2022–23 Professional U18 Development League

The 2022–23 Professional U18 Development League was the 11th season of the Professional Development League system. There were 25 teams competing, divided into North and South divisions according to their region. Burnley U18s, Birmingham City U18s Did not return to the league after failing to retain category one academy status. Reading U18s left temporarily dropping to category 2 status.^[1][2][3] Manchester City U18s are two-time defending champions.

U18 Premier League

Season	2022–23
Champions	Manchester City U18s (4th Title)
Matches played	289
Goals scored	1,176 (4.07 per match)
Top goalscorer	Justin Oboavwoduo Manchester City U18s (18 goals)
Biggest home win	Manchester City U18s 8–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s (3 December 2022)
Biggest away win	Chelsea U18s 1–7 Fulham U18s (26 November 2022) Norwich City U18s 1–7 Chelsea U18s (14 January 2023) Southampton U18s 1–7 Crystal Palace U18s (1 April 2023)
Highest scoring	Newcastle United U18s 6–4 Leeds United U18s (28 January 2023)
Longest winning run	12 Matches – Manchester City U18s (7 January 2023 – 22 April 2023) West Ham United U18s (13 August 2022 – 14 January 2023)
Longest unbeaten run	16 Matches – Manchester City U18s (19 November 2022 – 22 April 2023)
Longest winless run	11 Matches – Leeds United U18s (9 November 2022 – 29 April 2023)
Longest losing run	9 Matches – Norwich City U18s (7 January 2023 – 1 April 2023)
← 2021–22 2023–24 →

North

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Manchester City U18s (C, Q)	24	18	3	3	81	23	+58	57	Qualification for the National Final
2	Sunderland U18s	24	17	2	5	63	30	+33	53
3	Manchester United U18s	24	12	8	4	56	39	+17	44
4	Everton U18s	24	8	9	7	43	41	+2	33
5	Stoke City U18s	24	9	5	10	31	39	−8	32
6	Liverpool U18s	24	9	4	11	55	54	+1	31
7	Derby County U18s	24	8	7	9	48	47	+1	31
8	Middlesbrough U18s	24	9	3	12	34	55	−21	30
9	Nottingham Forest U18s	24	8	5	11	37	43	−6	29
10	Blackburn Rovers U18s	24	8	2	14	37	56	−19	26
11	Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s	24	7	5	12	31	54	−23	26
12	Newcastle United U18s	24	6	6	12	42	54	−12	24
13	Leeds United U18s	24	5	5	14	44	67	−23	20

Source: ^[4]
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

South

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	West Ham United U18s (C, Q)	22	19	0	3	75	32	+43	57	Qualification for the National Final
2	Fulham U18s	22	12	4	6	70	39	+31	40
3	Crystal Palace U18s	22	11	6	5	60	41	+19	39
4	Chelsea U18s	22	11	4	7	54	42	+12	37
5	Tottenham Hotspur U18s	22	11	3	8	51	45	+6	36
6	Brighton & Hove Albion U18s	22	8	5	9	32	48	−16	29
7	West Bromwich Albion U18s	22	6	6	10	32	42	−10	24
8	Southampton U18s	22	7	3	12	45	58	−13	24
9	Leicester City U18s	22	7	3	12	34	50	−16	24
10	Aston Villa U18s	22	7	3	12	43	63	−20	24
11	Arsenal U18s	22	6	5	11	43	51	−8	23
12	Norwich City U18s	22	4	4	14	32	60	−28	16

Source: Premier League Under 18 Table
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

National Final

Manchester City U18s	2–1	West Ham United U18s
Oboavwoduo 76', 102'	Report	Kodua 29'

