Youth League (India)
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The Youth League, also known as Hero Youth League for sponsorship reasons, is a system of youth football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the All India Football Federation. It consists of 3 age groups competitions: U17 (Elite Youth League), U15 (Junior League) and U13 (Sub-Junior League).
| Founded | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Divisions | Elite Youth League Junior League Sub-Junior League |
| Number of teams | 49 (Elite League) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Current champions | Youth: Classic FA Junior: Minerva Punjab Sub-Junior: RF Young Champs |
| Most championships | AIFF Elite Academy (3 titles) |
| Website | www |
History
The league was founded as the I-League U19 in 2008 which was to give youth teams of the I-League a national league to play in as at that time the I-League youth teams only played in state youth leagues. Clubs fielded Under-19 teams. 16 teams were split into four groups of four with only one group containing only three teams. At the end of the season the top team from the group stage would move onto the final group stage with the other group winners and play each other once. The inaugural winners were Tata Football Academy.[1]
The competition name was changed in 2012 to the I-League U-20,[2] because many U-20 players in the I-League were not getting any time in the senior teams. Teams will play those within their own group twice and again the top teams will move on to the final group at the end.
The U20 title however only lasted for two seasons before the All India Football Federation decided to switch the tournament back to an under-19 tournament from 2014 onwards.[3] From 2014, the format was changed where the tournament was divided into five region based zones, namely Kolkata, Mumbai, Shillong, Goa and Rest of India.
The competition once again changed in 2015–16 now played as U18 tournament. From 2017–18 season, the league was renamed as Youth League U18 and subsequently renamed to Elite League from 2018–19. Latest format change came with the introduction of Reliance Foundation Development League.
Under-17 level
| Current champions | Classic FA (1st title) |
|---|---|
| Most championships | AIFF Elite Academy (3 titles) |
| TV partners | AIFF (YouTube) |
| Current: 2022–23 | |
The Elite Youth League or the Hero U-17 Youth Cup was previously known as I-League U18, I-League U19 and I-League U20.[4] is the top level of youth football in India. It is contested between the under-17 sides of The I-League teams, Indian Super League teams, as well as other youth teams. The most successful team currently is AIFF Elite Academy, who won three titles. Minerva Punjab are the last known champions. On 7 December 2018 AIFF decided to change its name to Hero Elite League.[5][6]
Teams
The participants for the 2022–23 season are:[7]
| Zone | Teams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A Bengaluru | Alchemy International FA (Karnataka) | Parappur FC (Kerala) | Lakshadweep Football Academy (Lakshadweep) | Garhwal FC (Delhi) | Mumbai Kenkre FC (Maharashtra) |
| Group B Kolkata | ATK Mohun Bagan (West Bengal) | Sanju Football Academy (Sikkim) | FAO Academy (Odisha) | Minerva Academy FC (Punjab) | Football 4 Change Academy (Manipur) |
| Group C Patna | Alpha Sports Academy (Bihar) | Hyderabad FC (Telangana) | Odisha FC (Odisha) | Techtro Swades United FC (Himachal Pradesh) | Young Heroes (UP) |
| Group D Imphal | Classic Football Academy (Manipur) | Gauhati Town Club (Assam) | Shillong Lajong (Meghalya) | East Bengal (West Bengal) | Jamshedpur FC (Jharkhand) |
| Group E Hyderabad | Sreenidi Deccan FC (Telangana) | Mumbai City FC (Maharashtra) | Gandhinagar FC (Gujarat) | Silvassa United FC (Daman and Diu) | Jeppiaar Institute of Technology FC (Puducherry) |
| Group F Chohal | Punjab State FA U-17 (Punjab) | Kumaon Heroes (Uttar Pradesh) | Real Lona FC (Ladakh) | Real Kashmir FC (Jammu & Kashmir) | Himalayan FC Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh) |
| Group G Bokaro | Sail Football Academy, Bokaro (Jharkhand) | KR Football Leaders (Uttarakhand) | Rajasthan United FC (Rajasthan) | Madan Maharaj FC (Madhya Pradesh) | Adani Sarguja Football Academy (Chhattisgarh). |
| Group H Rudrapur | Corbett FC (Uttarakhand) | Ladakh Football Schools and Academy (Ladakh) | Chandigarh Football Academy (Chandigarh) | Sudeva Delhi FC (Delhi) | – |
| Group I Bhilai | RKM Football Academy (Chhattisgarh) | Premier Sporting Football Academy (Bihar) | Muthoot FA (Kerala) | Chennaiyin FC (Tamil Nadu) | The Diamond Rock FA (Madhya Pradesh) |
| Group J Goa | FC Goa (Goa) | Bengaluru FC (Karnataka) | ARA FC (Gujarat) | Zinc Football Academy (Rajasthan) | Churchill Brothers FC Goa (Goa) |
Structure
For younger categories, in most cases teams play each other in their respective zonal groups twice – home and away. At the end of the group stage, the top two teams go through to the final phase.
Those teams are divided into three groups and the group champions, along with the best second placed teams qualify for the knockout stages.
For Elite League, the latest tournament took place across ten venues, with single round-robin format in the group and knockout stage. The 49 teams from 29 states and union territories are divided in ten groups. Ten group winners and six best runners-up qualify for the knockout stage.
Past winners
| I-League U19 | |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Tata Football Academy |
| 2010 | Sporting Clube de Goa |
| 2011 | JCT |
| I-League U20 | |
| 2012 | Pune F.C. Academy |
| 2013 | Pune F.C. Academy |
| I-League U19 | |
| 2014 | Tata Football Academy |
| 2014–15 | AIFF Elite Academy |
| I-League U18 | |
| 2015–16 | AIFF Elite Academy |
| 2016–17 | AIFF Elite Academy |
| Youth League U18 | |
| 2017–18 | Shillong Lajong |
| Elite League | |
| 2018–19 | Minerva Punjab |
| 2019–20 | called off due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| U17 Youth Cup | |
| 2022–23 | Classic Football Academy[8] |
List of winners
| Team | U20 titles | U19 titles | U18/U17 titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIFF Elite Academy | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Pune U19 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tata FA U19 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| JCT | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Shillong Lajong U18 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Minerva Punjab | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sporting Club de Goa | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Classic FA | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Under-15 level
Junior League
| Current champions | Minerva Punjab |
|---|---|
| Edition | Winners |
|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Minerva Punjab |
| 2016–17 | Minerva Punjab |
| 2017–18 | Minerva Punjab |
| 2018–19 | Minerva Punjab[9] |
| 2019–20 | called off due to COVID-19 pandemic |
Under-13 level
Sub-Junior League
| Current champions | Reliance Foundation Young Champs |
|---|---|
| Edition | Winners |
|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Minerva Punjab |
| 2018–19 | RF Young Champs |
| 2019–20 | called off due to COVID-19 pandemic |
See also
References
- ^ "I-League U19 2008".
- ^ :::: The Aiff :::: 2012-04-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "AIFF's Emergency Committee meets in New Delhi". The All India Football Federation. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ "AIFF Moots U-15 & U-18 I-League For Clubs & Academies". I-League.org. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ 2nd Division League Teams selected to begin on January
- ^ "Tentative decisions for 2nd Division League, Hero Super Cup announced".
- ^ "49 teams to participate in AIFF Elite Youth League 2022-23". AIFF. 7 December 2022.
- ^ . thebridge.in. The Bridge. All India Football Federation. 31 January 2023. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ^ Shetty, Chittu (29 May 2019). "Hero Junior League final: Minerva Punjab pip Bengaluru FC to lift title for the 4th consecutive year". Football Counter.
External links
- Official website
- Hero Elite League