Reserve Team
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In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to improve their skills, as well as members of the first team recovering from injury. In some countries, reserve or development teams compete in entirely separate competitions from first teams, while some countries allow reserve teams or farm teams to compete in the same league system as their club's first team, although usually in separate divisions.


In association football

Reserve teams usually consist of a combination of emerging youth players and first-team squad players. These teams are distinct from a club's
youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future i ...
, which usually consists of players under a certain age and plays in an age-specific league. In England, Argentina and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
the term ''reserve'' is commonly used to describe these teams. In Germany and Austria the terms ''Amateure'' or ''II'' is used, while ''B'' team is used in the
Spanish football league system The Spanish football league system consists of several professional, semi-professional and non-professional leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation. The top two tiers of the male league pyramid— Primera División ( La Li ...
, the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. In
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, these teams are distinguished by a ''2''. In
the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, the adjective ''Jong'' is commonly used In England reserve teams of professional clubs play in completely separate leagues and competitions such as the
Professional Development League The Professional Development League is a system of youth football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Football Association via the Elite Player Performanc ...
or the
Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...
, although further down the
pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
, reserve clubs feature in the same system as their parent clubs and can be promoted through the system. They cannot usually play in the same division as their parent team. However, in other countries, reserve teams play in the same football league as their senior team and have competed in the domestic cup competitions. In
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
this has seen the reserve team of CD Málaga change identity and play in
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
while Castilla CF, the reserve team of
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
, reached the
Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...
final, qualified for the
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
and won the
Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...
.


France

In France, the reserve teams of professional clubs playing in
Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
,
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...
or
National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
is restricted to play in fourth-tier
Championnat National 2 The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligu ...
if the club has a youth center or in fifth-tier Championnat National 3 if a team doesn't has a youth center. Reserve teams have not been allowed to play the
Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...
to serve the non-reserve team's interests. However, if the first team plays or get relegated in the fourth-tiered National 2, the reserve team is restricted to a fifth-tiered level. If a reserve team finishes first in his National 2 group, the promotion is awarded to the second. Additionally, if a reserve team finishes first in his National 3 group but the club doesn't have a youth center, the promotion instead awarded to the second. Some clubs even have C or D-sides that play at regional or district levels.


E-sides

*
Les Herbiers Les Herbiers () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region, western France. Population Sport Les Herbiers is host to the Chrono des Nations, an annual one-day individual time trial bicycle race, held in October. Le ...
(District 4, Vendée, Group D) * Pouzauges Bocage (District 5, Vendée, Group G) * Arques (District 7, Cote d'Opale, Group C) *
US Gravelines Union Sportive Gravelines Football is a French association football team founded in 1941. They are based in Gravelines, Nord. Their home stadium is the Stade des Huttes in the town. Playing it R2 – Hauts-de-France. History 1987-1993: Breakth ...
(District 5, Flandres, Group A) * AS Steenvoorde (District 5, Flandres, Group C) * Calais Beau-Marais (District 7, Cote Opale, Group A) * Jeunesse Longuesse (District 7, Cote Opale, Group D)


Germany

In Germany,
Hertha BSC II Hertha BSC II is the reserve team of Hertha BSC that is based in Berlin, Germany. Historically, during the time the senior team played in professional football the team has played as Hertha BSC Amateure. Since 2005 it permanently plays under its ...
, the reserve team of
Hertha Berlin Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charlo ...
, reached the 1992–93
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
final after their first team were eliminated in the Round of 16. They lost the final 1–0 to
Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...
. In the
German football league system The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for Football in Germany, association football in Germany that in the 2016–17 Season (sports), season consisted of 2,235 Sports_leag ...
, however, reserve teams are not allowed to be promoted above the 3. Liga and since 2008–09 have not been allowed to play in the cup competition to serve the non-reserve team's interests. In the 2003–04 season, Bayern Munich's reserve team won the Regionalliga Süd, a semi-professional league then in the third tier of German football (now the fourth), finishing nine points clear of the second-placed
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt is a German association football club based in Erfurt, Thuringia. History Foundation to World War II The club has roots that go back to a cricket club founded in 1895. As they broadened their interests they came to be calle ...
. Due to the rule which prohibits one club from having two teams in fully professional leagues, the third-placed 1. FC Saarbrücken was promoted to the Second Bundesliga instead.


