New midweek competition set to take place next season involving Premier League clubs

A new competition involving Premier League clubs is poised to kick off in the new season after plans were revealed.

The new top flight campaign begins on Friday, August 16, with Manchester United hosting Fulham at Old Trafford in an 8pm kick-off in the first weekend of new Premier League action.

The EFL begins the previous weekend with the Championship, League One and League Two commencing and 46 gameweeks in store in those three divisions.

The 2024/25 season in the Premier League concludes on May 25, 2025, with all 20 teams kicking off at the same time.

In the EFL, the regular season will end on May 3, 2025, with the play-offs taking place over the same weekend as the final round of Premier League matches.

Teams from the Premier League and the EFL clash in a couple of competitions already in both the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Sides from League One and League Two also have the chance to take on Premier League academy sides in the Football League Trophy, which is currently known as the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

Since the 2016/17 campaign, Category 1 Premier League academy sides have been able to participate in the competition, in a move which brought widespread negativity from fans.

And since this has been the case, the most common outcome for Premier League academy sides has been elimination at the group stage.

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But now it appears Premier League under-21 teams will have another opportunity this season to play senior men's sides, this time against non-league opposition.

According to a report in the Non-League Paper, sides in the National League - the top tier of non-league football - will take on Premier League under-21 teams in a new midweek cup competition which will kick-off this season.

The contest will see 16 National League teams take on 16 academy teams from the top flight in a similar style to the Football League Trophy, with the games streamed live on National League TV.

The competition is reported to have four regional groups of eight sides and will likely start in November, with the report detailing how it will unfold.

The report says: "Group games will only be National League v Premier League in the group stages - a total of four games - with the top two from each qualifying for the quarter-finals.

"National League clubs will host the group and knock-out games up until the final, with a date and venue to be confirmed."