10 May 2023

19:00

City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester

Referee: Alex Sawden

Professional Development League 2

U18 Professional Development League 2

Season	2022–23
Champions	Barnsley U18s (1st title)
Matches played	283 (280 RS, 3 PO)
Goals scored	1,117 (3.95 per match) (1,106 RS, 11 PO)
Top goalscorer	Patrick Casey Charlton Athletic U18s (30 goals)
Biggest home win	Bristol City U18s 9–0 Hull City U18s (20 August 2022)
Biggest away win	Ipswich Town U18s 1–7 Millwall U18s (7 January 2023)
Highest scoring	Watford U18s 5–5 Millwall U18s (29 October 2022) Colchester United U18s 5–5 Swansea City U18s (26 November 2022) Swansea City U18s 7–3 Wigan Athletic U18s (29 April 2023)
Longest winning run	8 Matches – Peterborough United U18s (28 January 2023 – 25 March 2023)
Longest unbeaten run	14 Matches – Barnsley U18s (28 October 2022 – 11 March 2023)
Longest winless run	13 Matches – Birmingham City U18s (28 February 2023 – 5 May 2023) Watford U18s (25 February 2023 – 9 May 2023)
Longest losing run	7 Matches – Wigan Athletic U18s (25 March 2023 – 6 May 2023)
← 2021–22 2023–24 →

The 2022–23 Professional U18 Development League 2 was the 11th season of the Professional Development League system. 20 teams competed this season in the U18 Professional Development League 2. The 2022-23 Under-18 League 2, or Under-18s Professional Development League 2 as it is sometimes referred to, is Under-18 football's second tier, designed for those academies with Category 2 status. The league is split regionally into north and south divisions, with each team facing opponents in their own region twice both home and away and opponents in the other region once home or away. This results in both divisions playing 28 games. The sides finishing in the top two positions in both regions at the end of the season will progress to a knockout stage to determine the overall league champion. Burnley U18s, Birmingham City U18s returned to the league after failing to retain category one academy status. Reading U18s joined after temporarily dropping to category 2 status, but would leave after this season.^[1][2] Sheffield United U18s are the defending champions from the previous season.

Tables

North Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Barnsley U18s	28	21	4	3	81	34	+47	67	Qualification for Knock-out stage
2	Sheffield United U18s	28	18	2	8	57	32	+25	56
3	Peterborough United U18s	28	17	2	9	59	42	+17	53
4	Sheffield Wednesday U18s	28	12	7	9	45	42	+3	43
5	Crewe Alexandra U18s	28	10	8	10	50	45	+5	38
6	Coventry City U18s	28	10	6	12	47	55	−8	36
7	Burnley U18s	28	9	6	13	42	51	−9	33
8	Hull City U18s	28	6	3	19	41	79	−38	21
9	Birmingham City U18s	28	5	5	18	43	74	−31	20
10	Wigan Athletic U18s	28	5	2	21	30	72	−42	17

Source:

South Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Charlton Athletic U18s	28	17	3	8	84	47	+37	54	Qualification for Knock-out stage
2	Millwall U18s	28	15	6	7	67	47	+20	51
3	Cardiff City U18s	28	16	1	11	63	45	+18	49
4	Bristol City U18s	28	15	3	10	73	51	+22	48
5	Reading U18s	28	13	6	9	55	47	+8	45
6	Swansea City U18s	28	12	6	10	61	66	−5	42
7	Colchester United U18s	28	12	3	13	55	65	−10	39
8	Ipswich Town U18s	28	10	3	15	58	74	−16	33
9	Queens Park Rangers U18s	28	9	2	17	53	69	−16	29
10	Watford U18s	28	7	4	17	42	69	−27	25

Source:

Knock-out stage

Semi-finals

Charlton Athletic U18s	5–1	Sheffield United U18s
Anderson 10' Casey 17', 44' Kanu 21' Huke 41'	Report	Haughton-Parris 38'

12 May 2023

The Valley, London

Attendance: 397

Barnsley U18s	1–0	Millwall U18s
Nzondo 90+2'

13 May 2023

Oakwell, Barnsley

Professional Development League Two Play-Off Final

Barnsley U18s	2–2 (a.e.t.)	Charlton Athletic U18s
Chapman 40' (pen.) Doyle 117'		Rylah 49' Hobden 103'
Penalties
Pickard Monteiro Jalo Farrell Nzondo James	6–5	Anderson Kanu Kedwell Bower Casey Enslin