Italy

In 2018, the Italian Football Federation allowed the possibility for
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
teams to register a reserve Under-23 team in the third-tier
Serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...
league, with only Juventus taking that opportunity.
Juventus Next Gen Juventus Next Gen (), also known as Juve Next Gen or Juve NG (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, which acts as the reserve team of club Juventus. They compete in , and play their home games at the Stadio Gius ...
is, as of 2022–23, still the only reserve team playing in the Italian national leagues.


Japan

From the days of the old
Japan Soccer League , or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional ...
, Japan allowed reserve teams to play in the main
league system A league system is a hierarchy of leagues in a sport. They are often called pyramids, due to their tendency to split into an increasing number of regional divisions further down the system. League systems of some sort are used in many sports in ...
. Even today reserve teams of J. League clubs are allowed to compete in the
Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...
.


Japan Soccer League reserve teams

These teams were never promoted to the top flight due to their senior squad's presence there. * Toyo Industries/Mazda: Mazda Auto Hiroshima *
Furukawa Electric is a Japanese electric and electronics equipment company. The company was founded by Furukawa Ichibei in 1884 in Yokohama when a copper-smelting facility and a wire manufacturing factory were established. Furukawa was a Japanese businessman w ...
: Furukawa Electric Chiba * Yomiuri Soccer Club: Yomiuri S.C. Juniors *
Yanmar Diesel is a Japanese diesel engine, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasure boats, constr ...
: Yanmar Club Reserve clubs were usually localized in the same city as their senior team and should not be confused with clubs from sister companies within a
keiretsu A is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. In the legal sense, it is a type of informal business group that are loosely organized alliances within the social world of Japan's business community. The ''ke ...
or otherwise, which were separate clubs competing for the same championships. An example is Toyota Automated Loom Works, founding member of the JSL in 1965, later relegated and now competing in the
Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...
league, and
Toyota Motors is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
, now known as
Nagoya Grampus (formerly known as ) is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and founded as the company team of the Toyota, Toyota Motor Corp. in 1939 ...
, founding member and mainstay of the J. League.


J. League reserve teams today

Most
J. League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most succe ...
reserve teams these days are in the corresponding regional league. The most successful is JEF United Ichihara Chiba Reserves, who compete in the national third division, the
Japan Football League The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership am ...
. (Furukawa Electric Chiba still exists but is no longer affiliated with the JEF club.)


Norway

In Norway, reserve football teams are permitted to participate at all levels of league football except for the two highest divisions, making the
2. divisjon The Norwegian Second Division, also called 2. divisjon and often referred to as PostNord-ligaen for sponsorship reasons, is the third-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. There are 28 teams divided into two groups, and at the ...
the highest league they can enter. However, if the first team plays in the second-tiered 1. divisjon, the reserve team is restricted to a fourth-tier league, maintaining a league difference of two. Reserve teams bear the same name as their respective first teams with a "2" attached as a suffix. If a reserve team ends the season in a promotion spot to a league it cannot enter, that promotion is instead awarded to the best following team.


Scotland

Scotland has two reserve leagues under the umbrella of the
SPFL Reserve League The SPFL Reserve League is the reserve team league for football in Scotland. The league began in 2018, as the SPFL Development League was replaced by a reserve team (i.e not age-restricted) format. History In its first season, 2018–19, the lea ...
, where 27 of the senior clubs competed in its first year, only for several (including
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
and Rangers) withdrew to pursue their own programme of fixtures. The predecessor was the
SPFL Development League The SPFL Development League was the top level of youth football in Scotland, which was contested in various formats between 1998 and 2018. History A youth league was founded as the Scottish Premier under-18 League in 1998. Clubs fielded under-1 ...
until 2018. It was described as a development league for under-20s, but teams could field up to five over-age players in each game. Reserve teams (limited to under-21 players) of the clubs in the
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
enter the
Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Scottish football league system The Scottish football league system is a series of generally connected leagues for Scottish football clubs. The Scottish system is more complicated than many other national league systems, consisting of several completely separate systems or 'gr ...
, but as of 2020 these have been rejected.


South Korea

The South-Korean
R League The R League ( ko, R리그), also known as the Korean Professional Football Reserve League, is the league for reserve teams of professional association football clubs in South Korea. The league started in 1990 with five reserve teams of K League ...
serves as a dedicated competition for reserve teams and has been intermittently active since 1990, with several interruptions and format changes throughout its history. In its current form, the league has been played since 2016.


