2016–17 UEFA Youth League
The 2016–17 UEFA Youth League was the fourth season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA. Chelsea were the title holders after winning the previous two editions. However, since the UEFA Youth League title holders were not given an automatic qualifying place, and both the Chelsea senior team failed to qualify for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League and the Chelsea academy team failed to win the 2015–16 Professional U18 Development League 1, they did not qualify for this tournament to defend their title. Red Bull Salzburg won their first  title after defeating Benfica 2–1 in the final. This was the first occasion that the winner (or a finalist) had come through the "Domestic Champions Path" of the competition and as of 2022 the only season not to won by a side whom previously have won a European trophy. Teams. A total of 64 teams from 40 of the 55 UEFA member associations entered the tournament, with Macedonia, Republic of Ireland and Montenegro entering for the first time. They were split into two sections: Squads. Players had to be born on or after 1 January 1998, with a maximum of  three players per team born between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 1997 are allowed. Round and draw dates. The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise). UEFA Champions League Path. For the UEFA Champions League Path, the 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. There was no separate draw held, with the group compositions identical to the draw for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League group stage, which was held on 25 August 2016, 18:00 CEST, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. In each  group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The eight group winners advance to the round of 16, while the eight runners-up advance to the play-offs, where they are joined by the eight second round winners from the Domestic Champions Path. The matchdays are 13–14 September, 27–28 September, 18–19 October, 1–2 November, 22–23 November, and 6–7 December 2016. Domestic Champions Path. For the Domestic Champions Path, the 32 teams were drawn into two rounds of two-legged home-and-away ties. The draw was held on 30 August 2016, 13:45 CEST, at  the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. There were no seedings, but the 32 teams were split into four groups defined by sporting and geographical criteria prior to the draw. The eight second round winners advance to the play-offs, where they are joined by the eight group runners-up from the UEFA Champions League Path. If the aggregate scores are level after full-time of the second leg, the away goals rule is used to decide the winner. If still tied, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time is played). First round. The first legs  were played on 21, 27, 28, 29 September and 5 October, and the second legs were played on 19 October 2016. Second round. The first legs were played on 2, 9 and 16 November, and the second legs were played on 22, 23 and 30 November 2016. Play-offs. For the play-offs, the 16 teams were drawn into eight ties played over one match. The draw was held on 12 December 2016, 14:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The eight second round winners from the Domestic Champions Path were drawn against the eight group runners-up  from the UEFA Champions League Path, with the teams from the Domestic Champions Path hosting the match. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. The eight play-off winners advance to the round of 16, where they are joined by the eight group winners from the UEFA Champions League Path. If the scores are level after full-time, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time is played). The play-offs were played on 7 and 8 February 2017. Knockout phase. For the knockout phase (round of 16 onwards), the 16  teams were drawn into a single-elimination tournament, with all ties played over one match. The draw was held on 10 February 2017, 13:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows: If the scores were level after full-time, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time was played). Round of 16. The round of 16 matches were played on 21 and 22 February 2017. Quarter-finals. The quarter-finals were played on 7 and 8 March 2017. Semi-finals. The semi-finals were  played on 21 April 2017 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon. Final. The final was played on 24 April 2017 at the Colovray Stadium in Nyon, Switzerland.