Premier Academy League

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Premier Academy League
Premier Academy League
Country Flag of England England
Founded 1997
Divisions 4
Number of teams 41
Relegation to Football League Youth Alliance
Level on pyramid Level 1
Domestic cup(s) FA Youth Cup
Current champions Aston Villa U18s (2007–08)
2007–08 season

The Premier Academy League is the top level of youth football in England. It is contested between the Academy sides of Premier League and Football League clubs. It sits above the second tier of youth football, the Football League Youth Alliance, which is for Football League clubs with Centres of Excellence.

Contents

[edit] History

The league was founded as the FA Premier Youth League in 1997, replacing regionally-based youth leagues such as the South East Counties League as the top level of youth football. Clubs fielded Under-18 teams, with up to three Under-19 players allowed per match. 16 teams were split into Northern and Southern conferences of 8 teams each; teams played others within their own conference twice and teams from the other conference once. At the end of the season all the teams were paired into rounds of play-offs played over two legs in a knockout system. The inaugural winners were Arsenal, who beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on aggregate in the final.

The competition was revamped in 1998 with the introduction of the Football Association's Academy system and renamed the FA Premier Academy League. The competition was divided into Under-19 and Under-17 sections, and more teams were admitted - 32 in total, split into four conferences (two Southern, two Northern) of eight teams each. Teams played those within their own conference twice and the team from the other conference in their region once, again with play-offs between all teams at the end.

The U19 competition was expanded to 40 teams in five groups of 8 in 1999-00, before being reorganised into four groups of ten in 2000-01. The play-off format was revamped in 2003-04, with only the four group winners proceeding to the play-offs.

The league was reorganised yet again in 2004-05 season, with the league being reformed as a single Under-18 competition, with three Under-19 players allowed per team. Teams also compete at an Under-16 level in identically formed groups, but these are played as friendlies – no league table is maintained and no play-offs are contested. This format has remained to the present day.

[edit] Current participants

The participants for the 2007-08 season in the Under-18 League are:

Group A Group B Group C Group D

[edit] Current structure

[edit] Group A

Norwich City, Southampton and West Ham United play 20 group fixtures each, twice against all of the other teams in Group A. They also play 8 inter-group fixtures, against teams from Group B, C and D. The remaining 8 teams in the group, play 21 group fixtures - which means a single fixture in the group will be the third meeting between the teams in the season - and 7 inter-group games. Thus producing 28 games a season for all 11 teams.

[edit] Groups B, C and D

All teams play each other in the group twice, producing 18 games. They also play 10 inter-group fixtures.

[edit] Past winners

  FA Premier Youth League (Under-18) References
1997-98 Arsenal U18s [1]
  FA Premier Academy League  
Under-19 Under-17
1998-99 West Ham United U19s Blackburn Rovers U17s [2] [3]
1999-00 West Ham United U19s Arsenal U17s [2] [1]
2000-01 Nottingham Forest U19s Ipswich Town U17s [4] [5]
2001-02 Arsenal U19s Newcastle United U17s [1] [6]
2002-03 Blackburn Rovers U19s Leeds United U17s [7] [8]
2003-04 Southampton U19s Aston Villa U17s [9] [10]
  Premier Academy League (Under-18)  
2004-05 Blackburn Rovers U18s [11]
2005-06 Southampton U18s [12]
2006-07 Leicester City U18s [13]
2007-08 Aston Villa U18s [14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Arsenal Club Honours. Arsenal.com. Retrieved on 7 November 2006.
  2. ^ a b West Ham United Statistics. westhamstats.info. Retrieved on 7 November 2006.
  3. ^ FA Premier Academy League play-off final. This Is Lancashire (19 May 1999). Retrieved on 7 November 2006.
  4. ^ Players H - Paul Hart. Bridport Red. Retrieved on 7 November 2006.
  5. ^ Academy Roll of Honour. BluesWeb. Retrieved on 7 November 2006.
  6. ^ Newcastle United PLC Preliminary Results Summary. Newcastle United Official Website (2002-10-08). Retrieved on 7 November 2006.
  7. ^ Academy boys top of class. This Is Lancashire (2003-05-14). Retrieved on 7 November 2006.
  8. ^ Leeds United News - May 2003. leedfans.org.uk. Retrieved on 7 November 2006.
  9. ^ Academy Who's Who. SaintsFC.co.uk. Retrieved on 7 November 2006.
  10. ^ Everton U17s, 2003-04: Everton 1 - 1 Aston Villa. ToffeeWeb. Retrieved on 7 November 2006.
  11. ^ Under 18 Academy Team 2004/05. FONCY. Retrieved on 7 November 2006.
  12. ^ Under-18 Academy Team 2005/06. FONCY. Retrieved on 7 November 2006.
  13. ^ Under-18 Academy Team 2006/07. FONCY. Retrieved on 7 November 2006.
  14. ^ Under-18 Academy Team 2007/08. avfc.co.uk. Retrieved on 4 May 2008.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Premier Academy League seasons
v • d • e

2007–08 • 2008–09
Premier League 2008–09
v • d • e

Arsenal | Aston Villa | Blackburn Rovers | Bolton Wanderers | Chelsea | Everton | Fulham | Hull City
Liverpool | Manchester City | Manchester United | Middlesbrough | Newcastle United | Portsmouth
Stoke City | Sunderland | Tottenham Hotspur | West Bromwich Albion | West Ham United | Wigan Athletic
Premier League seasons
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1990-91 | 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-00
2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10
Reserve and Youth football in EnglandFlag of England
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League competitions National teams Cup competitions
Premier Reserve League Under-21 FA Youth Cup
Premier Academy League Under-20 Pontin's Holidays League Cup
Pontin's Holidays League Under-19 Youth Alliance Cup
Pontin's Holidays Combination Under-18 List of County Cups
Football League Youth Alliance Under-17
Under-16
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