Spain

Reserve teams in Spain play in the same league pyramid as their parent club but may not play in the same division.What are Football Club ‘B’ Teams and are they Successful?
Goal Profits, 20 December 2018
Since 1990 reserve teams are restricted to play in
Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...
.La Real Sociedad B y otros filiales que han hecho historia en LaLiga
/ref>


Segunda División

In 1951–52
CD Mestalla Valencia Club de Fútbol Mestalla, shortened to Valencia Mestalla, is the reserve team of Valencia CF, a Spanish football club based in Valencia, in the namesake community. Founded in 1944, and currently plays in Segunda Federación – Group ...
, the reserve team of
Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...
, won the
Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...
promotion play-off but were denied promotion because their senior team was already in the Primera División. The following season CD España Industrial, the reserve team of
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...
, also finished as runners-up in the same play-off but were similarly denied. However, after winning another promotion play-off in 1956, España Industrial separated from FC Barcelona and were renamed
CD Condal Club Deportivo Condal was a Spanish football club based in Barcelona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1934 and dissolved in 1970, it held home games at ''Camp de Les Corts'', with a capacity of 25,000 spectators. History ...
. The club were now able to be promoted to the Primera División. However, they survived only one season and were relegated in 1957. In 1968 the club rejoined the FC Barcelona family as the reserve team and eventually evolved into
FC Barcelona B FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...
. In 1983–84 Castilla CF and
Bilbao Athletic Athletic Club "B", commonly known as Bilbao Athletic, is the reserve team of Athletic Club, a football club based in Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country in Spain. The team are playing in the Primera Federación – Group 2. Fo ...
, the reserve teams of
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
and Athletic Bilbao respectively, finished as winners and runners-up of the Segunda División. Castilla, Bilbao Athletic and
Atlético Madrid B Atlético de Madrid B is a Spanish football team based in Madrid, in the community of Madrid. Founded on 17 September 1963, it is the reserve team of Atlético Madrid and currently plays in Segunda Federación – Group 5. They play their home ...
finished third in 1987–88, 1989–90 and 1998–99 respectively. In normal circumstances, these teams would have all been promoted except for the fact that their senior team was already in the Primera División.


Special cases


=Castilla CF in Copa del Rey

= In 1980 Castilla CF also reached the
Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...
final and qualified for the
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
. During their cup run, they beat four Primera División teams including Hércules CF, Athletic Bilbao,
Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...
and
Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, P ...
. The latter two eventually finished second and third in the Primera División. In the final they played
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
but lost 6–1. However, because Real also won
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
, Castilla CF qualified for European Cup Winners' Cup. Despite beating
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
3–1 in the opening game at the Bernabéu, they lost the return 5–1 and went out in the first round.


=Málaga CF

= Málaga CF was originally formed in 1948 as
Atlético Malagueño Club Atlético Malagueño, shortened to Atlético Malagueño, () is a Spanish football team based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1990, it is the reserve team of Málaga CF, and currently plays in Tercera Fede ...
, the reserve team of CD Málaga. In 1992 CD Málaga was disbanded and two years later Atlético Malagueño were relaunched as Málaga CF. They were eventually promoted to the Primera División in 1999.


Thailand

There was a Reserve League in the
Thai Premier League The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from Augu ...
from 2016 onwards.


