Reporter Chen Yong reports On June 3]}On June 13, the 2026 season U20 League (China Youth Football League Men's U20 Group) officially began its home and away matches. Twelve teams were split into Groups A and B for the first phase of double round-robin home and away games. After that, Groups A, B, and C will compete in promotion and relegation playoffs, followed by another phase of double round-robin home and away matches to decide the final champion. The U20 League champion will then face the fourth-place finisher of the China Champions League in a playoff for a spot in the China League Two. In the first match played on the 13th, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger U20 hosted Shenzhen Peng City U20, drawing 1-1, with nearly 1,000 Tianjin fans in attendance.

Under the newly reformed U20 League, 12 elite teams will play 20 home and away matches, or 11 teams will play 20 matches and 2 teams will play 10. This represents a major reform in China's youth competition system, using a weekly home and away format to establish a high-level platform bridging youth football and professional leagues.

Top-tier Home and Away Youth Training Competition

The U20 League was established by merging the U21 League and the China Youth League Men's U19 Group, making it China's premier youth football competition. The merger was driven by the high overlap of players from many clubs participating in both the U21 League and the U19 Youth League. The goal of this merger is to transform two tournaments into a single weekly home-and-away league, creating a high-level platform that connects youth football to professional football in China.

For the 2026 season, 28 teams signed up for the U20 League, primarily consisting of professional club youth teams, with some wild cards issued to training academy teams. The competition is divided into three stages: the first stage qualifying, the second stage round robin, and the third stage round robin.

In the first stage qualifying, the 28 teams are divided into five groups for a single round robin, followed by a serpentine grouping for another single round robin based on initial rankings. After the first stage, the top 24 teams are placed into Groups A, B, C, and D according to their performance. Groups A and B each have 6 teams and will play home and away double round-robin matches, while Groups C and D will use a single round-robin format.

Following the second stage of home and away double round-robin matches, the bottom team from Group A and Group B, and the top teams from Group B and Group C, will compete in single-elimination playoffs. The last place team in Group C and the top team in Group D will directly swap groups. After the third stage of home and away double round-robin, if the same team finishes first in both stages, they are crowned champions; otherwise, a playoff match is held.

After the U20 League concludes, its champion will vie with the fourth-place team of the China Champions League for a spot in China League Two. If the champion club already has a B team playing in China League Two or China League One, the opportunity is passed down.

Zhejiang and Shenhua Aim for Promotion to League Two Promotion

After the first stage qualifying, the teams advancing to Group A are Zhejiang Club, Shanghai Shenhua, Shaanxi United, Guangdong Guangzhou , Shenzhen Peng City, and Tianjin Jinmen Tiger. The teams in Group B are Hubei Youth Star, Beijing Guoan, Shandong , Ningbo Club, Shanghai Port, and Henan Club.

From this grouping, it is evident that among the five Chinese Super League clubs participating in China League Two this season, none entered Group A for the second-stage home and away due to their younger squad ages. Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Port are in Group B, theoretically capable of moving up to Group A for contention, but realistically face difficulties due to their players' youth. Wuhan Three Towns is in Group C and cannot advance to Group A, with their realistic goal being promotion to Group B for the third stage. Chengdu Rongcheng and Dalian Yingbo, due to roster constraints, focused on their B teams in China League Two and did not join the U20 League.

In Group A, Zhejiang Club and Shanghai Shenhua are considered favorites, but other teams have also shown impressive performances: in the previous qualifying stage, Zhejiang Club topped their group with 3 wins and 1 draw (alongside Ningbo and Qingdao Hainiu), while Shanghai Shenhua also led their group with 4 wins and 1 draw (including Hubei Youth Star, Wuhan Three Towns, and Liaoning Iron). Tianjin Jinmen Tiger and Guangdong Guangzhou achieved 4 wins and 1 draw as well, with the latter outperforming Shanghai Port and Beijing Guoan.

Group B teams also possess considerable strength: Hubei Youth Star and Shanghai Shenhua both record wins and 1 draw, reflecting their solid performance. Shandong Taishan U20 ended as group runners-up due to a three-way tie on points and a head-to-head cycle, missing out on Group A. However, Shandong Taishan U20 is essentially an U18 team, younger and with limited depth. The playoffs between Groups A and B and Groups B and C following the second stage will naturally draw significant attention.