The 2024 edition of the Premier League Next Generation Cup, which has been a touchstone for promising young footballers in the last four years, will kick off at the Bodymoor Heath on Thursday, August 1, with eight teams competing over four days for the title.
No Indian team has won the tournament in its four editions so far and the top three under-21 Indian teams from the 2024 Reliance Foundation Development League – Punjab FC (champion), East Bengal (runner-up) and Muthoot FA (second runner-up) – will look to change that narrative this time around.
East Bengal’s best bet will be Vanlalpeka Guite, the former captain of India’s under-17 team while Punjab FC will rest its hopes on Manglenthang Kipgene, who won the Player of the Tournament at the SAFF U-20 Championship last year.
“We understand that the sides at the Next Gen Cup are of very high quality and very competitive. But I have always believed that the impossible is possible and we are preparing accordingly to give our best,” Sankarlal Chakraborty, Punjab FC’s academy coach said.
All three teams have played friendlies to acclimatise to the conditions here, with East Bengal beating Luton Town 3-0, Punjab FC edging Tonbridge Angels 4-1.
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However, Muthoot FA lost 1-2 to Kinetic Academy, something it will look to change when the actual tournament begins on Thursday.
“It’s very difficult to say bigger things which are not realistic. The expectation for the team is to have a good tournament and give maximum effort to match the performance of Premier League (youth) teams,” Anees told Sportstar.
Not a bed of roses
While all three teams remain high on optimism, the path to clinching the title would not be a bed of roses for any of them.
Academy sides of four Premier League teams, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Everton, along with South African club Stellenbosch FC will give them a run for their money, with each enjoying an impressive spell in youth development in the last few years.
Tottenham won Premier League 2 last season, the league of academies, while Aston Villa won the Next Gen Berlin Cup in May.
Spurs’ under-18 coach Stuart Lewis has maintained that the new inductees into the squad would have to up the ante to remain worthy of selection throughout the season.
“We’ve got the Next Generation Cup at Aston Villa, which will be a challenge for us as we continue to increase the demands leading into the new season,” Lewis was quoted telling the club’s website.
Stellenbosch, meanwhile, has reached the final in both of its last two appearances, winning one (Midlands - Group A) in 2022, beating Leicester City’s academy 7-2 in the final.
“I’m sure all teams will be competitive and, in a shorter format (each game is of 50 minutes with a break in between), it’s going to be interesting. There’s a penalty shootout at the end for an extra point.
“So, there are a lot of variables that are going to make it more exciting but less predictable,” Evangelos Vellios, Stellenbosch FC reserves head coach, told Sportstar.
Though Everton finished 12th in the under-18 Premier League, the experience of club legend and now manager Leighton Baines, can prove to be crucial in the title race while Crystal Palace, which has nurtured Premier League stars such as Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Moses and Nathaniel Clyne, would look to extend its legacy through this tournament.
Neither of the three teams from India has previously played in the Next Gen Cup before. With the final scheduled at the Loughborough University Stadium, only time will tell if beginner’s luck comes good for any of them, on foreign soil.
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