Radical youth shake-up revealed with U21 Premier League set for big kick-off
Posted Saturday, August 04, 2012 by Dailymail
A new Barclays Under-21 Premier League will be launched later this month aimed at bridging the gap between youth academies and first teams at England's top clubs.
The Premier League have confirmed the creation of the first national Under-21 competition which will kick off on Friday, August 17 when Chelsea meet Manchester City and Reading visit West Ham.
Up and away: West Ham, with starlet Daniel Potts, will launch the new tournament
The Premier League have confirmed the creation of the first national Under-21 competition which will kick off on Friday, August 17 when Chelsea meet Manchester City and Reading visit West Ham.
The league will be made up of 23 teams – 17 Premier League clubs and six from the Championship whose academies have also been granted category one status – and split into three groups.
The first will be made up of Arsenal, Blackburn, Bolton, Everton, Norwich, Reading, West Brom and West Ham.
Aston Villa, Manchester United, Newcastle, Southampton, Stoke, Sunderland, Tottenham, Watford will play in the second group.
And a smaller seven-team group three contains Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Wolves.
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