Bundesliga has officially announced the creation of a new U21 competition with the goal of nurturing young players: the Bundesliga Talent Series. This will be made of 26 teams, from Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, with all players being between 17 to 21 years old.
Participating clubs were given the option to participate, drawing from their existing player squads and with up to four older players fielded per team. This not only enables targeted development of young talent but also provides players returning from injury with a platform to regain match fitness, said the Bundesliga.
The competition will debut next season, with two half-seasons, played between September and December 2026, and between February and April 2027. The top two teams from each half-season will qualify for finals in spring 2027. Every team will play between 3 and 6 matches per half-season: the number of matches if flexible, as it's the squad registration and scheduling.
Initially, matches will be played behind closed door, to keep organisational and economic burdens for participants low, but the finals in spring next year are planned to be open to the public.
These are the teams participating in the Bundesliga Talent Series:
From Bundesliga:
- FC Union Berlin
- SV Werder Bremen
- Borussia Dortmund
- SV Elversberg
- Eintracht Frankfurt
- Hamburger SV
- RB Leipzig
- Borussia Mönchengladbach
- FC Bayern München
- SC Paderborn 07
- FC Schalke 04
From Bundesliga 2:
- Hertha BSC
- DSC Arminia Bielefeld
- VfL Bochum 1848
- Eintracht Braunschweig
- FC Energie Cottbus
- SV Darmstadt 98
- SG Dynamo Dresden
- SpVgg Greuther Fürth
- Hannover 96
- 1. FC Heidenheim 1846
- Holstein Kiel
- 1. FC Magdeburg
- 1. FC Nürnberg
- FC St. Pauli
- VfL Wolfsburg