Ukraine

In Ukraine, there are two types of reserve teams, one doubles and the other () or second teams. The second teams compete in regular league competitions usually in the
Ukrainian Second League Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...
or lower, some better have competed in the
Ukrainian First League The Persha Liha ( uk, Перша ліга) or Ukrainian First League is a professional football league in Ukraine and the second tier of national football competitions pyramid. Members of the league also participate in the Ukrainian Cup. It is t ...
(such as
FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv was the second football team of the Ukrainian football club Dynamo Kyiv based in Kyiv, Ukraine. The team was created in 1946, and the club ceased its operations after the 2015–16 season. History In 1965, there was create ...
). Also some smaller clubs voluntarily would join bigger club as its farm (Ternopil-Nyva-2, Poltava-2 Karlivka, others), while other would be forced to be revived anew as the original club would be changed into a new better club. On rare occasions in the professional league competitions were allowed to compete some clubs' academies ( Sports school of Olympic Reserve (SSOR) Metalurh,
FC Dnipro-75 Dnipropetrovsk FC Dnipro-75 Dnipropretrovsk is a youth football school of Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. History In late 2000s as a professional football team based in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine it competed at the Ukrainian Second League, but was expelled from the PFL af ...
, others). Until 1999 second teams and third teams were allowed to compete in the
Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( uk, Кубок України) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003 ...
. Since 1999–2000 in Ukraine started to talk about reviving some kind of separate competition for such teams or youth competitions. In 2004 there was organized competition for the Vyshcha Liha teams doubles. Some doubles were formed out of already existing second teams, other clubs kept their second teams as well as created additional doubles. It certainly reduced the number of second teams in regular league competitions as well eliminated some farm clubs. In 2008, championship among doubles was transitioned to youth competition (under-21) as Vyshcha Liha was also transformed into Premier Liha. In 2012, there was introduced additional competition in Premier Liha, the under-19 championship (see
Ukrainian Premier League Reserves and Under 19 The Ukrainian Premier League youth competitions is a complex of youth competitions within the Ukrainian Premier League and is part of youth competitions in Ukraine. The events include championship among two age categories under 19 and under 21 year ...
). All these youth competitions "cleaned" the lower league structure of the second teams, but some clubs continue field them at national or regional levels. In Ukraine, second teams act same as farm teams and they do not have an age restriction as youth teams. Second teams are not allowed to compete in the same division with their primary team (senior team). On several occasions, the second team of Dynamo Kyiv (
Dynamo-2 Kyiv FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv was the second football team of the Ukrainian football club Dynamo Kyiv based in Kyiv, Ukraine. The team was created in 1946, and the club ceased its operations after the 2015–16 season. History In 1965, there was create ...
) won the
Ukrainian First League The Persha Liha ( uk, Перша ліга) or Ukrainian First League is a professional football league in Ukraine and the second tier of national football competitions pyramid. Members of the league also participate in the Ukrainian Cup. It is t ...
, but was not allowed to be promoted to premiers where the primary team of
Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was officia ...
competes due to the rule. As any rules there are some exceptions, the second team of
FC Nyva Ternopil FC Nyva Ternopil ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Нива» Тернопіль) is a Ukrainian football club from the city of Ternopil, the administrative center of Ternopil Oblast. As of the 2020–21 season, it played in the Ukrainian ...
(
FC Ternopil FC Ternopil is a Ukrainian amateur football club based in Ternopil, Ukraine. The club was originally created as a second team of FC Nyva Ternopil. After its reformation and return to professional level, the club competed in the Ukrainian Second L ...
) were allowed promotion to the same division after it lost its affiliation with the main club and promoted to professional ranks starting again from regional competitions. As it was mentioned above, farm teams in Ukraine are not necessary denoted with ''2'' (or ''3''), but could be a separate club that have an agreement with another club. Among examples there are
FC Karlivka FC Karlivka was an amateur Ukrainian football club that was based in Karlivka, Poltavska Oblast. History The club was formed in 2011 as ''FC Karlivka'' and competed in amateur competitions including the Poltava oblast. The club forged a tie ...
that used to be called FC Poltava-2 (the second team of
FC Poltava FC Poltava ( uk , ФК Полтава) was a Ukrainian football club based in Poltava in 2007–2018. History The club was created by the newly elected mayor of the Poltava city Andriy Matkovsky (2006-2010) who is the club's Honorary Preside ...
),
FC Kalush FC Kalush ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Калуш») was a Ukrainian professional football club from Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. History The club was founded soon after World War II as Khimik Kalush and in the Soviet competitions ...
was known as LUKOR Kalush and Prykarpattia Kalush (the second team of
FC Spartak Ivano-Frankivsk FC Spartak Ivano-Frankivsk was a Ukrainian football team based in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine, the unofficial capital of the Prykarpattia region. History The club was founded in 1940 after the Soviet occupation of the Ea ...
),
FC Krasyliv FC Krasyliv was a Ukrainian football team that played in Krasyliv, Khmelnytskyi Oblast. History The club entered the professional leagues in 2001. The club was initially successful finishing in 3rd place in the Druha Liha Group "A". The next se ...
was known as FC Krasyliv-Obolon as the second team of
FC Obolon Kyiv , Beer-brewers) , founded = 13 June 1992 , ground = Obolon Arena , capacity = 5,100 , chairman = Oleksandr Slobodian , manager = Valeriy Ivashchenko , league = Ukrainian First League , season = 2020–21 , position = Ukrainian First Leagu ...
