The Crystal Palace F.C. Under-21s is the Under-21 Development team of Crystal Palace Football Club. They play in Premier League 2, the top level of reserve football in England and also compete in the Premier League Cup, Premier League International Cup and EFL Trophy.
The Crystal Palace F.C. Academy consists of the Under-18s and also lower-age group youth teams of Crystal Palace Football Club. The Under-18 team compete in the U18 Premier League, U18 Premier League Cup and FA Youth Cup. The academy has produced a number of well known international players over the years such as Johnny Byrne, Kenny Sansom, Peter Nicholas, Gareth Southgate and Wilfried Zaha.
The academy was significantly upgraded in 2020 to achieve Category One status, the highest classification in English football, and was officially opened in 2021 by former Palace academy graduate Gareth Southgate.
U21 Development squad
Out on loan The loans listed here are only for under-21 squad players who have not yet made a competitive appearance for the first team or been called into the first team squad for a competitive fixture.
U18 Academy squad
Honours
Reserves/Development Squad Premier League International Cup Winners (1): 2023–24 Runners-up (1): 2022–23 Premier League 2 Division 2 Play-off Winners (1): 2020–21 The Football Combination Champions (1): 2002–03 Runners-up (1): 2001–02 Kent League Champions (1): 1913–14 Runners-up (2): 1910–11, 1912–13
Academy FA Youth Cup Winners (2): 1976–77, 1977–78 Runners-up (2): 1991–92, 1996–97 U18 Premier League Cup Winners (1): 2025–26 U18 Premier League – South Group Runners-up (1): 2020–21 U15 National Floodlit Cup Winners (2): 2018–19, 2022–23 Runners-up (1): 2021–22 U15 National Floodlit Shield Runners-up (1): 2025–26 Southern Junior Floodlit Cup Winners (1): 1996–97 Runners-up (1): 1976–77 U14 Orange Veins OH Leuven Cup Winners (1): 2026
Notable Academy graduates Former academy players listed below who have progressed to the first team to make at least 100 appearances for Crystal Palace.
Roy Bailey Peter Berry Johnny Byrne Bill Glazier Alan Stephenson David Payne John Jackson Steve Kember Paul Hammond David Swindlehurst Nick Chatterton
Paul Hinshelwood Kenny Sansom Vince Hilaire Billy Gilbert John Salako Richard Shaw Gareth Southgate Dean Gordon Hayden Mullins Wayne Routledge Ben Watson
Tom Soares Nathaniel Clyne Tyrick Mitchell Wilfried Zaha Jerry Murphy Clinton Morrison Sean Scannell George Ndah Jim Cannon Ian Walsh Peter Nicholas
Development Player of the Year Award
YearWinner1983 Gary Stebbing1984 Gary Stebbing1985 David Lindsay1986 Richard Shaw1987 John Salako1988 John Salako1989 David Stevens1990 Simon Osborn1991 Dean Gordon1992 Mark Hawthorne 1993 George Ndah1994 Brian Launders1995No award1996No award1997No award YearWinner1998No award1999No award2000No award2001No award2002 Julian Gray2003 Wayne Routledge2004 Wayne Routledge2005 Tom Soares2006 Ben Watson2007 Gary Borrowdale2008 Sean Scannell2009 Nathaniel Clyne2010 Nathaniel Clyne2011 Wilfried Zaha2012 Wilfried Zaha YearWinner2013 Jonny Williams2014 Joel Ward2015 Sullay Kaikai2016 Hiram Boateng2017 Kevin Gonzalez2018 Aaron Wan-Bissaka2019 Kian Flanagan2020 Malachi Boateng2021 Reece Hannam2022 Jesurun Rak-Sakyi2023 David Ozoh2024 Joe Whitworth2025 Hindolo Mustapha2026 George King Note: This award was previously known as Young Player of the Year until 2015.
References