Report: Tottenham academy set-up receives big boost thanks to rule change

Football.London have revealed that Tottenham’s Under-21s have escaped relegation despite finishing in the drop zone this season as the Premier League 2 is set to undergo a change in format from next season.

Spurs‘ development squad ended up being relegated on the final matchday from Premier League 2’s division one as they finished second from bottom despite a victory against West Ham United.

Normally, that would mean that Wayne Burnett’s men would have had to play in Division 2 during the 2023-24 season but a fortunate turn of events has meant that the Lilywhites will not suffer relegation.

Football.London reveal that the clubs have voted for a change in Premier League 2’s format into a single-tier ‘Swiss-style’ competition.

Spurs avoid relegation in Premier League 2

The new system will see all 25 category one academies field an Under-21s team in the same league next season, with promotion and relegation set to be scrapped.

From the upcoming campaign, the 25 teams will be seeded into five pots based on their historical performance in the competition over the previous three years, with each team thus having to play 20 matches in the regular season.

It is explained that this change was made as there were concerns about how a focus on results in the previous system was leading some clubs to stockpile young players rather than doing what is best for their development.

Spurs Web Opinion

This is absolutely the right move as the main focus of the Under-21s should be on making the players as well-rounded as possible rather than on the team’s results.

Thankfully for Tottenham, this change came at the right time as it saves the developmental squad from having to work their way up to their top division again.