Youngest teams in 60 leagues worldwide

Issue number 390 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks clubs from 60 leagues worldwide (not including B-teams) according to the average age of line-ups fielded during the current or last completed season.

Valencia is the youngest team within the five major European championships (on average 23.99 years, 25% of minutes by U21 players), while the record-low figure was observed for the Danish side FC Nordsjælland (22.31 years, 74% of minutes by U21 footballers).

The youngest teams in the other leagues of the big-5 are Stuttgart (24.22) in Germany, Southampton (24.40) in England, Lecce (24.56) in Italy and Stade de Reims (24.83) in France.

Spanish giants Barcelona fielded players aged 21 or less for the highest percentage of domestic league minutes (29.5%).

Conversely, Atlético Madrid and Tottenham are among the five big-5 league teams that did not yet field U21 footballers.

The extreme figures for line-ups’ age in South America were recorded for the Venezuelans of Zulia FC (23.74 years) and, at the opposite end, the Paraguayans of 12 de Octubre (31.97 years).

At league level, the figures stretch from a minimum of 25.23 years of age in the Dutch Eredivisie to a maximum of 29.31 for the Thai top division.

At big-5 league level, the values vary from 26.60 years of age in the French Ligue 1 to 27.54 in the Spanish Liga.

About the CIES Football Observatory

The CIES Football Observatory is a research group created in 2005 within the Swiss-based Centre International d’Étude du Sport (CIES). It specialises in the statistical analysis of football, in particular in the areas of demographics, transfer values and performance.

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About the CIES

The International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) is an independent study centre located in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. It was created in 1995 as a joint venture between the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the University of Neuchâtel, the City and State of Neuchatel.

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