Southampton F.C. Under-21s and Academy
football club
Southampton F.C. Under-21s and Academy or Saints U21s and Academy is the youth organisation run by Southampton F.C. to encourage and develop young footballers in the south of England. Renowned players including Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, and Alan Shearer began their careers at this academy.
The team is made up of under-21 and academy players, is effectively Southampton's second-string side, but is limited to three outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 21 per game following the introduction of new regulations from the 2012–13 season. They play in Premier League 2, Division 2. The team also competes in the EFL Trophy, Premier League International Cup, Premier League Cup and the Hampshire Senior Cup. The under-18 players among other younger age groups make up the Academy team and play in the Premier League U18 First Division, South, Premier League U18 Cup and the FA Youth Cup.
Home fixtures are contested at A.F.C. Totton's Testwood Stadium with some fixtures being held at St. Mary's. Some games are played at the club's training facilities at Staplewood in Long Lane, Marchwood, Southampton if required. Since November 2025, the Under 21s have been managed by Adam Lallana, while since June 2025, the Under 18s have been managed by Andrew Surman.
“Southampton F.C. Under-21s and Academy” enters the record as football club. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Southampton, Under-21s and Academy can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “Southampton F.C. Under-21s and Academy” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.