Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

is represented at Reserve level for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

by the Elite Development Squad, also referred to as just the Elite Squad, or EDS, a predominantly Under-23 side that replaced the previous (more senior) Reserve team in a move to focus on youth development post-academy. The club is represented at the Under-18 level by the Manchester City Academy team. Manchester City most recently won the 2023–24 FA Youth Cup, and finished as runners-up in the

2024–25 FA Youth Cup The 2024–25 FA Youth Cup was the 73rd edition of the competition. The competition consisted of several rounds and was preceded by a qualifying competition, starting with two preliminary rounds which was followed by three qualifying rounds for no ...

. Their Elite Development Squad are the current Premier League 2 champions.

Elite Development Squad

The Elite Development Squad have played in the Under 21 Premier League since the 2012–13 season and previously played in the Premier Reserve League North. Starting with the 2011–12 season, the EDS competed in the NextGen Series competition, a Champions League format tournament only open to a select group of 'Under-19' teams located in western Europe. The NextGen Series organisers invited the 16 teams competing in the inaugural season of this new competition based on which clubs were considered to have the best academies in Europe. At the time, the EDS continued to play fixtures in both the

Manchester Senior Cup The Manchester FA Senior Cup (originally known as the Manchester and District Challenge Cup, later the Manchester Cup) is an annual football tournament held between the clubs of the Manchester Football Association which was first played in 1885; ...

and

Lancashire Senior Cup The Lancashire County Football Association Cup (commonly known as the Lancashire Senior Cup) is an association football knockout tournament involving teams from Lancashire, England. It is a County Cup competition of the Lancashire County Footbal ...

plus several other matches and tournaments such as the

Central League Cup The Central League is a football league for reserve teams, primarily from the English Football League. For sponsorship purposes, it was branded as the Final Third Development League until the 2015/16 season. The league was formed in 1911 and i ...

. In 2016-17 the U-21 Premier League was renamed as

Premier League 2 The Professional Development League is a system of Football in England, English youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Th ...

and the age limit was raised to U-23. City won their first title at this level in the 2020–21 season and retained their title in 2021–22. The

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the under-19 teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions Le ...

launched in 2013–14, replacing the NextGen series, as a U-19 competition for the youth teams of Champions League participants and national champions at U-18 level. Teams fielded by City in this competition were therefore a hybrid of their EDS and academy squads. Their best performance to date has been a semi-final appearance in 2017–18. Manchester City has fielded a reserve team since 1892 when the reserves played in the Lancashire Combination. The reserves were champions of the Lancashire Combination in 1901–02. The club left the Lancashire Combination in 1911 to join the

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

upon its formation. The City reserve team then played in the Central League until 2000, winning it on three occasions in the 1977–78, 1986–87 and 1999–2000 seasons. In 2006, the club re-entered the Central League – now the Pontin's League (West) – but this time in order to provide games for the 'Under-17' age group of players. In recent seasons, Manchester City has purchased, registered and loaned young international players as part of their development strategy for the

City Football Group City Football Group Limited (CFG) is a British-based holding company that administers association football clubs. The group is owned by three organisations, of which 81% is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, 18% by the American firm Silve ...

. Although these players are officially Manchester City players, they have never made competitive appearances for City's senior or youth teams and may in future be transferred out before doing so. In 2022, FIFA have implemented new rules which will now restrict loans of this nature.

Home ground

The EDS play all of their home fixtures at the Joie Stadium.

Squad numbers

The squad numbers depicted for the EDS players in this article are the MCFC first team squad numbers – which means that these are the shirt numbers that the EDS players will wear if and when team-sheeted to play for the MCFC first team in either a friendly or competitive game. The current MCFC official first team squad consists of only about 20 players, however, the EDS players' squad numbers traditionally start in the region of the middle forties. For the

, players use the 1–11 numbering system whilst squad numbers (including player names) are used for the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

. The Manchester City first team squad numbers are normally assigned and published in late July during the close season and they stay the same for the entire duration of the upcoming season (meaning that a squad number that is assigned to a player in the close season who subsequently wears that number in a competitive match, but who later leaves the club during that same season, will not be assigned to another player during the remainder of that season).

Current squad

EDS players out on loan

These are EDS players who have previously made competitive appearances for the Manchester City Academy, EDS or First Team, or have been brought with the explicit intention to join the first team in future.

City Football Group players

These are Manchester City players who are usually on loan as part of the CFG development strategy, are yet to make a competitive appearance for the club's Academy, EDS or First Team, or are over the age of 23.

Reserve/EDS Manager history

Academy

Manchester City's Academy is responsible for youth development at the club, with the goal of developing young players for the future. The academy is one of the most revered in the country and since its new incarnation in 1998, it has produced more professional players than any other Premier League club.

