| UEFA Youth League | |
| Organiser: | UEFA |
| Region: | Europe |
| Number Of Teams: | 64 |
| Current Champions: | Olympiacos (1st title) |
| Current: | 2024–25 UEFA Youth League |
The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the youth teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League group stage, plus the domestic youth champions of the best-ranked national associations.
The semi-finals and final matches have been traditionally played at the Colovray Stadium in Nyon, Switzerland, although for the 2022–23 edition, they were moved to the Stade de Genève due to increased interest in the tournament from the supporters of the participating clubs.[1] The winners are awarded the Lennart Johansson Trophy, named in honour of the former UEFA president.
The most successful teams are Barcelona and Chelsea, with two titles each. Chelsea won back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016, while Barcelona won the inaugural season of the competition and clinched their second trophy in 2018. The current champions are Olympiacos, who beat Milan 3–0 in the 2024 final.
In May 2010, UEFA organised a match, referred to as the "UEFA Under-18 Challenge", between the under-18 teams of Bayern Munich and Internazionale, three days prior to the UEFA Champions League Final between the respective senior sides. Internazionale won the match 2–0 with two goals from Denis Alibec. The match was part of "UEFA Grassroots Day", and acted as an inspiration for the UEFA Youth League.[2] [3] [4]
The teams in the first tournament, 2013–14 UEFA Youth League, played a group stage with the same composition and calendar as the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League group stage, and was held on a 'trial basis'.[4]
The eight group-winners and eight runners-up from group stage then participated in a knockout phase. Unlike the UEFA Champions League, the knockout phase had single-leg ties, with the semi-finals and final played at neutral venues.[4]
British media commented that the competition was formed to displace the NextGen Series.[5] [6]
In April 2014, Barcelona became the first champion, beating Benfica by 3–0 in the final-four held in Nyon.
After a two-year trial period, the UEFA Youth League became a permanent UEFA competition starting from the 2015–16 season, with the tournament expanded from 32 to 64 teams to allow the youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations according to their UEFA country coefficients to also participate. The 32 UEFA Champions League group stage youth teams retain the group stage format, with the group winners advancing to the round of 16 and the runners-up advancing to the play-offs. The 32 youth domestic champions play two rounds of two-legged ties, with the eight winners advancing to the play-offs, where they play a single match at home against the Champions League path runners-up. The round of 16 onwards retain the same format of single-leg ties as before.[7]
From the 2024–25 season onwards, the format of the UEFA Youth League will change to accommodate the changes to be seen in the UEFA Champions League, with some differences:[8]
| Titles | scope=col | Runners-up | scope=col class="unsortable" | Years won | scope=col class="unsortable" | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | Chelsea | 2 | 2 | 2015, 2016 | 2018, 2019 | |
| scope=row | Barcelona | 2 | 0 | 2014, 2018 | — | |
| scope=row | Benfica | 1 | 3 | 2022 | 2014, 2017, 2020 | |
| scope=row | Red Bull Salzburg | 1 | 1 | 2017 | 2022 | |
| scope=row | Porto | 1 | 0 | 2019 | — | |
| scope=row | Real Madrid | 1 | 0 | 2020 | — | |
| scope=row | AZ | 1 | 0 | 2023 | — | |
| scope=row | Olympiacos | 1 | 0 | 2024 | — | |
| scope=row | Shakhtar Donetsk | 0 | 1 | — | 2015 | |
| scope=row | Paris Saint-Germain | 0 | 1 | — | 2016 | |
| scope=row | Hajduk Split | 0 | 1 | — | 2023 | |
| scope=row | Milan | 0 | 1 | — | 2024 |
| 3 | 0 | 2014, 2018, 2020 | — | ||
| 2 | 3 | 2019, 2022 | 2014, 2017, 2020 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 2015, 2016 | 2018, 2019 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 2017 | 2022 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 2023 | — | ||
| 1 | 0 | 2024 | — | ||
| 0 | 1 | — | 2015 | ||
| 0 | 1 | — | 2016 | ||
| 0 | 1 | — | 2023 | ||
| 0 | 1 | — | 2024 |