Reserves and Academy

Reserves and Academy

Reserves

Until 2011 the reserves played in the Barclays Premier Reserve League North and the Manchester Senior Cup. The club have fielded a reserve team since 1892, when the reserves played in the Lancashire Combination. The reserves were champions of the Lancashire Combination in 1901/02. They left the Lancashire Combination in 1911 to join the Central League upon its formation. The reserves played in The Central League until 2000, winning it on three occasions; the 1977/78, 1986/87 and 1999/2000 seasons.

Academy

Manchester City's Academy is responsible for youth development at the club, with the goal of developing young players for the future. The club's first youth team was set up by Albert Alexander in the 1920s, known as the 'A' Team. From 1951 the 'A' team competed in the Lancashire League against reserve and youth teams of other clubs from North West England. From 1955 a second youth team, the 'B' team, typically comprising younger players than the 'A' team, competed in Division Two of the Lancashire League.
The academy is one of the most revered in the country and since its new incarnation in 1998 it has produced more professional players than any other Premier League club, 35 in total.^[42] 14 of these players are still at the club and in the past two years, there have been eight graduates.
From the 2011–12 season the reserves will compete in the new formed NextGen football series, a European style competition in the form of the Champions League or Europa League with the aim of giving young European footballers the opportunity to play against one other.^[43] Manchester City have played a pioneering role in creating the league^[44] amid growing criticism from English media that English football is not producing enough young talent.^[45][46]
Aside from the academy, the club attempts to reach out to young people in the Manchester area through its City in the Community charity programme^[47] which provides Soccer Schools and a City Sixes programme for free coaching at certain venues in Manchester.[48