The hugely successful NextGen Series, the UEFA sanctioned European competition showcasing football’s finest young stars, today confirms season two will kick off with the Barcelona v Anderlecht clash on Wednesday August 15[SUP]th[/SUP]. Full fixtures, stadia and squad lists are available from today on the tournament’s new website
www.nextgenseries.com.
With 24 of the world’s best Clubs all signed up to compete, including new clubs Chelsea FC, Arsenal FC, Paris Saint-Germain, CSKA Moscow and Borussia Dortmund, this Season will provide Europe’s finest youth talent with a solid platform on which to hone their skills in a competitive international environment proving they are the future of football.
Games will be played across a number of stadia throughout Europe including Vila Park, Celtic Park, the Camp Nou, White Hart Lane and St. Helens stadium. Clubs will compete in group games from now until the end of December, with the final stages of the tournament taking place in the first three months of 2013. The Final will be held in March when the qualifying teams will have a chance of competing for the coveted NextGen Trophy, won last year by Inter Milan.
The six Groups for the NextGen Series 2012/13 are:
Group One - FC Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur, Olympiacos, Vfl Wolfsburg.
Group Two - Manchester City FC,
Juventus FC, Paris Saint-Germain, Fenerbahce.
Group Three - Chelsea FC, AFC Ajax, CSKA Moscow, Molde FK.
Group Four - Arsenal FC, Athletico Bilbao, Olympique de Marseille, RSC Anderlecht.
Group Five - Liverpool FC, Borussia Dortmund, Internazionale, Rosenborg BK.
Group Six - Sporting Clube de Portugal, Celtic FC, Aston Villa FC, PSV Eindhoven
Commenting on the upcoming season of the NextGen Series, Justin Andrews, the Tournament’s co-founder said:
“With such an incredible first season under our belts, and eight more international clubs competing in NextGen this year, we are all working hard to ensure a cracking Tournament and we are eagerly waiting to see some great football and which young stars will emerge as the ones to watch. This year will be a significant time for youth development in the UK and we are very proud to be playing a part in it.”