In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but unable to command a place in the team itself as well as young players who need playing time to improve their skills before progressing to the first team. In some countries, reserve or development teams compete in entirely separate competitions from first teams, while some countries allow reserve teams or farm teams to compete in the same league system as their club's first team, although usually in separate divisions.
In association football
Reserve teams usually consist of a combination of emerging youth players and first-team squad players. These teams are distinct from a club's
youth team
In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or Sports league, league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team (a ...
, which usually consists of players under a certain age and plays in an age-specific league. In England, Argentina and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
the term ''reserve'' is commonly used to describe these teams. In Germany and Austria the terms ''Amateure'' or ''II'' is used, while ''B'' team is used in the
Spanish football league system
The Spanish football league system consists of several professional, semi-professional, amateur and non-professional leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation.
The top two tiers of the male league pyramid — Primera Di ...
, the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
,
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
, and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. In
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, these teams are distinguished by a ''2''. In
the Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, the adjective ''Jong'' (young) is commonly used.
In England reserve teams of professional clubs play in completely separate leagues and competitions such as the Professional Development League or 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 ...
, although further down the
pyramid
A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...
, reserve clubs feature in the same system as their parent clubs and can be promoted through the system. They cannot usually play in the same division as their parent team.
However, in other countries, reserve teams play in the same football league as their senior team and have competed in the domestic cup competitions. In
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
this has seen the reserve team of CD Málaga change identity and play in
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
, reached the
Copa del Rey
The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
final, qualified for the
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
and won the
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...
.
Bulgaria
Since 2015, the
Bulgarian Football Union
The Bulgarian Football Union ( BFS) is the governing body of association football in Bulgaria, and a member of UEFA since 1954. It organizes a football league, Bulgarian Parva Liga, and fields its Bulgaria national football team in UEFA and F ...
allowed Bulgarian teams to have reserve sides in Bulgarian football league system, obliged to play one level below their main side and also can not compete in the
Bulgarian Cup
The Bulgarian Cup () is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it.
The tournament's format is ''single-elimination'', with all matche ...
.
On 26 May 2023, CSKA 1948 II secured first place in Second League, the second level of Bulgarian football, becoming the first reserve team to become a champion of the league.
Clubs are also allowed have third teams in the league system.
France
In France, the reserve teams of professional clubs playing in
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
,
Ligue 2
Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...
Championnat National 2
The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a Association football, football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of French football league system be ...
if the club has a youth center or in fifth-tier
Championnat National 3
The Championnat National 3, commonly referred to as simply National 3 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fifth division of the French football league system behind ...
if a team doesn't have a youth center. Reserve teams have not been allowed to play the
Coupe de France
The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...
to serve the non-reserve team's interests.
However, if the first team plays or get relegated in the fourth-tiered National 2, the reserve team is restricted to a fifth-tiered level.
If a reserve team finishes first in his National 2 group, the promotion is awarded to the second. Additionally, if a reserve team finishes first in his National 3 group but the club doesn't have a youth center, the promotion is instead awarded to the second.
Some professional or amateurs clubs engage a third or even a fourth team in the
French football league system
The French football league system, also known as the French football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in France and Monaco, and includes one Spanish side. At the top two levels of the system is the Ligue de Footb ...
, especially in lower divisions. In some extreme cases, a fifth team can be engaged.
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...
final after their first team were eliminated in the Round of 16. They lost the final 1–0 to
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...
. In the
German football league system
The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for Football in Germany, association football in Germany that in the 2016–17 Season (sports), season consisted of 2,235 Sports_leagu ...
, however, reserve teams are not allowed to be promoted above the
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...
and since 2008–09 have not been allowed to play in the cup competition to serve the non-reserve team's interests. In the 2003–04 season, Bayern Munich's reserve team won the Regionalliga Süd, a semi-professional league then in the third tier of German football (now the fourth), finishing nine points clear of the second-placed FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt. Due to the rule which prohibits one club from having two teams in fully professional leagues, the third-placed 1. FC Saarbrücken was promoted to the Second Bundesliga instead.
Italy
In 2018, the
Italian Football Federation
The Italian Football Federation (, ; FIGC ), known colloquially as (), is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence.
It manages a ...
allowed the possibility for
Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
teams to register a reserve Under-23 team in the third-tier
Serie C
The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...
league, with only
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
AC Milan
(), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
became the third Italian club to form a reserve team, with the creation of Milan Futuro.
Japan
From the days of the old
Japan Soccer League
; JSL) was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL Cup, JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professi ...
, Japan allowed reserve teams to play in the main
league system
A league system is a hierarchy of sports league, leagues in a sport. They are often called pyramids, due to their tendency to split into an increasing number of regional divisions further down the system. League systems of some sort are used in ma ...
. Even today reserve teams of J. League clubs are allowed to compete in the
Emperor's Cup
, commonly known as or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...
.
Japan Soccer League reserve teams
These teams were never promoted to the top flight due to their senior squad's presence there.
