FA Premier Academy League

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The FA Premier Academy League is the top level of youth football in England. It is contested between the Academy sides of FA Premier League and Football League clubs.

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 playoffs 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 playoffs 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 playoff format was revamped in 2003-04, with only the four group winners proceeding to the playoffs.

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

[edit] Current participants

The participants for the 2006-07 season in the Under-18 League are:

Group A Group B Group C Group D

[edit] Past winners

  FA Premier Youth League 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]
  FA Premier Academy League (Under-18)  
2004-05 Blackburn Rovers U18s [11]
2005-06 Southampton U18s [12]

[edit] Footnotes

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

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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