1. FSV Mainz 05 will not play in the new U21 league introduced by the DFL. The Bundesliga club sees no advantages, but many disadvantages: questionable sporting standards, even more stress and structures that are different than the model from England.
The new U21 league decided on Tuesday (March 3, 2026) by the DFL on the recommendation of experts such as Jürgen Klopp is currently seen as an innovation for promoting talent. Hymns of praise like those from RB Leipzig were to be expected, where Klopp was Head of Global Soccer company. “We expressly welcome the introduction of the U21 league. Match practice at a high level is essential for the development of young talents”Leipzig’s sports director Marcel Schäfer was quoted as saying on the club’s website. “In the end, everyone benefits: the player, the club and also German football.”
The statements from Leipzig fit into the picture: the introduction of a U21 league as a voluntary additional offer for all clubs from the two federal leagues was unanimously approved by the 36 professional clubs. But what appears to be unanimous enthusiasm for the new format has now been put into perspective.
Mainz 05 does not want to participate
Criticism of the new youth league comes from 1. FSV Mainz 05. The club is considered a talent factory. Players from our own academy regularly make it into the Bundesliga. Mainz will not take part in the new U21 league. “Others are welcome to try it out – but based on our assessment of the current situation, it is out of the question for us“, says director Volker Kersting in an interview with Sportschau. He sees many disadvantages and no advantages.
Kersting’s criticism is diverse and is also based on his own experiences. Only recently has a similar format been tried out in the Rhine-Main area with clubs like Eintracht Frankfurt and Darmstadt 98. That is “backfired.” Mainz 05 with a mixed U17 and U19 team met a Darmstadt team consisting of U19 and professional players. “That didn’t help either of them.”says Kersting. Such a constellation could also exist in the future in the new U21 league, where up to four older professionals will be allowed per team.
Mainz 05 allows its talents who have not yet made it to the professionals to play in the U23 team in the regional league. There are also teams in the youth leagues for the U19 and U17, the DFB Cup for juniors, the association cup, performance comparisons, friendly games and tournaments at the highest level. “Enough offers”says Kersting.
Criticism of additional burden on young people
There are also numerous training measures to promote top talent. This includes taking part in the training of the professionals. The youngsters can learn more there than in a U21 league, which Kersting is one of “Game round” referred to as the valuable training experience. He could also “Don’t estimate what the performance level should be”.
Added to this is the additional burden on the offspring. “From my point of view, that’s not taken into consideration: When we talk about 16-year-olds, then we’re also talking about games during the week, up to 250 kilometers away“he says.”How many more days do we actually want to keep boys out of school?“
England a good role model?
The introduction of the new league was primarily justified by the supposedly successful English model. There are on the island Premier League 2 for U21 teams. League president Hans Joachim Watzke is there “a sea of talent” figured out.
Professor Arne Güllich, sports scientist at the TU Kaiserslautern and involved in numerous studies on talent development, comes to a different assessment. “We also address the central problems that we identify at German youth academies Centers of Excellence in England. They produce far more failures than successes; less than one percent of members make it into the top league.” As in England, the new U21 league is just an opportunity for individual late developers to get more playing time.
Already high pressure in the Performance centers
There would also be a similar value to that in Germany in terms of the impatient development of talent: more than a third of the talents would be exchanged from year to year in the youth centers. “Many young players are tried out, most of them are deselected after a relatively short time.” Quite a few talented people would suffer under this pressure,”up to clinically relevant problems: stress, Burnout – England and Germany are very similar in this respect too.“
The young Mainz boss Kersting doesn’t think much of the view of the island either. From his point of view will “too copied from England”. But there is there “completely different structures”also school-related: “We look abroad a lot and think, it’s good here, then it must work well here too.”
Where do the players come from for the new competition?
So far only the framework for the new U21 league has been set, many questions remain unanswered. For example, it is unclear where the players should come from, for example if a club already has a U23 team. Kersting points out that the number of young players per club is currently capped by the DFB.
A maximum of 24 players are currently allowed in the U19 if the club also has a U23 team. In the U17, only 22 players are allowed. He wonders, says Kersting, whether some clubs now have theirs “Inflate the professional squad” want to get around the restriction. “Or maybe at some point the proposal will come: We can’t play the round if we don’t have a few more players. And what happens then? That some clubs secure even more players in order to keep or have the best in their ranks? There’s a lot that doesn’t make sense to me.”
Other clubs are keeping a low profile
The DFL wants to work out the exact process of the new league in the coming weeks after surveying the clubs. It is quite possible that many clubs are currently keeping a low profile as to whether they want to participate in the league. At 1. FC Cologne, for example, they say that you first develop an attitude.
However, there is already a hint of skepticism when technical director Lucas Berg tells the Kölner Stadtanzeiger: “There are currently seven secondary representatives in the Regionalliga West. This means we already have twelve games only between U teams over the entire season at a very high level.”
No spectators allowed
Second division team Fortuna Düsseldorf has already canceled its participation in the U21 league. Bayer Leverkusen, which does not have a U23 team, avoids the Sportschau’s question as to whether the new league could ensure that fewer talents are sent away after the U19s in the future. We welcome the new league, but “We will first discuss internally how we will position ourselves”.
At Mainz 05 it becomes clearer and there are further points of criticism about the model in which no spectators are allowed. “The”says Kersting smugly, “It’s definitely a lot of fun for the players. The fact that even parents can’t watch – I don’t know if that’s helpful.”
The final round as an event: “Not healthy”
The Mainz youth boss also notices that the final round of the new U21 league should then be sold as an event: “What shouldn’t be marketed these days? But how early do we actually want to put our young people on a stage and raise them even higher? Personally, I don’t think that’s healthy.”
It is also a fact: the U21 league is not as new as it is currently sold. There have been several similar, ultimately failed attempts in German football: the DFB youth round (1979 to 1983) and the Bundesliga reserve round (1994 to 1997). As non-binding for the clubs back then as it is today. Volker Kersting remembers: “We were always looking for a reason not to have to play the games.”
