Stoke City F.C. Under-23s and Academy
Stoke City Football Club Under-23s is the most senior of Stoke City's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. The Under-23 team is effectively Stoke City's second-string side. They play in Premier League 2 Division 2. The team also competes in the Premier League Cup and Staffordshire Senior Cup. They play their home matches at the club's main ground, the bet365 Stadium, Lyme Valley Stadium in Newcastle-under-Lyme as well as the club's Clayton Wood Training Ground. In previous seasons the team has played at St  George's Park, Burton-on-Trent, Macclesfield Town's Moss Rose, Nantwich Town's Weaver Stadium and Harrison Park in Leek. History. Stoke fielded a second team for the first time in a league competition, the Combination, in 1891–92, under the name of 'Stoke Swifts'. The Swifts also played in the Midland League and the local North Staffordshire & District League, which they won on two occasions. The team joined the Birmingham & District League in 1900–01 and was renamed 'Stoke Reserves'. They temporarily had to return to local leagues in 1908 after the first team suffered financial difficulties and had to  resign from the Football League, taking the reserves' place in the Birmingham & District League. They returned in 1911–12 and continued to play in it until they joined the newly founded Central League, a specific reserve team only league. In 1925 after Stoke-on-Trent was granted City status the second string became "Stoke City Reserves". They won the Central League title in 1927–28 and remained in the league until the 1980s when a Division Two was created. Stoke were relegated in 1984–85, gaining promotion in 1991–92, but suffered instant relegation in 1992–93, however promotion was achieved in 1993–94. The league  was restructured in 1996 with Stoke now in the Central League Premier Division, dropping down to Division One in 1999–2000. They won Division One in 2002–03 and then won the Premier Division in 2003–04. Stoke remained in the Central League until 2008. Following the first team's promotion to the Premier League in 2008 the reserves joined the Premier Reserve League. In 2012 the Premier League implemented the Elite Player Performance Plan and introduced the Professional Development League, with reserve teams becoming under-21 teams. In The League was split into two in 2014–15, with Stoke playing in Division 2. In  2016 the league was re-branded Premier League 2 and the age limit increased to under-23. Notable Academy graduates. A number players from the Stoke City Academy go on to have careers in professional football, whether at Stoke City or at other clubs. The following is a list of players who have played at a professional level since the Academy opened in 1998. Players who are listed in Bold have gained senior international caps.