Announcement of matches for the second round of the National League U-19
Announcement of matches for the second round of the National League U-19
On August 12, the second round of the updated tournament, which is played in a new format, will begin.
Wednesday's game schedule will start at 12:00 with matches between "Shakhtar" - "LNZ" and "Metalurh Zaporizhya" - "Polska". You can view the full match schedule and find links to online broadcasts on the official website of the Ukrainian U-19 Championship - here.
On the official website you can also find the league table and statistical information from UAF Data Center.
Photo: shakhtar.com
What has changed in the U-19 league?
At the end of July, the UAF approved a new format for national and regional league competitions in U-19. The direction of reform is to increase competition in youth tournaments: the composition of participants is formed based on sporting principles and strength of teams rather than geography or administrative decision-making. It is precisely under conditions of equal competition that young footballers can fully develop. Similar changes have already been implemented in children's, youth, and women’s competitions.
National League U-19. Fourteen teams participate in the tournament, which takes place over two seasons according to a "fall-winter" system.
Regional League U-19. Clubs and DYSKs are divided into four groups of 8–10 teams based on territorial principles. In the first stage, teams play two rounds within their own group, after which the winners advance to the playoffs: semi-final pairs are drawn by lot, each match consists of two games, and the teams that lose in the semi-finals play a third-place game.
Exchange between leagues. The key idea of the reform is open sporting rotation. The team that finishes 14th in the National League drops to the Regional League. The winner of the Regional League moves up a class directly — provided they meet the requirements of the regulations and have a professional or semi-professional license. Three more teams get a chance through play-off matches: the second-placed team from RL plays against the 13th-placed team in NL, the third against the 12th, and the fourth against the 11th. Each pair plays two games, with the winner determined by their aggregate score. Thus, every participant of the Regional League has a real sporting path to elite level.
Semi-professional status. Along with the new format, a semi-professional status for clubs is introduced, which is granted after an assessment. It allows clubs to enter into employment contracts on part-time working conditions with footballers, legally formalize relations between the club and players, and protect investments made by clubs in youth development.