Manchester City U21

These days the group under the Elite Development Squad banner competes in Premier League 2, and no side in that competition's history, under any of its former names, has collected more titles.

The team traces itself back to 1892, when City entered a reserve side in the Lancashire Combination. It carried that reserve status for well over a century before being rebuilt as the Elite Development Squad in 2009 and moved into the newly created Under-21 Premier League for the 2012–13 season, the format that later became Premier League 2.

The clearest measure of the academy's output, though, sits in the FA Youth Cup, where City have won the trophy five times, most recently in 2025–26.

The fixture that still means the most to the squad is against Manchester United's under-21 side.