Professional Development League
The Professional Development League (PDL) is an Under-21 competition comprising of 20 Clubs from Category Two Academies.
A new format has been introduced for the 2025/26 Season which follows a similar format to Premier League 2 (Category 1 competition). The Professional Development League will be split into two stages, the League Stage and the Knockout Stage.
League Stage:
The League Stage consists of 20 Category 2 Clubs who are split into two regional groups with 10 teams in the North and 10 teams in the South. Each Club plays every team in their region twice, once home and once away and then each team in the opposite region once, either home or away. This equates to 28 fixtures per Club as part of the League Stage. All match results from the League stage are generated into one table, with the Club finishing in 1st position being crowned the Professional Development League Winners.
Knockout Stage:
Another addition for the 2025/26 season, is an end of season, cross-category, knock-out competition. The Clubs that finish in the top eight positions of the League Stage of the Professional Development League shall participate in the Knock-Out Stage alongside the eight Clubs operating a Category 1 Academy who finish in the 17th to 24th positions of the League Stage of the Premier League 2 competition. This will involve a Round of 16, Quarter Final, Semi Final and Final, all of which will be standalone fixtures. The winner of the Play-Off Final will be crowned the Professional Development League Champions.
As part of the League Stage, each Club must host at least five PDL matches at their main stadium during the season, which helps to enhance the matchday experience for the young players and fans.
Player Eligibility:
The Professional Development League is an U21 competition which is defined as: ‘a player under the age of 21 as of the 1 January in the year in which the Season concerned commences (i.e. for 2025/26 born on or after 1 January 2004).’ The minimum age of the competition is Under 16. Clubs are also permitted to include three overage outfield players and one overage GK in their squad, and there is no upper age limit on overage players.
Roll of Honour
2024/25
Professional Development League National Champions: Brentford
Professional Development League North Division Champions: Sheffield United
Professional Development League South Division Champions: AFC Bournemouth
2023/24
Professional Development League National Champions: Sheffield United
Professional Development League North Division Champions: Sheffield United
Professional Development League South Division Champions: Millwall
2022/23
Professional Development League National Champions: Millwall
Professional Development League North Division Champions: Sheffield United
Professional Development League South Division Champions: Millwall
2021/22
Professional Development League National Champions: Coventry City
Professional Development League North Division Champions: Sheffield United
Professional Development League South Division Champions: Ipswich Town
2020/21
Professional Development League National Champions: Birmingham City
Professional Development League North Division Champions: Sheffield United
Professional Development League South Division Champions: Bristol City
2019/20
Professional Development League National Champions: N/A
Professional Development League North Division Champions: Nottingham Forest
Professional Development League South Division Champions: Millwall
* Final league positions determined by Points Per Game methodology due to season curtailment
2018/19
Professional Development League National Champions: Leeds United
Professional Development League North Division Champions: Leeds United
Professional Development League South Division Champions: Ipswich Town
2017/18
Professional Development League National Champions: Bolton Wanderers
Professional Development League North Division Champions: Bolton Wanderers
Professional Development League South Division Champions: Crystal Palace
2016/17
Professional Development League National Champions: Sheffield Wednesday
Professional Development League North Division Champions: Sheffield Wednesday
Professional Development League South Division Champions: Charlton Athletic
2015/16
Professional Development League National Champions: Huddersfield Town
Professional Development League North Division Champions: Huddersfield Town
Professional Development League South Division Champions: Charlton Athletic