The Combined Counties Football League is a regional men's football league in south-eastern England with members in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Jersey, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the western half of Greater London, featuring a number of semi-professional clubs. It is sponsored by Cherry Red Records and is officially known as the Cherry Red Records Combined Counties Football League.
Manchester City is represented at Reserve level for football by the Elite Development Squad, also referred to as just the Elite Squad, or EDS, a predominantly Under-23 side that replaced the previous Reserve team in a move to focus on youth development post-academy. The club is represented at the Under-18 level by the Manchester City Academy team.
Birmingham City F.C. Development Squad and Academy are the reserve team and the youth development system of Birmingham City Football Club. The reserve team, established in 1879, played in the Premier Reserve League South in the 2009–10 season, but did not enter a league again until the 2012–13 season, when it was placed in the northern division of the newly formed Professional Development League 2, a predominantly under-21 league. The academy, established in its current form in 1999, trains boys in age groups from under 9s through to under 18s.
The Cardiff City F.C. Academy is the youth football academy at Welsh side Cardiff City. The category two academy has a range of players from ages 7 to 18. The Cardiff City Under-21 side is the highest age group of football other than the senior first team at the club, although the side is allowed to field up to three overage players and a goalkeeper. The age range was initially set at under-21 until 2016 when the limit was increased to players under 23 years of age. From the summer of 2022, the team once again became an Under-21 team. The side competes in the Professional Development League 2.
Portsmouth F.C. XI and Academy consist of the reserve and academy footballers of Portsmouth F.C.
Leeds United Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Leeds United's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. The team competes in the Premier League 2 and the Football League Trophy. The team host most of their home games at the club's Thorp Arch training complex, with some matches also taking place at Elland Road.
In addition to the Heart of Midlothian F.C. first team competing in the Scottish Premiership, the club also maintains a side in the Lowland Football League and various youth teams in their Academy setup.
The Huddersfield Town Development Squad is the reserve team of Championship club Huddersfield Town. They play competitively as the Huddersfield Town Under 21s in the Professional Development League 2 Northern Division, of which they finished 1st in the 2013–14 season, but then proceeded to lose the nationwide play-off semi-final against Queens Park Rangers.
Sunderland A.F.C. Academy is the collective name for the youth development squads of Sunderland Association Football Club, primarily the U18 and U21 teams. Sunderland have an 'Elite' Category 1 football academy based on the Elite Player Performance Plan and their teams are members of the Professional Development League.
Swansea City Association Football Club Under-21s is the most senior team of Swansea City's youth teams and are the club's former reserve team. They compete in the Professional Development League. The Under-21s play the majority of their home fixtures at the club's Youth Academy in Landore, with occasional fixtures taking place at the Swansea.com Stadium.
In addition to the Motherwell F.C. first team, competing in the Scottish Premiership, the club also has a reserve team who play in the SPFL Reserve League as well as younger age group teams in their youth system. They fielded a reserve team in defunct competitions for many years.
Stoke City Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Stoke City's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. The Under-23 team is effectively Stoke City's second-string side. They play in Premier League 2. The team also competes in the Premier League Cup and Staffordshire Senior Cup.
The Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) is a youth development scheme initiated by the Premier League. The intention of the EPPP is to improve the quality and quantity of home-grown players produced by top English clubs. Measures introduced by the EPPP to free up movement of younger players by establishing a hierarchy of association football academies in England and fixing the transfer fees between academies have proved controversial and some smaller clubs closed their academies in response to the changes.
The Professional Development League is a system of youth football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Football Association via the Elite Player Performance Plan in 2012.
The Reading Academy refers to the development teams of Reading Football Club. The club takes part in the Professional Development League system, with the Under-23 competing in the Premier League 2 – Division 2, and the Under-18 competing in the U18 Premier League – South Division.
Brentford F.C. Reserves was the reserve team of Brentford. The reserve team played at varying times from 1900 until 2011. During the 2012 off-season, the English reserve football pyramid and youth system was overhauled under the Elite Player Performance Plan and replaced with a new Academy system and development leagues. Brentford's reserve team was relaunched as the Brentford Development Squad in 2011 and in 2012 it began competing in Professional Development League 2 South. After closing the academy in May 2016, the club withdrew from the Elite Player Performance Plan and Professional Development League and launched a new Brentford B team. Following the first team's promotion to the Premier League in 2021, the club reopened its academy in time for the start of the 2022–23 season, under the Elite Player Performance Plan, while retaining the B team.
Doncaster Rovers Academy is the youth team run by Doncaster Rovers to encourage and develop young footballers in South Yorkshire.
Colchester United Football Club Under-23s are the under-23 team of Colchester United Football Club. They play in the South Division of the Professional U21 Development League 2, the second tier of reserve football in England. The team mostly consists of the club's under-23 players, although senior players have occasionally made appearances for the side, for instance, during recovery from injury. The team are coached by Richard Hall.
In addition to their first team competing in the Scottish Premiership, Aberdeen F.C. also maintain further teams for younger age groups playing in competitions such as the Scottish Challenge Cup and the Scottish Youth Cup within the club's academy.
In addition to their first team competing in the Scottish Premiership, Hibernian F.C. also maintain further teams for younger age groups playing in competitions such as the Scottish Challenge Cup and the Scottish Youth Cup within the club's academy.
