The Under-21 cup competition adopts the UEFA Champions League format to bring extra competitiveness to the Games Programme.
The Premier League Cup has been in place since it was introduced in 2013/14 to enhance the competitiveness of the Professional Development Phase calendar with knockout football alongside the regular league campaign.
The competition is in the UEFA Champions League style with 32 clubs in the main group stage comprised of Clubs from Category 1 – Category 4 Academies.
Player Eligibility
Like Premier League 2, the Premier League Cup is an U21 competition, with each team permitted to name three over-age outfield players and one over-age goalkeeper (there is no upper age limit for overage players) on their team sheet.
Competition Format
- Group stage The competition is split into eight groups of four clubs, with each team playing each other in their group home and away. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage.
- Knockout stage The knockout stages consist of a Round of 16, Quarter Final, Semi Final and Final, all of which will be standalone fixtures. If the matches are level after 90 minutes, they go to extra-time and then penalties if the teams still can't be separated.
Premier League Cup Winners
2013/14 Reading
2014/15 Southampton
2015/16 West Ham United
2016/17 Swansea City
2017/18 Aston Villa
2018/19 Everton
2019/20 N/A*
2020/21 N/A**
2021/22 West Bromwich Albion
2022/23 Brentford
2023/24 Fulham
2024/25 QPR
*Competition did not finish due to curtailment of season
**Competition did not take place