The 2017-18 UEFA Youth League is the fifth season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA.
Red Bull Salzburg are the title holders. Starting from this season, the UEFA Youth League title holders are given an automatic berth in the Domestic Champions path if there is a vacancy.
Video 2017-18 UEFA Youth League
Teams
A total of 64 teams from 43 of the 55 UEFA member associations entered the tournament, with Albania, Latvia and Luxembourg entering for the first time. They were split into two sections:
- The youth teams of the 32 clubs which qualified for the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League group stage entered the UEFA Champions League Path. If there was a vacancy (youth teams not entering), it was filled by a team defined by UEFA.
- The youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations according to their 2016 UEFA country coefficients entered the Domestic Champions Path. If there was a vacancy (associations with no youth domestic competition, as well as youth domestic champions already included in the UEFA Champions League path), it was first filled by the title holders should they have not yet qualified, and then by the youth domestic champions of the next association in the UEFA ranking.
- Notes
Maps 2017-18 UEFA Youth League
Squads
Players must be born on or after 1 January 1999, with a maximum of three players per team born between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 1998 allowed.
Round and draw dates
The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).
- Notes
- For the UEFA Champions League Path group stage, in principle the teams play their matches on Tuesdays and Wednesdays of the matchdays as scheduled for UEFA Champions League, and on the same day as the corresponding senior teams; however, matches may also be played on other dates, including Mondays and Thursdays.
- For the Domestic Champions Path first and second rounds, in principle matches are played on Wednesdays (first round on matchdays 2 and 3, second round on matchdays 4 and 5, as scheduled for UEFA Champions League); however, matches may also be played on other dates, including Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- For the play-offs, round of 16 and quarter-finals, in principle matches are played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays of the matchdays as scheduled; however, matches may also be played on other dates, provided they are completed before the following dates:
- Play-offs: 8 February 2018
- Round of 16: 28 February 2018
- Quarter-finals: 16 March 2018
UEFA Champions League Path
For the UEFA Champions League Path, the 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. There was no separate draw held, with the group compositions identical to the draw for the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League group stage, which was held on 24 August 2017, 18:00 CEST, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The eight group winners advanced to the round of 16, while the eight runners-up advanced to the play-offs, where they were joined by the eight second round winners from the Domestic Champions Path.
The matchdays were 12-13 September, 26-27 September, 17-18 October, 31 October - 1 November, 21-22 November, and 5-6 December 2017.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Domestic Champions Path
For the Domestic Champions Path, the 32 teams were drawn into two rounds of two-legged home-and-away ties. The draw was held on 29 August 2017, 14:00 CEST, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. There were no seedings, but the 32 teams were split into groups defined by sporting and geographical criteria prior to the draw.
In both rounds, if the aggregate score was tied after full time of the second leg, the away goals rule was used to decide the winner. If still tied, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time was played). The eight second round winners advanced to the play-offs, where they were joined by the eight group runners-up from the UEFA Champions League Path.
First round
The first legs were played on 26 and 27 September, and the second legs were played on 17 and 18 October 2017.
- Notes
Second round
The first legs were played on 29, 31 October and 1 November, and the second legs were played on 21 and 22 November 2017.
Play-offs
The draw for the play-offs was held on 11 December 2017, 14:30 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The eight second round winners from the Domestic Champions Path were drawn against the eight group runners-up from the UEFA Champions League Path, with the teams from the Domestic Champions Path hosting the match. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. The eight play-off winners advance to the round of 16, where they are joined by the eight group winners from the UEFA Champions League Path.
Each tie is played over a single match. If the score is tied after full time, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time is played).
The play-offs will be played on 6 and 7 February 2018.
Knockout phase
The draw for the round of 16 onwards will be held on 9 February 2018 at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:
- In the draw for the round of 16, the eight group winners from the UEFA Champions League Path are drawn against the eight play-off winners. Teams from the same UEFA Champions League Path group cannot be drawn against each other, but teams from the same association can be drawn against each other. The draw also decides the home team for each round of 16 match.
- In the draws for the quarter-finals onwards, there are no seedings, and teams from the same UEFA Champions League Path group or the same association can be drawn against each other (the identity of all teams are not known at the time of the draw). The draws also decide the home team for each quarter-final, and the "home" team for administrative purposes for each semi-final and final (which are played at a neutral venue).
Each tie is played over a single match. If the score is tied after full time, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time is played).
Round of 16
The round of 16 matches will be played on 20 and 21 February 2018.
Quarter-finals
The quarter-finals will be played on 13 and 14 March 2018.
Semi-finals
The semi-finals will be played on 20 April 2018 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon.
Final
The final will be played on 23 April 2018 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon.
Top goalscorers
- Notes
- Players marked in bold are still active in the competition.
- -- denotes the team did not participate in this stage.
Source: UEFA
References
External links
- UEFA Youth League (official website)
Source of article : Wikipedia
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