For better promotion of young talent
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The German Football League wants to strengthen the promotion of young talent with a U21 league. On Tuesday, the general meeting decided without a dissenting vote to introduce the competition for the clubs in the Bundesliga and 2nd league for the 2026/27 season. The U21 league is a voluntary additional offer for the 36 clubs and complements the existing league system without the second teams being spun off.
“Top youth development is an important factor for the future competitiveness and attractiveness of the federal leagues. However, the results in the youth and transition areas have not been sufficient in recent years. Insufficient playing time for talents is one of the reasons identified by experts and commissions. With the new U21 additional competition, we are creating an additional short-term opportunity to offer talents more playing time at competition level and to specifically extend their training time. Further measures must and will follow,” explained DFL Managing Director Marc Lenz.
The U21 league is held in two independent series, with the best teams qualifying for a final tournament. The game should be played like the European Cup in the Swiss model, so the approach is similar to Premier League 2. In a half series, each participant should only play between three and six games against different opponents. The DFL only wants to work out the exact process in the coming weeks after surveying the clubs. A binding registration for the first half series from August to December must therefore only be made by June 15th.
No additional teams will be created for the U21 league. Rather, they are made up of players in the transition area from the U17 to U21 age groups. In order to offer the clubs the greatest possible flexibility, the squads should only have to be registered shortly before the respective games. In addition, up to four older players are allowed to play per club. In this way, the talented players can compete with seasoned professionals who, in turn, can gain match practice in the U21 league after an injury.
New U21 league will take place without spectators
In order to minimize travel costs and time constraints, the games can also take place at neutral venues if the cities are further apart. In addition, variable scheduling should be offered. Spectators will not be allowed in the U21 league to simplify organization. However, things could look different at the final tournament in summer 2027. A competition with spectators and media marketing is being examined.
The U21 league will primarily benefit clubs such as RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg, who no longer have a second team. The participants in the Youth League, on the other hand, could forgo taking part in the first half of the series due to the already tight calendar.
The introduction of the U21 league is the first major result of the expert group on the sporting future of German football that was set up last October to develop future priorities for football development and a package of measures. These include greats such as RB football director Jürgen Klopp, Bayern sports director Max Eberl, SGE sports director Markus Krösche, DFL managing director Marc Lenz, DFB sports director Andreas Rettig and 2014 world champion Sami Khedira.