, and there are other examples. List of all second teams (competed at national competitions):
FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv was the second football team of the Ukrainian football club Dynamo Kyiv based in Kyiv, Ukraine. The team was created in 1946, and the club ceased its operations after the 2015–16 season. History In 1965, there was create ...
(
FC Dynamo-3 Kyiv FC Dynamo-3 Kyiv was a Ukrainian football team based in Kyiv, Ukraine. The team has been featured in the Ukrainian Second League, since it cannot be promoted to the Ukrainian First League, being a junior team from the FC Dynamo Kyiv franchise, w ...
),
FC Shakhtar-2 Donetsk FC Shakhtar-2 Donetsk was a Ukrainian reserve football team based in Donetsk, Ukraine. History The club was formed in 1992. It was preceded by Shakhter-D Donetsk (where D stood for double) which since 1949 participated in the Soviet football ch ...
(
FC Shakhtar-3 Donetsk FC Shakhtar-3 Donetsk was a Ukrainian football team based in Donetsk, Ukraine. The team competed in the Ukrainian Second Division, and was considered the 3rd squad team or junior team from the FC Shakhtar Donetsk franchise. History Like most ...
),
FC Dnipro-2 Dnipropetrovsk FC Dnipro-2 () was the reserve team of FC Dnipro. History The club initially competed in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast competition as FC Dnipro-2 Dnipropetrovsk . In 1997 the club was entered into the professional leagues to compete in the Second ...
( FC Dnipro-3 Dnipropetrovsk),
FC Karpaty-2 Lviv FC Karpaty-2 Lviv ( uk, ФК Карпати-2 Львів) was one of the three teams of the FC Karpaty Lviv. It was considered their junior squad with most of the players under 20 years of age. In 2010-2012 the team participated in the championsh ...
(
FC Karpaty-3 Lviv FC Karpaty-3 Lviv was a Ukrainian football farm-team of Karpaty Lviv from Lviv, Ukraine. Created in 1997, until 2001 it played as ''Karpaty-2 Lviv''. Name evolution In 2001 due to the merger between FC Karpaty Lviv and FC Lviv, Karpaty preserved ...
),
FC Chornomorets-2 Odesa FC Chornomorets-2 Odesa is former football team that was the reserve team of the FC Chornomorets Odesa. It was created out of the ''Chornomorets'' reserves team that competed in the Soviet competition in 1992. It was dissolved in 2020. History T ...
,
FC Metalist-2 Kharkiv FC Metalist-2 Kharkiv was a Ukrainian football team based in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The club has been featured regularly in the Ukrainian Second Division it serves as a junior team for the FC Metalist Kharkiv franchise. Like most tributary teams, the b ...
( FC Metalist-3 Kharkiv), FC Vorskla-2 Poltava, FC Metalurh-2 Zaporizhzhia (
SSOR Metalurh Zaporizhzhia In applied mathematics, symmetric successive over-relaxation (SSOR), is a preconditioner. If the original matrix can be Matrix splitting, split into diagonal, lower and upper triangular as A=D+L+L^\mathsf then the SSOR preconditioner matrix is def ...
),
FC Kryvbas-2 Kryvyi Rih Football Club Kryvbas-2 Kryvyi Rih () is a reserve team of recently reformed Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih. Before 2013 it competed as a reserve team of the original Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih. In June 2013 Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih went bankrupt.FC Kryvbas-Ruda Kryivyi Rih),
FC Metalurh-2 Donetsk Football Club Metalurh-2 Donetsk () was the reserve team of Metalurh Donetsk. Metalurh went bankrupt in July 2015.FC Arsenal-2 Kyiv,
FC Illichivets-2 Mariupol Illichivets-2 Mariupol is a defunct Ukrainian football team. It was the reserve team of the Ukrainian First League club FC Illichivets Mariupol. The club competed in the Druha Liha football competition of Ukraine. History When the Ukrainian Pr ...
,
FC Zirka-2 Kirovohrad FC Zirka-2 Kropyvnytskyi was a Ukrainian football team based in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine. The club has been featured regularly in the Ukrainian Second Division it serves as a junior team for the FC Zirka Kropyvnytskyi FC Zirka Kropyvnytskyi ( uk, ...
,
FC Polihraftekhnika-2 Oleksandriya FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...
,
FC Prykarpattia-2 Ivano-Frankivsk FC Prykarpattia-2 Ivano-Frankivsk is a Ukrainian football team based in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. The club has been featured regularly in the Ukrainian Second Division it serves as a junior team for the FC Spartak Ivano-Frankivsk franchise. Li ...
,
FC Zakarpattia-2 Uzhhorod FC Zakarpattia-2 Uzhhorod was a Ukrainian football team based in Uzhhorod Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a city and municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. T ...
,
FC Obolon-2 Kyiv FC Obolon-2 Bucha is the second team of Ukrainian professional football club FC Obolon Kyiv based in Bucha. It started in 2001 and played until February 2013, when it was discontinued for financial reasons. In 2019, the team was revived based o ...
, FC Nyva-2 Vinnytsia,
FC Kharkiv-2 FC Kharkiv ( ua, ФК "Харків") was a professional football club based in Kharkiv, Ukraine. After 2009–10 Ukrainian First League season the club was relegated to the Ukrainian Second League. However, they failed attestation when they subm ...
, MFC Mykolaiv-2,
FC Stal-2 Alchevsk FC Stal-2 Alchevsk was a Ukrainian football team based in Alchevsk, Ukraine. The club has been featured regularly in the Ukrainian Second Division it serves as a junior team for the FC Stal Alchevsk FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, ...
,
FC Bukovyna-2 Chernivtsi FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...
, FC Sevastopol-2,
FC Borysfen-2 Boryspil FC Borysfen-2 Boryspil was a Ukrainian football farm team of FC Borysfen Boryspil from Boryspil, Kyiv oblast. In 2000 the team registered for the 2000 Ukrainian Amateur Cup, but after losing its first game to an amateur club Dnipro Kyiv at home, ...
,
FC Lviv FC Lviv ( uk, ФК «Львів», pl, FK Lwów) is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Lviv, that competes in the Ukrainian Premier League. While the first president of FC Lviv Oleksandr Didenko insisted that FC Lviv of 1 ...
,
FC Naftovyk-2 Okhtyrka FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...
, FC Desna-2 Chernihiv, FC Spartak Molodizhne,
FC Avanhard-2 Kramatorsk FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...
.


