United learn FA Youth Cup opponents

Adam Lawrence’s young Reds enjoyed a season of unprecedented success in 2023/24, lifting a trio of trophies come the campaign’s end, partly driven by disappointment in the Youth Cup, where they were defeated 2-0 away at Swindon Town in the fourth round.

That loss came in January, and inspired a determined run which led United to the northern and national league titles, and the U18 Premier League Cup.

This season has begun in similarly fruitful fashion for Lawrence’s group, with nine consecutive league victories and a dominant 11-2 aggregate triumph over Lithuanian youth champions FK Zalgiris in the UEFA Youth League.

United are the most successful club in the FA Youth Cup, with 11 titles to our name. The most recent, in 2022, saw a record-shattering 67,492-strong crowd attend Old Trafford for a 3-1 final victory over Nottingham Forest.

Travis Binnion’s side included current first-team stars Alejandro Garnacho — scorer of two goals in the final — and Kobbie Mainoo. Dan Gore and Charlie McNeill from the team have also made senior debuts.

MANCHESTER UNITED’S FA YOUTH CUP TITLES

United are the most successful club in FA Youth Cup history, winning the competition on 11 occasions (1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1964, 1992, 1995, 2003, 2011, 2022) and reaching a further four finals (1982, 1986, 1993, 2007).

FA YOUTH CUP FORMAT

The FA Youth Cup mirrors the format of the FA Cup, the world’s longest-running national football competition, first played in the 1871/72 season. The Youth Cup began some time later in 1952, designed to encourage development of young players at clubs across the country.

Premier League and Championship sides join the competition at the third round stage. The games are one-off occasions and, should the match be drawn after 90 minutes, an extra-time period of 30 minutes is played, with a penalty shoot-out following if necessary.

All players born on or after 1 September 2006 are eligible for selection in the FA Youth Cup, meaning players are 18 or under.

FA YOUTH CUP THIRD-ROUND DRAW

Watford v Oxford United
Millwall v Hull City
Leyton Orient or Whitehawk v Fylde or Northampton Town
Hertford Town or Bristol Rovers v Arsenal
Bournemouth v Ipswich Town
Harrogate Town or Birmingham City v West Bromwich Albion
Queens Park Rangers v Gillingham or Swindon Town
Derby County v Sunderland
Burton Albion or Notts County v Fulham
Leicester City v Chelsea
Stoke City v Bromley or Rising Ballers Kensington
Cardiff City v Chesterfield or Shrewsbury Town
Bristol City v Sheffield Wednesday
Portsmouth v Leeds United
Eastleigh or Wimbledon v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Tottenham Hotspur v Middlesbrough
Norwich City v Brentford
Fleetwood Town or Tamworth v Burnley
Aston Villa v Accrington Stanley or Blyth Spartans
Sheffield United v Blackburn Rovers
Merstham or Forest Green Rovers v Burgess Hill Town or Colchester United
Luton Town v Crewe Alexandra or Blackpool
Grimsby Town or Salford City v West Ham United
Everton v Nottingham Forest
Preston North End v Liverpool
UNITED v Coventry City
Swansea City v Southampton
Stevenage or Cheltenham Town v Exeter City or Dunstable
Manchester City v Crystal Palace
Bolton Wanderers or Lincoln City v Wrexham
Carlisle United v Plymouth Argyle
Newcastle United v Brighton & Hove Albion