabi Petah Tikva (U19 Elite Division)
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?stor ... 3572410472

22. Cyprus: Pafos (U-19 Youth Championship A' Division)
https://www.cfa.com.cy/Gr/news/48788

25. Hungary: Puskas Akaedmia (U19 League)
https://puskasakademia.hu/?q=news/14894

29. Azerbaijan: Sabah (AFFA Youth League, U19)
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6N1M8uI8yQ/

44. Northern Ireland: Cliftonville (NIFL Academy League U18)
https://www.nifootballleague.com/news/2 ... champions/

45. Malta: Valletta (Youth League Section A)
https://www.maltafootball.com/2024/04/2 ... section-a/

51. Gibraltar: Lincoln Red Imps (U17 Championship)
https://lincolnredimpsfc.co.uk/news/u17 ... ?id=438902

53. Andorra: FC Santa Coloma (VITAL SEGURO Youth League)
https://www.andorraesportiu.com/lfc-san ... th-league/

[pineapple stu]

Oh cool - starting to roll in now. Be interesting to see how some of the smaller clubs do. Plus as a UCD fan, this is now starting to firm up who might be in our pool!

Cheers for that; there's some excellent work there