United States

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
, the highest level of competition in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, ran its own reserve league from 2005 to 2014. Beginning in 2014, the second-tier league now known as the
USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...
began accepting affiliated MLS club teams, such as
LA Galaxy II LA Galaxy II is an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, United States founded in 2014. It is the reserve team of the LA Galaxy. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the United Sta ...
and
Seattle Sounders FC 2 Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, is an American professional soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, U.S. that competes in the MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the national soccer pyramid, as the reserve team of Seattle Soun ...
, into their league with special rules as a result of a partnership signed with MLS. This arrangement was later extended to
USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...
(USL1), a third-level league also operated by the
United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...
, but several MLS teams never fielded a reserve side in either USL league. In 2022, MLS is relaunching its reserve league as
MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro is a men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer. It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and will expand to 28 in 2023. The league comprises 27 reserve sides for MLS clubs ...
, which occupies the same level as USL1. The first season will feature 21 teams, all but one of which are MLS reserve sides. All remaining MLS teams except CF Montréal have announced plans to place reserve sides in Next Pro by 2023. The term is analogous to
junior varsity Junior varsity (often called "JV") players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition (such as any football, basketball, or baseball game), usually at the high school level–– and formerly at the collegiate level ...
, a concept in high school and college sports which serves the same purpose in
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
,
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, and other sports to give players not usually featured in the first team, or varsity, playing time and experience.


See also

*
Australian Football League reserves affiliations The Australian Football League stages the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in the country. However, there has not been a league-wide Reserves competition since 1987, when the then-Victorian Football League expanded int ...
*
National Rugby League reserves affiliations The National Rugby League (NRL) is the top league of professional rugby league clubs in Australasia. Run by the Australian Rugby League Commission, however, there has not been a league-wide Reserve Grade competition since 1988, when the former Ne ...
*
Farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
*
Scout team The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...
, team that practices against the main roster


References

{{Reflist


External links


Remarkable Reserves!FA Premier Reserve League NorthFA Premier Reserve League SouthMLS Next ProPSL Reserve League
Association football terminology American football terminology Australian rules football terminology Basketball terminology Rugby league terminology Rugby union terminology