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