Stoke City Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

's youth teams and the club's former

reserve team 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 ...

. The Under-23 team is effectively Stoke City's second-string side. They play in

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 ...

. The team also competes in the Premier League Cup and

Staffordshire Senior Cup The Staffordshire Senior Challenge Cup is a football cup tournament based in the county of Staffordshire in England first competed for in 1877–78 (then under Sheffield Rules. Organised by the Staffordshire Football Association, it is competed ...

. They play their home matches at the club's main ground, the

bet365 Stadium The bet365 Stadium is an All-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City F.C., Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Bri ...

, St George's Park,

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

as well as the club's Clayton Wood Training Ground. In previous seasons the team has played at Lyme Valley Stadium in

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an association football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and from 1891 played home games at Moss Rose. It competed in the short ...

Moss Rose Moss Rose, known as The Leasing.com Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, which is the home ground of Macclesfield F.C., and the former home of Macclesfield Town F.C., a club wound up in Se ...

, Nantwich Town's Weaver Stadium and

Harrison Park Harrison Park may refer to: * Harrison Park (Leek), a stadium in Leek, Staffordshire * Harrison Park (New Jersey), a former baseball ground in Harrison, New Jersey * Municipality of Harrison Park, a rural municipality in Manitoba * Harrison Park, ...

Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

History

Stoke fielded a second team for the first time in a league competition,

the Combination The Combination was a league during the early days of English football. It had two incarnations; the first ran only for the 1888–89 season for teams across Northern England and the Midlands, and was disbanded before completion. The second ...

, in 1891–92, under the name of 'Stoke Swifts'. The Swifts also played in the

Midland League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midl ...

and the local North Staffordshire & District League, which they won on two occasions. The team joined the Birmingham & District League in 1900–01 and was renamed 'Stoke Reserves'. They temporarily had to return to local leagues in 1908 after the first team suffered financial difficulties and had to resign from the Football League, taking the reserves' place in the Birmingham & District League. They returned in 1911–12 and continued to play in it until they joined the newly founded

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 ...

, a specific reserve team only league. In 1925 after

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

was granted City status the second string became "Stoke City Reserves". They won the Central League title in 1927–28 and remained in the league until the 1980s when a Division Two was created. Stoke were relegated in 1984–85, gaining promotion in 1991–92, but suffered instant relegation in 1992–93, however promotion was achieved in 1993–94. The league was restructured in 1996 with Stoke now in the Central League Premier Division, dropping down to Division One in 1999–2000. They won Division One in 2002–03 and then won the Premier Division in 2003–04. Stoke remained in the Central League until 2008. Following the first team's promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

in 2008 the reserves joined the

Premier Reserve League The Premier Reserve League (officially known as The Barclays Premier Reserve League for sponsorship reasons) was the reserve team league for the top English football teams in the Premier League. The league was split into a northern and a southern ...

. In 2012 the Premier League implemented the

Elite Player Performance Plan The Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) is a youth development scheme initiated by the Premier League. The intention of the EPPP is to improve the quality and quantity of home-grown players produced by top English clubs. Measures introduced by t ...

and introduced the

Professional Development League 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 ...

, with reserve teams becoming under-21 teams. In The League was split into two in 2014–15, with Stoke playing in Division 2. In 2016 the league was re-branded Premier League 2 and the age limit increased to under-23. This was reverted back to under-21 from 2022–23.

Current squads

Under-21s

Out on loan

Under-18s

Honours

Leagues

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 ...

** Champions: 1927–28, 2003–04 ** Runner-up: 1934–35 ** Division One (West) champions: 2002–03 ** Division Two champions: 1991–92 *North Staffordshire & District League ** Champions: 1895–96, 1898–99 ** Runner-up: 1896–97 *

The Combination The Combination was a league during the early days of English football. It had two incarnations; the first ran only for the 1888–89 season for teams across Northern England and the Midlands, and was disbanded before completion. The second ...

** Runner-up: 1892–93, 1893–94 *

Midland Football League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an England, English association football, football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the form ...

** Runner-up 1894–95 * Birmingham & District League ** Runner-up: 1903–04, 1904–05 * North Staffordshire Federation League ** Runner-up: 1908–09 *

Football League Youth Alliance The Football League Youth Alliance is a youth football competition in England, consisting of four regional divisions. It acts as League 2 of the U18 Professional Development League system. Current structure North West Conference * Accrington ...

** Division Three North champions: 1998–99

Cups

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 ...

** Runners-up: 1983–84 *

Generation Adidas Cup The Generation Adidas Cup (previously known as the SUM U-17 Cup) is a competition run by Major League Soccer for all U-17 MLS academy teams. As part of the Homegrown Initiative, the Generation Adidas Cup focused on player development while provid ...

**Winner: 2013–14 *Altstatten International Tournament ** Runner-up: 2013–14 *

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 ...

** Winner: 1996–97 ** Runner-up: 2000–01 *Midland Youth League Cup ** Winner: 1996–97 *North Staffordshire Federation League Cup ** Runner-up: 1908–09

Staff

* Source: ; Academy management: * Academy Director: Gareth Owen * Head of Academy Recruitment: Andrew Frost * Head of Academy Education: Greg Briggs * Head of Player Care & Academy Safeguarding: Stephanie Wakelin ; Academy full-time coaching staff: * Lead Professional Development Phase Coach (U21):

Ryan Shawcross Ryan James Shawcross (born 4 October 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is currently the first-team coach at Stoke City. Shawcross began his career with Manchester United and made his debut for ...

* Professional Development Phase Coach (U21):

Liam Lawrence Liam Lawrence (born 14 December 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a right winger. Lawrence started his career at his local club Mansfield Town, after impressing at the Field Mill he signed for Sunderland in June 2005. He ...

* Lead Professional Development Phase Coach (U18):

David Hibbert David John Hibbert (born 28 January 1986) is an English former footballer who played as a forward; he is now working as a coach at Stoke City. Starting his professional career with Port Vale in 2004, the following year he was signed controversi ...

* Professional Development Phase Coach (U16-U18):

Darren Potter Darren Michael Potter (born 21 December 1984) is a football coach and former player who is a coach at club Milton Keynes Dons. A midfielder, he made 502 league and cup appearances in a 16-year career in the Premier League and English Football ...

* Lead Youth Development Phase Coach (U13-U15): Andy Matthews * Youth Development Phase Coach (U15): Carlton Reid * Youth Development Phase Coach (U14):

Ricardo Fuller Ricardo Dwayne Fuller (born 31 October 1979) is a retired Jamaican professional footballer who played as a forward. Fuller started his football career with Jamaican side Tivoli Gardens, before he moved to England with Crystal Palace in Feb ...

* Lead Foundation Phase Coach (U10-U12): Theo Brierley * Lead Foundation Phase Coach (U7-U9): Connor Russo * Lead Academy Goalkeeping Coach: Richard Taylor * Academy Goalkeeping Coach: Tom James

League performance

Reserves, U21s and U23s

* Source:

References

External links

Stoke Under-21s
at stokecityfc.com
Stoke Under-18s
at stokecityfc.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Stoke City F.C. Reserves And Academy Reserves and Academy Football academies in England Premier League International Cup