The Next Gen Cup or Next Generation Cup, officially known as Reliance Foundation Premier League Next Gen Cup, is a youth football tournament organised by the Premier League in collaboration with Indian Super League and South African Premier Division, as part of the Premier League Youth Games initiative.[2][3][4]

Next Gen Cup
Organising bodyEngland Premier League
India Indian Super League
South Africa SA Premiership
Founded2020; 4 years ago (2020)[1]
Number of teams6–8
Related competitionsEngland Premier League 2
India Development League
South Africa PSL Reserve League
Current championsEngland Wolverhampton Wanderers (1st title)
Most successful team(s)South Africa Stellenbosch (2 titles)
Television broadcastersYouTube (live streaming)

History

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In 2019, as a part of the Premier League Youth Games initiative, youth players of Arsenal F.C. and Leicester City FC visited India to play against RFYC and Mumbai City FC youth teams.[5] First edition of the Next Generation Cup was organised at Reliance Coperate Park in Navi Mumbai. 6 teams took part in the competition, three Indian Super League U-15 teams and three Premier League U-14 teams.[6]

Winners

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Year Host Winners Ref.
2020   Navi Mumbai   Chelsea [7]
2022   Leicester

(Midlands/Group A)

  Stellenbosch [8]
  London

(London/Group B)

  West Ham United [9]
2023   Navi Mumbai   Wolverhampton Wanderers [10]
2024   London   Stellenbosch (2) [11]

2020 tournament

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Teams

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Under-14 and under-15 tournament
  English teams   Indian teams
Manchester United RFYC
Chelsea[12] FC Goa
Southampton Bengaluru FC

League stage

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All matches played at Reliance Corporate Park, Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   CHE   MNU   RFYC   FCG   SOU   BEN
1   Chelsea 5 5 0 0 15 1 +14 15 Champions 1–0 5–0 2–0 4–0
2   Manchester United 5 3 0 2 12 4 +8 9 0–1  5–1 
3   RFYC 5 3 0 2 7 4 +3 9 1–3 0–1 0–1
4   FC Goa 5 3 0 2 4 10 −6 9 0–4  1–0
5   Southampton 5 0 1 4 2 10 −8 1 1–3 0–3 1–1 
6   Bengaluru FC 5 0 1 4 3 15 −12 1 0–2 1–2
Source: KhelNow

2022 tournament

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Teams

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Under-21 tournament[13]
  English teams Group   Indian teams Group   South African team Group
Tottenham Hotspur London (B) Kerala Blasters London (B) Stellenbosch FC Midlands (A)
Leicester City Midlands (A) Bengaluru Midlands (A)
West Ham United London (B)
Crystal Palace London (B)
Nottingham Forest Midlands (A)

Midlands (Group A)

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All matches played at Leicester City F.C. Training Ground, Leicester, East Midlands, United Kingdom.[13]

Semifinals Final[13]
      
1   Leicester City 6
2   Bengaluru 3
1   Leicester City 2
4   Stellenbosch FC 7
3   Nottingham Forest 1
4   Stellenbosch FC 4 Third place
2   Bengaluru 1
3   Nottingham Forest 6
Sources:[13]

London (Group B)

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All matches played at Hotspur Way, Tottenham, London, United Kingdom.[13]

Semifinals Final[13]
      
1   Tottenham Hotspur 7
2   Kerala Blasters 0
1   Tottenham Hotspur 0
4   West Ham United 8
3   Crystal Palace 3
4   West Ham United 4 Third place
2   Kerala Blasters 1
3   Crystal Palace 4
Sources:[13]

2023 tournament

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Teams

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Under-21 tournament
  Indian teams Group   English teams Group   South African team Group
Mohun Bagan SG A Everton B Stellenbosch FC A
Bengaluru A West Ham United A
RFYC B Wolverhampton Wanderers B
Sudeva Delhi B

Group stage

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All matches played at Reliance Corporate Park, Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   STB   WHAM   MBSG   BEN
1   Stellenbosch FC 3 2 1 0 6 3 +3 7 Advance to final 3–3
2   West Ham United 3 1 2 0 8 4 +4 5 Advance to third-place playoff 1–1 4–0
3   Mohun Bagan SG 3 0 2 1 1 3 −2 2 Advance to fifth-place playoff 0–2 0–0
4   Bengaluru 3 0 1 2 0 5 −5 1 Advance to seventh-place playoff 0–1
Source: RFDL, PL

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   WOL   EVE   RFYC   SUD
1   Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 3 0 0 10 0 +10 9 Advance to final 2–0 4–0
2   Everton 3 2 0 1 3 5 −2 6 Advance to third-place playoff 0–4 2–1
3   RFYC 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 3 Advance to fifth-place playoff
4   Sudeva Delhi 3 0 0 3 0 6 −6 0 Advance to seventh-place playoff 1–0 0–1
Source: RFDL, PL

