The interesting format change for Sunderland U21s ahead of new Premier League 2 season

Sunderland's U21s will play in a revamped league format next season after Premier League clubs voted to bring an end to the current system.

The Category One academies have previously been separated into two divisions, with teams competing for promotion and relegation between the two.

As reported by Training Ground Guru, next season will see a new format introduced which will share strong similarities with the new Champions League format to be introduced from the 2024/25 season. The 25 Category One academies will now be separated into different pods, seeded based on their performance across recent seasons. Teams will play each team in their pot home and away, as well as a selection of teams from the other pots.

After the league phase the top 16 teams in the table will then move into a knockout phase. Clubs hope that removing relegation and promotion from the equation will encourage teams to put the development of players beyond any pressure to achieve short-term results.

Sunderland finished 9th out of 11 teams in Premier League 2 Division 2 last season, but they did reach the play-off final in the 2020/21 campaign. The squad is set for a significant rebuild this summer, with a number of regulars from last season released.

Harry Gardiner and Michael Spellman have been offered new contracts, while a number of players are expected to step up from the U18 side that pushed Manchester City for the title until the penultimate fixture of the season last time around.

The club confirmed last week that it had retained its Category One status for the new season.