20 May 2023

12:00

Oakwell, Barnsley

EFL Youth Alliance

Football League Youth Alliance

Season	2022-23
Champions	North-East Division Harrogate Town U18s North-West Division Blackpool U18s South-East Division Luton Town U18s South-West Division AFC Bournemouth U18s Merit League One Luton Town U18s Merit League Two Northampton Town U18s North-East Division Championship Group Round Bradford City U18s North-East Division Lower Table Round Mansfield Town U18s
Matches played	619
Goals scored	2,375 (3.84 per match)
Longest winless run	20 Rotherham United U18s
← 2021–22 2023–24 →

The EFL Youth Alliance also known as League 3 is run by the Football League under the auspices of the Football League Youth Alliance. This league is where the Category 3 and 4 Academies play. 46 teams competed this season, 2 more than the previous season. Hartlepool United U18s returned after a 3-year absence. Stockport County U18s arrived after being promoted to the football league as a Category 3 Academy for the very first time. Brentford U18s arrived after they reopened their academy for the first time since 2016 as a Category 4 Academy. However, for unknown reasons Tranmere Rovers U18s left the league. For clubs that get relegated to the National League, they have two years to gain promotion back to the EFL. Otherwise, they lose their license with the League.

League stage

As of match played 6 May 2023^[5]

North-East Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Harrogate Town U18s (C)	20	14	3	3	40	16	+24	45	Northeast Division Championship Round
2	Bradford City U18s	20	13	2	5	56	27	+29	41
3	Grimsby Town U18s	20	11	3	6	41	35	+6	36
4	Doncaster Rovers U18s	20	11	3	6	40	39	+1	36
5	Burton Albion U18s	20	10	2	8	45	32	+13	32
6	Lincoln City U18s	20	8	5	7	56	51	+5	29
7	Scunthorpe United U18s	20	7	5	8	33	30	+3	26	Northeast Division Lower Round
8	Mansfield Town U18s	20	7	5	8	38	40	−2	26
9	Huddersfield Town U18s	20	7	1	12	36	52	−16	22
10	Hartlepool United U18s	20	4	2	14	14	48	−34	14
11	Rotherham United U18s	20	0	5	15	24	53	−29	5

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

North-West Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Blackpool U18s (C)	26	16	5	5	51	30	+21	53
2	Accrington Stanley U18s	26	15	3	8	76	46	+30	48
3	Fleetwood Town U18s	26	13	5	8	55	44	+11	44
4	Salford City U18s	26	13	4	9	58	45	+13	43
5	Oldham Athletic U18s	26	12	7	7	63	56	+7	43
6	Bolton Wanderers U18s	26	12	6	8	49	36	+13	42
7	Carlisle United U18s	26	12	5	9	46	46	0	41
8	Shrewsbury Town U18s	26	10	7	9	38	40	−2	37
9	Rochdale U18s	26	10	5	11	47	45	+2	35
10	Preston North End U18s	26	11	1	14	65	50	+15	34
11	Stockport County U18s	26	7	7	12	37	54	−17	28
12	Morecambe U18s	26	8	3	15	46	62	−16	27
13	Port Vale U18s	26	6	5	15	44	66	−22	23
14	Walsall U18s	26	3	5	18	28	83	−55	14

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

South-East Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Luton Town U18s (C)	20	18	0	2	84	12	+72	54	Merit League One
2	AFC Wimbledon U18s	20	13	3	4	50	25	+25	42
3	Stevenage U18s	20	11	3	6	44	35	+9	36
4	Gillingham U18s	20	10	3	7	42	36	+6	33
5	Sutton United U18s	20	8	4	8	31	39	−8	28
6	Cambridge United U18s	20	7	2	11	36	37	−1	23
7	Southend United U18s	20	7	2	11	31	60	−29	23	Merit League Two
8	Brentford U18s	20	7	1	12	27	50	−23	22
9	Northampton Town U18s	20	5	6	9	28	35	−7	21
10	Milton Keynes Dons U18s	20	7	0	13	29	51	−22	21
11	Leyton Orient U18s	20	4	2	14	20	42	−22	14