* Toyo Industries/Mazda: Mazda Auto Hiroshima
* Furukawa Electric: Furukawa Electric Chiba
* Yomiuri Soccer Club: Yomiuri S.C. Juniors
* Yanmar Diesel: Yanmar Club
Reserve clubs were usually localized in the same city as their senior team and should not be confused with clubs from sister companies within a
keiretsu
A is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings that dominated the Japanese economy in the second half of the 20th century. In the legal sense, it is a type of business group that is in a loosely organized al ...
or otherwise, which were separate clubs competing for the same championships. An example is Toyota Automated Loom Works, founding member of the JSL in 1965, later relegated and now competing in the
Aichi Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...
Nagoya Grampus
; formerly known as is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, and have for all but one season since the inauguration of the league, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017.
Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture an ...
, founding member and mainstay of the J. League.
J. League reserve teams today
Most J. League reserve teams these days are in the corresponding regional league. The most successful was JEF United Ichihara Chiba Reserves, who competed in the then national third division, the
Japan Football League
The , also known as simply the JFL, is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League 100 Year Plan club sta ...
. (Furukawa Electric Chiba still exists but is no longer affiliated with the JEF club.)
Norway
In Norway, reserve football teams are permitted to participate at all levels of league football except for the two highest divisions, making the 2. divisjon the highest league they can enter. However, if the first team plays in the second-tiered 1. divisjon, the reserve team is restricted to a fourth-tier league, maintaining a league difference of two. Reserve teams bear the same name as their respective first teams with a "2" attached as a suffix. If a reserve team ends the season in a promotion spot to a league it cannot enter, that promotion is instead awarded to the best following team.
Scotland
Scotland has two reserve leagues under the umbrella of the SPFL Reserve League, where 27 of the senior clubs competed in its first year, only for several (including
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
and Rangers) withdrew to pursue their own programme of fixtures. The predecessor was the
SPFL Development League
The SPFL Development League was the top level of youth football in Scotland, which was contested in various formats between 1998 and 2018.
History
A youth league was founded as the Scottish Premier under-18 League in 1998. Clubs fielded under-1 ...
until 2018. It was described as a development league for under-20s, but teams could field up to five over-age players in each game.
Reserve teams (limited to under-21 players) of the clubs in the
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...
enter the
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Scottish football league system, but as of 2020 these have been rejected.
South Korea
The South-Korean R League serves as a dedicated competition for reserve teams and has been intermittently active since 1990, with several interruptions and format changes throughout its history. In its current form, the league has been played since 2016.
Spain
Reserve teams in Spain play in the same league pyramid as their parent club but may not play in the same division.What are Football Club ‘B’ Teams and are they Successful? Goal Profits, 20 December 2018 Since 1990 reserve teams are restricted to play in
Copa del Rey
The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...
, won the
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...
promotion play-off but were denied promotion because their senior team was already in the Primera División. The following season CD España Industrial, the reserve team of
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
, also finished as runners-up in the same play-off but were similarly denied. However, after winning another promotion play-off in 1956, España Industrial separated from FC Barcelona and were renamed CD Condal. The club were now able to be promoted to the Primera División. However, they survived only one season and were relegated in 1957. In 1968 the club rejoined the FC Barcelona family as the reserve team and eventually evolved into FC Barcelona B.
In 1983–84Castilla CF and Bilbao Athletic, the reserve teams of
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
and
Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...
respectively, finished as winners and runners-up of the Segunda División. Castilla, Bilbao Athletic and Atlético Madrid B finished third in 1987–88, 1989–90 and 1998–99 respectively. In normal circumstances, these teams would have all been promoted except for the fact that their senior team was already in the Primera División.
Copa del Rey
The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
final and qualified for the
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
. During their cup run, they beat four Primera División teams including
Hércules CF
Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Primera Federación and plays its home games ...
,
Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...
,
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...
and
Sporting de Gijón
Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...
. The latter two eventually finished second and third in the Primera División. In the final they played
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
but lost 6–1. However, because Real also won
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
, Castilla CF qualified for European Cup Winners' Cup. Despite beating
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
3–1 in the opening game at the Bernabéu, they lost the return 5–1 and went out in the first round.
=Málaga CF
=
Málaga CF
Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...
was originally formed in 1948 as Atlético Malagueño, the reserve team of CD Málaga. In 1992 CD Málaga was disbanded and two years later Atlético Malagueño were relaunched as Málaga CF. They were eventually promoted to the Primera División in 1999.
Thai Premier League
The Thai League (, pronounced as ') or Thai League 1 (, pronounced as '), often referred to as T1, is the highest level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai L ...
from 2016 onwards.
