From the 2023/24 season, Premier League 2 will be different from previous campaigns.
The competition, designed to offer talented young players an experience that closely replicates the first-team level and support their preparation for senior football, will see West Ham United U21s compete against 25 other development sides.
However, there are some small changes to the competition rules and here we explain how and why the season will be slightly different...
Which teams will play in the competition?
For the 2023/24 season, there will be only one division made up of clubs with “Category One” Academies.
At present there are 26 of such clubs: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Brighton, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Derby County, Everton, Fulham, Leeds United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Norwich, Nott'm Forest, Reading, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Brom, West Ham United, and Wolves.
What will be the new system and how will it work?
The involved teams will be divided into five pots based on performances over the past three seasons.
Fixtures will be determined by a draw made according to clubs’ positions in the five seeded pots.
There will be 20 games, with each team playing 20 regular-season matches throughout the season.
Teams will play each club in their own seeding pot once, as well as three to five teams in all other pots either home or away.
Results (three points for a win and one point for a draw) will generate a table ranking the 26 teams. After the regular season of 20 Matchweeks has completed, the top 16 teams will qualify for a single elimination playoff.
Teams will be drawn against each other based on their league positions, for example with the team finishing first facing the team that finished 16th. These will be one-off elimination matches with the higher-seeded team at home.
In addition, the teams finishing the regular season in the top 12 will be invited to take part in the next season’s Premier League International Cup competition.
Why is this change being introduced?
The Premier League have decided on the change following an extensive review of Professional Development Phase (PDP) competitions.
This sought to enhance the transition of talented Academy players into senior football, and engaged various stakeholders, including football directors, Academy managers, first-team coaches and Academy players.
The removal of relegation introduces positive jeopardy; it supports clubs making development-first decisions, and minimises the impact of relegation on future groups of U21 players. Also the experience of play-offs will open up to 16 teams rather than the four in Division 2 of previous seasons.
The single division format also provides greater flexibility to add or decrease the number of fixtures in future seasons, dependent on the number of teams in the league, as well as access to additional development opportunities, including matches against senior teams and international opposition.
When will the 2023/24 PL2 fixtures be announced?
The fixtures are set to be announced in the week commencing 31 July.
