The Youth Team

Not every player needs a place in your matchday 18. The Youth Team is where you keep prospects and fringe players who aren’t ready — or aren’t needed — in the senior squad.

Promote and demote

You move players between the two groups whenever you like:

Promote a youth player from the Youth Team or his player profile when he’s ready to compete for minutes (and you have a roster spot for him).
Demote a senior player to the youth team to free up a senior spot without releasing him altogether.

You can filter the youth squad by position to find the player you’re after. Reach it from either Transfers or the Youth tab on Squad.

Youth call-ups are the one roster move available in every phase. When roster moves close for the run-in — the final weeks of the season, the playoffs, and the NoZo Cup — promoting and demoting between your senior and youth squads still works. It’s your only roster lever once everything else locks. The senior roster can hold 18 players during competitions, so promotion is unavailable when all 18 spots are occupied. During the offseason, the temporary 25-player roster limit applies instead.

Why keep a youth team?

Stash prospects. A promising young player can sit in the youth setup, develop over the offseasons, and be promoted when he’s grown into a first-teamer. Eligible draft picks can go directly to the youth team without a senior contract.
Manage your roster. With only 18 senior spots, the youth team is a place to park depth you can’t fit but don’t want to lose.
Cover the future. Draft picks and young signings you’re not ready to unleash can wait in the wings.

Academy size

Your youth academy holds 18 players. Each offseason, a new intake of 16–18 year-old prospects replaces anyone who aged out or was promoted, so you start every season with a full academy.

Academy players age out when they turn 26. The opening offseason screen warns you about any 25-year-old academy players and gives you one last chance to promote them before rollover.