History

The club's first youth team was set up by Albert Alexander in the 1920s, known as the 'A' Team. From 1951 the 'A' team competed in the Lancashire League against reserve and youth teams of other clubs from North West England. From 1955 a second youth team, the 'B' team, typically comprising younger players than the 'A' team, competed in Division Two of the Lancashire League. Youth football in England was restructured by

the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

in 1997, with the introduction of the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

system. Current International Youth Academy Director

Jim Cassell James Cassell (born 23 April 1947) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder, and later worked as the youth academy director at Manchester City. He has been responsible for the development of players such as Shaun Wright-Phillip ...

joined from

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

in July 1997 and was responsible for building Manchester City's youth structure, which gained Academy accreditation in 1998. In its new incarnation, the 'A' and 'B' teams were replaced with 'Under-19' and 'Under-17' teams, which competed in the FA Premier Youth League. Since gaining FA approval in 1998 the academy has produced 84 players for Manchester City's first team, 38 of whom have gained full international honours, including

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

internationals

Shaun Wright-Phillips Shaun Cameron Wright-Phillips (born 25 October 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. He played in the Premier League and Football League for Manchester City, Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers, in Major Leagu ...

Micah Richards Micah Lincoln Richards (born 24 June 1988) is an English Association football, football pundit and former professional player who played as a right-back. Richards began his senior career with Manchester City F.C., Manchester City and made 245 a ...

Joey Barton Joseph Anthony Barton (born 2 September 1982) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Barton made 269 appearances in the Premier League, including 130 for Manchester City; he was most recentl ...

Daniel Sturridge Daniel Andre Sturridge Johnson (born 1 September 1989) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Since 2023, he has worked as a television pundit for Sky Sports. Sturridge was scouted by Aston Villa and played for ...

Phil Foden Philip Walter Foden (born 28 May 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester City and the England national team. Foden's breakthrough into professional football came in 2017 when he won the FIF ...

Cole Palmer Cole Jermaine Palmer (born 6 May 2002) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or Winger (association football), winger for club Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and the England national football te ...

and Rico Lewis.The academy not only produces players for Manchester City but also players that have the talent to make the grade elsewhere, with players such as Ben Mee who's had a successful career at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

and

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

Jadon Sancho Jadon Malik Sancho (born 25 March 2000) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger for Premier League club Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, on loan from Manchester United F.C., Manches ...

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

and

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Kelechi Iheanacho Kelechi Promise Iheanacho () (Igbo language, Igbo: ''Ịheanachọ'', born 3 October 1996) is a Nigerian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesb ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

and Kieran Trippier formerly at Burnley, Spurs,

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

and now at

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

Present day

Since the club was taken over in September 2008, with extra capital and increased ambitions the club looked to expand their successful academy further afield and City in the Community programme in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. In 2010, the Platt Lane complex was upgraded to include new facilities, such as a gym, changing rooms, as well as office and seminar space The club also launched an instructional video website aimed at helping the new skills of prospective footballers City announced on 19 September 2011 that they would build an 80-acre training facility, known since as the City Football Academy to cater for around 400 youth players at a time, the campus was opened on 8 December 2014, and has since become the base for all senior and youth Manchester City men's and women's teams.

Squad numbers

The squad numbers (if any) depicted for the academy players in this article are MCFC first-team squad numbers – which means that these are the shirt numbers that the academy players will wear if and when they are selected to play for the MCFC first team in either a friendly or competitive game.

Current squad

Out on loan

Academy Manager history

Academy graduates (1998–present)

:These are the academy players who have made at least one competitive appearance for the Manchester City first team. :Academy graduates who still play for Manchester City, including those that are currently out on loan to other clubs, are highlighted in blue. :''Updated 1 September 2022''

Retired from playing or unattached players

Active players

Honours

Elite Development Squad

**Winners (4):

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 2021–22,

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 2024–25 **League–phase winners (1): 2024–25 *

Premier League International Cup The Premier League International Cup is an English football competition for under-23 teams from across Europe. It was designed to provide players in English Category One academies with the opportunity to match themselves against other elite Euro ...

**Winners (1): 2014–15 *

The Central League The Central League is one of the two baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. Central League may also refer to: Association football (soccer) leagues * Central League (England) - an association football league in Engla ...

**Winners (4): 1977–78, 1986–87, 1999–00, 2007–08 *

**Winners (6): 1920–21, 1922–23, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1952–53, 1973–74

Academy

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

**Winners (4): 1985–86, 2007–08, 2019–20, 2023–24 **Runners-Up (9): 1978–79, 1979–80, 1988–89, 2005–06, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2024–25 * U-18 Professional Development League **Northern Division Champions (11) 1997–98, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2024–25 **National Champions: (4) 2015–16, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23 *U-18 Premier League Cup **Winners (2): 2018–19, 2019–20

Notes

References

External links

Manchester City official website
– Academy
Manchester City Official website
– ''Cityecademy''
The Manchester City academy way
– ''These Football Times'' (2016) {{DEFAULTSORT:Manchester City F.C. Reserves And Academy Reserves Football academies in England Lancashire Combination Lancashire League (football) Premier League International Cup UEFA Youth League teams NextGen series City Football Group