Villarreal will play an under-21 tournament in England with the major leagues of Europe
The Premier League decided to organize an international championship under-21 in England (‘Premier League International Cup U-21’), with the goal of increasing and enriching the grassroots on British soil by providing superior training experience, along to the major leagues in Europe. In this first edition, the Premier selected the eight best ranked teams from the English youth league last season – a different system than the Spanish because in England the second teams play an independent league – and eight clubs with youth tradition in Europe, in the championships of Spain, Germany, Netherlands and Scotland, including Villarreal CF.
Villarreal CF will compete in the tournament with a base of players from Team B and the system of the competition will be as follows: 16 teams, grouped into 4 groups, will play only away games and the first two teams of each group will pass to the quarterfinals. For matches between two international teams it will seek a neutral pitch in England (the dates of the matches and the neutral pitches are yet to be confirmed).
The Premier League Managing Director of grassroots football, Neil Saunders, visited the facilities of the Academy and concluded an agreement with the CEO of Villarreal CF, Fernando Roig Negueroles.
Group A
Chelsea FC
Southampton FC
FC Porto
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Group B
Fulham FC
West Ham FC
Athletic Club de Bilbao
PSV
Group C
Manchester City
Leicester City
SL Benfica
Schalke 04 FC
Group D
Manchester United
Sunderland AFC
Villarreal CF
Celtic FC