Placement matches

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All matches played at Reliance Corporate Park, Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
7th place play-off[14]
Bengaluru   2–1   Sudeva Delhi
Team 1  Score  Team 2
5th place play-off
Mohun Bagan SG   0–4   RFYC
Team 1  Score  Team 2
3rd place play-off
West Ham United   3–0   Everton
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Grand Final
Stellenbosch FC   1-1 (4-5 (p))   Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sources: RFDL, PL

2024 tournament

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Teams

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No. Teams[15][16] Group Qualifiers
1   Muthoot B 2024 RFDL Championship stage
2   Punjab B
3   East Bengal B
4   Aston Villa A 2023–24 Premier League 2
5   Everton A
6   Tottenham Hotspur A
7   Crystal Palace A
8   Stellenbosch B 2023–24 PSL Reserve League

League stage

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All matches played at main and secondary pitches of Bodymoor Heath Training Ground, Tamworth, Staffordshire, London, England. The league stage consists of eight teams with each team playing against any three of the seven other teams only. These teams are pre-seeded into two groups and the placement matches are decided via their positions in those respective groups. Aside from regular match and scoring system, a penalty shootout is held after each match, irrespective of the regular match. The winner of the penalty shootout gets an additional bonus point in their points table.

Pos Grp Team Pld W PW D PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   TOT   ASV   STB   EVT   CRP   PUN   MUT   EAB
1 A   Tottenham 6 2 3 0 0 1 7 1 +6 9 Advance to final 3–0
(6-5 P)
4–0
(3-2 P)
2 A   Aston Villa (H) 6 2 3 0 0 1 7 3 +4 9 Advance to third-place playoff 0–1
(4-3 P)
4–0
(4-2 P)
3 B   Stellenbosch 6 3 0 0 3 0 3 0 +3 9 Advance to final 1–0
(4-5 P)
4 A   Everton 6 2 2 0 1 1 8 2 +6 8 Advance to fifth-place playoff 1–2
(3-4 P)
1–0
(4-2 P)
5 A   Crystal Palace 6 2 2 0 1 1 4 1 +3 8 Advance to seventh-place playoff 0–1
(5-4 P)
1–0
(4-2 P)
6 B   Punjab 6 1 1 0 2 2 4 7 −3 4 Advance to third-place playoff 2–3
(5-3 P)
7 B   Muthoot 6 0 1 0 2 3 0 8 −8 1 Advance to fifth-place playoff 0–3
(5-4 P)
8 B   East Bengal 6 0 0 0 3 3 0 11 −11 0 Advance to seventh-place playoff 0–6
(1-4 P)
Source: [citation needed]
(H) Host

Placement matches

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All matches played at main and secondary pitches of Bodymoor Heath Training Ground, Tamworth, Staffordshire, London, England with the final to take place at Loughborough University Stadium, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
7th place play-off
  Crystal Palace 7-1   East Bengal
Team 1  Score  Team 2
5th place play-off
  Everton 6-1   Muthoot
Team 1  Score  Team 2
3rd place play-off
  Aston Villa 0-2   Punjab
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Grand Final
  Tottenham 0-2   Stellenbosch
Sources: RFDL, PL

References

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  1. ^ "History in Timeline of Indian Football". All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  2. ^ Dc, Chitrangada (2 March 2019). "Premier League & Indian Super League to start Youth Games; Arsenal, Leicester City youth teams to play ISL club". mykhel.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Next Generation Mumbai Cup fixtures and how to follow the tournament". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Rising talents shine on Indian stage". www.premierleague.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Premier League-ISL: Richard Garlick hoping to see Indian players in England | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  6. ^ Sportstar, Team (24 February 2020). "PL-ISL Next Gen Mumbai Cup: Bengaluru, Southampton settle for draw". Sportstar. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Next Generation Mumbai Cup 2020: Fixtures, where to watch and more". Khel Now. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Stellies thump Leicester to win Next Generation Cup". Super Sport. 31 July 2022. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Next Gen Cup Final Highlights: Tottenham Hotspur 0-8 U19s | West Ham United F.C." www.whufc.com. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Wolves edge Stellenbosch FC on penalties to lift PL Next Gen Cup title". Indian Super League. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Stellenbosch FC vs Tottenham Hotspur Live | Next Generation Cup 2024". Khel Now. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Next Gen Mumbai | Official Site | Chelsea Football Club". ChelseaFC. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Name, Author. "All you need to know about Next Generation Cup 2022". Khel Now. Retrieved 15 May 2023. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  14. ^ "PL Next Gen Cup: Bengaluru FC wrap up campaign with a 2–1 win over Sudeva Delhi FC". indiansuperleague.com. 25 May 2023. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Eight-team tournament returns as part of Premier League's commitment to develop the game across the world". premierleague.com. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  16. ^ Bhattacharjee, Neeladri (5 August 2024). "Next Gen Cup 2024: Punjab FC beats Aston Villa to extend historic run; East Bengal, Muthoot FA thrashed on final matchday". sportstar.thehindu.com. Birmingham: Sportstar. Archived from the original on 7 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.