Ukraine
In Ukraine, there are two types of reserve teams, one doubles and the other () or second teams. The second teams compete in regular league competitions usually in the
Ukrainian Second League
The Ukrainian Second League (, ''Druha Liha'') is a professional football league in Ukraine which is part of the Professional Football League of Ukraine, a collective member of the Ukrainian Association of Football. As the third tier it was establ ...
or lower, some better have competed in the
Ukrainian First League
The Persha Liha ( ) or Ukrainian First League is a Ukrainian football league system, level of national football competitions (second tier) in Ukraine governed by the Professional Football League of Ukraine, Professional Football League at the disc ...
(such as FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv). Also some smaller clubs voluntarily would join bigger club as its farm (Ternopil-Nyva-2, Poltava-2 Karlivka, others), while other would be forced to be revived anew as the original club would be changed into a new better club. On rare occasions in the professional league competitions were allowed to compete some clubs' academies ( Sports school of Olympic Reserve (SSOR) Metalurh, FC Dnipro-75 Dnipropetrovsk, others). Until 1999 second teams and third teams were allowed to compete in the
Ukrainian Cup
The Ukrainian Cup ( ) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003–04 season, the Cup winner qu ...
.
Since 1999–2000 in Ukraine started to talk about reviving some kind of separate competition for such teams or youth competitions. In 2004 there was organized competition for the Vyshcha Liha teams doubles. Some doubles were formed out of already existing second teams, other clubs kept their second teams as well as created additional doubles. It certainly reduced the number of second teams in regular league competitions as well eliminated some farm clubs. In 2008, championship among doubles was transitioned to youth competition (under-21) as Vyshcha Liha was also transformed into Premier Liha. In 2012, there was introduced additional competition in Premier Liha, the under-19 championship (see Ukrainian Premier League Reserves and Under 19). All these youth competitions "cleaned" the lower league structure of the second teams, but some clubs continue field them at national or regional levels.
In Ukraine, second teams act same as farm teams and they do not have an age restriction as youth teams. Second teams are not allowed to compete in the same division with their primary team (senior team). On several occasions, the second team of Dynamo Kyiv ( Dynamo-2 Kyiv) won the
Ukrainian First League
The Persha Liha ( ) or Ukrainian First League is a Ukrainian football league system, level of national football competitions (second tier) in Ukraine governed by the Professional Football League of Ukraine, Professional Football League at the disc ...
, but was not allowed to be promoted to premiers where the primary team of
Dynamo Kyiv
The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...
competes due to the rule. As any rules there are some exceptions, the second team of FC Nyva Ternopil ( FC Ternopil) were allowed promotion to the same division after it lost its affiliation with the main club and promoted to professional ranks starting again from regional competitions.
As it was mentioned above, farm teams in Ukraine are not necessary denoted with ''2'' (or ''3''), but could be a separate club that have an agreement with another club. Among examples there are FC Karlivka that used to be called FC Poltava-2 (the second team of
FC Poltava
FC Poltava () was a Ukrainian association football, football club based in Poltava in 2007–2018.
History
The club was created by the newly elected mayor of the Poltava city Andriy Matkovsky (2006–2010) who was the club's Honorary President ...
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
, the highest level of competition in the
United States soccer league system
The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Although sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by a system o ...
, runs its own distinct reserve league,
MLS Next Pro
MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...
, which began play in 2022. Since the United States does not use
promotion and relegation
Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
, there is no risk of reserve teams having to compete against their parent teams. MLS Next Pro is officially designated as a third-tier league, and it includes a small number of independent teams not affiliated with an MLS team. Most reserve teams play in the same stadiums or the training stadium for their parent team, but several have been established in alternative or nearby markets.
Prior to the establishment of MLS Next Pro, most MLS reserve teams participated in the second-tier USL Pro league (now known as the
USL Championship
The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...
) from 2014 to 2022. The league is operated by
United Soccer League
The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...
, a separate organization from MLS, and included independent teams that signed affiliation pacts with MLS teams. A few other MLS teams fielded their reserve teams in the third-tier
USL League One
USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...
, also operated by USL, and some MLS teams never fielded a reserve side in either USL league. Prior to the arrangement with the USL, MLS ran its own reserve league, the
MLS Reserve League
The MLS Reserve League was a association football, soccer league for the reserve teams of Major League Soccer with teams in both the United States and Canada.
It was inaugurated on April 9, 2005, with the first official reserve game being a 2 ...
, from 2005 to 2014.
Since 2016, the U.S. Open Cup has only permitted one team to participate per organization, thus excluding reserve teams if its parent team is participating. MLS attempted to exclusively field its reserve teams in place of its first teams in the 2024 edition to relieve fixture congestion. This proposal was rejected by the U.S. Soccer Federation and ultimately resulted in a compromise where only eight MLS first teams would participate while the rest fielded their reserve teams.
National Rugby League reserves affiliations
The National Rugby League (NRL) is the top league of professional rugby league clubs in Australasia. Run by the Australian Rugby League Commission, however, there has not been a league-wide Reserve Grade competition since 1988, when the former ...
*
Farm team
In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...
*
Junior varsity
A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At High school, ...
* Scout team, team that practices against the main roster