Premier League International Cup
The Premier League International Cup is an English football competition for under-23 teams from across Europe.[1] It was designed to provide players in English Category One academies with the opportunity to match themselves against other elite European footballers from their age group in a competitive environment.[1] The competition was created by the Premier League as part of the organisation's Elite Player Performance Plan and is not sanctioned by UEFA.[2]
 | |
| Organising body | Premier League |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2014 |
| Region | Europe |
| Number of teams | 24 (group stage) 8 (knockout) |
| Related competitions | Premier League 2 |
| Current champions |  PSV(1st title) |
| Most successful club(s) |  Porto(2 titles) |
| Website | Official website |
 2023–24 Premier League International Cup | |
Overview
The competition featured under-23 sides from twelve English clubs and twelve other European clubs for the 2017–18 season.[3] Prior the 2016–17 season, eight English and eight other European clubs competed in the competition. English teams qualify via their standing in the Premier League 2 and entry by European clubs is by invitation from the Premier League. For the 2014–15 tournament, the 16 teams were split into four groups of four. Upon completion of the group stage, the winners and runners-up from each group progressed to the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, all played as single-leg ties.[1] UEFA tried to block the creation of the tournament and refused to sanction its creation. To circumvent this, all games are hosted in England with games involving two foreign teams being held at neutral venues.[2] English clubs play a minimum of two of their fixtures at the main stadium of their senior side.[4] To ensure the focus is on development, the Premier League made no prize money available for the competition.
As in the Professional U21 Development League, teams are allowed to field three overage outfield players and one overage goalkeeper per match.
The most successful team is Porto with two titles. Porto won the trophy in two consecutive seasons by beating Sunderland on 17 May 2017 and Arsenal on 8 May 2018.
Finals
| Season | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Losing semi-finalists | Final stage host |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 |  Manchester City |
1–0 | Porto |
Fulham and Leicester City |
Academy Stadium, Manchester |
| 2015–16 |  Villarreal |
4–2 (a.e.t.) | PSV |
Chelsea and Porto |
The Den, London |
| 2016–17 | Porto |
5–0 | Sunderland |
Norwich City and  Swansea City |
Stadium of Light, Sunderland |
| 2017–18 | Porto |
1–0 | Arsenal |
Newcastle United and Villarreal |
Emirates Stadium, London |
| 2018–19 |  Bayern Munich |
2–0 |  Dinamo Zagreb |
Reading and Southampton |
The Den, London |
| 2019–20 | Aborted after the group stage due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England | ||||
| 2020–21 | No competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England | ||||
| 2021–22 | |||||
| 2022–23 | PSV |
3–1 (a.e.t.) | Crystal Palace |
Fulham and Valencia |
Selhurst Park, London |
| 2023–24 | Everton and West Ham United | ||||
Performances
By club
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porto |
2 | 1 | 2016–17, 2017–18 | 2014–15 |
| PSV |
1 | 1 | 2022–23 | 2015–16 |
| Manchester City |
1 | 0 | 2014–15 | — |
| Villarreal |
1 | 0 | 2015–16 | — |
| Bayern Munich |
1 | 0 | 2018–19 | — |
| Sunderland |
0 | 1 | — | 2016–17 |
| Arsenal |
0 | 1 | — | 2017–18 |
| Dinamo Zagreb |
0 | 1 | — | 2018–19 |
| Crystal Palace |
0 | 1 | — | 2022–23 |
By nation
| Country | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal |
2 | 1 | 2016–17, 2017–18 | 2014–15 |
| England |
1 | 3 | 2014–15 | 2016–17, 2017–18, 2022–23 |
| Netherlands |
1 | 1 | 2022–23 | 2015–16 |
| Spain |
1 | 0 | 2015–16 | — |
| Germany |
1 | 0 | 2018–19 | — |
| Croatia |
0 | 1 | — | 2018–19 |
Top scorers by season
| Season | Goals | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | 6 |  Harry Panayiotou |
Leicester City |
| Leandro Silva |
Porto | ||
| 2015–16 | 6 |  Kasey Palmer |
Chelsea |
| 2016–17 | 4 | Carlton Morris |
Norwich City |
| 2017–18 | 5 | Adrián Dalmau |
Villarreal |
| James Wilson |
Manchester United | ||
| 2018–19 | 5 | Danny Loader |
Reading |
| 2019–20 | 7 | Liam Cullen |
Swansea City |
| 2022–23 | 5 | Jason van Duiven |
PSV |
See also
References
- "Premier League International Cup explained". www.premierleague.com. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- Morgan, Tom (June 5, 2019). "Opposition to Champions League reforms given further backing by Premier League". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- "'Playing best Premier League teams is amazing'". Premier League. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- "U21S JOIN PREMIER LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL CUP". www.canaries.co.uk.