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

South-West Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	AFC Bournemouth U18s (C)	18	13	3	2	44	22	+22	42	Merit League One
2	Plymouth Argyle U18s	18	12	4	2	52	17	+35	40
3	Portsmouth U18s	18	11	3	4	44	27	+17	36
4	Oxford United U18s	18	8	5	5	40	27	+13	29
5	Swindon Town U18s	18	9	1	8	34	42	−8	28
6	Exeter City U18s	18	6	6	6	37	39	−2	24	Merit League Two
7	Newport County U18s	18	4	3	11	31	48	−17	15
8	Bristol Rovers U18s	18	3	5	10	22	40	−18	14
9	Cheltenham Town U18s	18	3	5	10	25	44	−19	14
10	Forest Green Rovers U18s	18	2	3	13	17	40	−23	9

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

Merit League Stage

The teams in the Southeast and Southwest Divisions played another 9 or 10 games to determine the champions of Merit League One and Merit League Two.

Merit League One

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Luton Town U18s (C)	10	6	3	1	21	11	+10	21
2	Swindon Town U18s	10	6	2	2	24	18	+6	20
3	Gillingham U18s	10	5	2	3	22	19	+3	17
4	Portsmouth U18s	10	5	1	4	18	12	+6	16
5	Stevenage U18s	10	3	3	4	19	14	+5	12
6	Plymouth Argyle U18s	10	2	6	2	19	15	+4	12
7	AFC Wimbledon U18s	10	3	3	4	18	20	−2	12
8	AFC Bournemouth U18s	9	4	0	5	21	27	−6	12
9	Cambridge United U18s	10	3	1	6	18	24	−6	10
10	Oxford United U18s	9	3	1	5	12	22	−10	10
11	Sutton United U18s	10	2	2	6	7	17	−10	8

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

Merit League Two

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Northampton Town U18s (C)	9	6	3	0	24	10	+14	21
2	Bristol Rovers U18s	9	5	2	2	19	13	+6	17
3	Leyton Orient U18s	9	3	4	2	18	21	−3	13
4	Exeter City U18s	9	3	3	3	24	18	+6	12
5	Brentford U18s	9	3	3	3	19	21	−2	12
6	Milton Keynes Dons U18s	9	3	2	4	18	16	+2	11
7	Newport County U18s	9	3	2	4	26	31	−5	11
8	Forest Green Rovers U18s	9	3	1	5	12	16	−4	10
9	Cheltenham Town U18s	9	1	6	2	16	16	0	9
10	Southend United U18s	9	1	2	6	21	35	−14	5

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

Northeast Division 2nd Phase

Only 4 games were played but they were added in the regular season averages.

North-East Merit Championship Group

These games include the regular season matches.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Bradford City U18s (C)	25	16	4	5	67	31	+36	52
2	Harrogate Town U18s	25	15	6	4	47	23	+24	51
3	Doncaster Rovers U18s	25	12	6	7	47	47	0	42
4	Burton Albion U18s	25	13	2	10	52	38	+14	41
5	Grimsby Town U18s	25	12	4	9	48	44	+4	40
6	Lincoln City U18s	25	9	6	10	62	62	0	33

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

North-East Division Lower Table Round

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Mansfield Town U18s (C)	24	10	5	9	51	49	+2	35
2	Scunthorpe United U18s	24	9	6	9	41	36	+5	33
3	Huddersfield Town U18s	24	8	1	15	40	61	−21	25
4	Hartlepool United U18s	24	4	4	16	21	58	−37	16
5	Rotherham United U18s	24	2	6	16	32	59	−27	12

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

See also

• 2022–23 in English football