DISCUSSION POINT - SUGGESTION

[leaguegod]

I like the idea of the U24 T20 replacing the current YT20, not only to help the dead zone but also find the current YT20 fairly pointless, i think having a progression in the middle of YOD and when players get to their peak in SOD would be entertaining change.

i personally don't see the need for YT20 cup especially when the first change is already a pretty drastic change.

[RevRob]

Another suggestion to raise, if one of the main sticking points is whether 5 leagues is too many or more is better, might be the ability to opt in and out of formats. To play in as many or as few as you'd like.

I'm not saying I'm necessarily for that idea, but it may be worth discussing.

I like this - A win/win situation for all!

[gregsy34]

If you want to address the "dead zone" it has to be to the benefit of all players in all Divs not the biggest benefit for the highest ranked teams.
The "dead zone" is mostly dead due to Experience and strenghth and a perhaps a primary pop or 2 IMHO
If you wanted to have an U23/U24 league, I think there would have to be a maximum number of "over 21" players allowed. And/Or a "max average age" of the team to encourage a blend and also a way to allow lower ranked teams to benefit more than higher ranked ones. Like maybe an exp bonus for players under the average age of the team or for the 4 lowest exp players in the team.
By giving proportionally more benefit to lower ranked players & teams (and I am only talking slightly here) you give lower ranked teams more chance to produce a sellable U21, u22 or u23 year old.
In theory a "max average age" would allow people to choose how to play (either to EXP max or try to win the league) and should make each league season more competitive as the season goes on, as you have to think carefully about who to play...
If you really wanted to make it interesting, you could make the max average age decrease slightly the lower the div level. So div 1 would have a lower max average age than div 2 or div3...
Some crazy ideas i know.... Ready to be shot down.

[Hawwy]

I've been playing this game on and off since about 2010 and I have always felt there is too much of an age gap for 21yo's to be relevant for senior squads in the game, often referred to in previous replies as the 'dead zone'.
Many people may not know that the original age for youth squads was 16 to 19 (players turning 20 promoted to seniors).

Post by GA-James018 » Tue Oct 06, 2026 10:34 am

Another suggestion to raise, if one of the main sticking points is whether 5 leagues is too many or more is better, might be the ability to opt in and out of formats. To play in as many or as few as you'd like.

Managers can already do this if they want to. My affiliate team completely ignores Youths.

Personally I feel the game desperately needs to find a way to make 21yo -25yo players more relevant in FTP. I think the only way to do this is to introduce a new squad to the game for 21yo to 25yo.

Youths 16yo to 20yo (U21)
'Middle Age' 21 yo to 25yo (U26)
Seniors 26yo+

Obviously the logistics of making this work wouldn't be easy by introducing new matches (comps), training and national teams, but I think it could work if all 'middle age' matches, training and events occurred at exactly the same time as Youth events. Basically the middle age squad becomes and extension of the youth squad.

I see absolutely no reason why this scenario wouldn't work. We already have only one academy. Fatigue shouldn't be an issue. The only thing the game would need to figure out is balancing the finances to make it work.

* As someone who likes to train up youths and keep them for the duration of their FTP life, I would love for this to be applied to the game

[Sockit151]

To be clear, speaking as an admin, that "dead" zone between around 21-25 is exactly what this proposal is trying to address. It makes the game feel very wonky if players are just not playing at all, other than occasional walkovers against bots and other mismatches, for several seasons in between U20 and their mid-to-late twenties. For me personally, it's probably the one thing that makes FTP feel the least like actual cricket.

A U24 competition gives players in that age range the chance to play some meaningful matches. It would replace YT20 since five leagues would be unsustainable and YT20 is the least impactful to remove (bear in mind it didn't exist at launch and was added a long time later). The proposal for the youth cup is in part to offset that, with it being YT20 so the format doesn't die out. The rejig of the schedule is to make things smoother fatigue-wise for all players given all the proposed changes. That's the logic behind everything.

It is just a proposal and this is why we're floating it first to get input. I appreciate (and was expecting!) some people to not like parts of it, and would be keen to hear other ideas. Just changing U20 to U23 is an interesting option and worth debating, though I can see people who like the U20 setup as it is not being a fan of that, and I also wonder if that would just shift the problem to 16 to 18-year-olds not getting a game.

Fully agree, flatly raising youth ages would just make the 16-18yos obsolete..

It is only the top talent who can compete v 19-20yo's in the first season or 2 as it is

[tonk6464]

I think the U24 league suggestion makes sense - young senior players are not competitive except in lower divisions or against weak teams in the MKMC.

I suggest the following alternative - make both youth leagues U21 and as Crowfan suggested, increase the training speed for youths and slow down the training speed more as players get older. This would make players somewhat more competitive in seniors by the time they graduate to seniors. And it would be a less complicated change than having a new age division.

I am not a fan of changing the weekly schedule - I think the current schedule works well as it is. If Senior T20 were to be moved to Monday, then there would be no fitness update between MKMC and Senior T20, which I don't think would be good. I don't think we need a youth cup.

[optimist]

Another Idea would be to have 3 teams Youth (U21), Junior (U24 or U25) and Senior (no age limit). max. squad size may be reduced to force few U25 selection in Senior games. Wages may be reduced to make 3 teams affordable. I like the idea to fix the dead zone. Another idea could be to have random Super Gifted/Talented youth players who will have senior level skills when 21.

[CricketGodMate977]

I would be opposed to any proposal that results in a reduction in the number of youth matches. For me, the youth competitions are one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game, and I would be very disappointed to see them reduced or removed.

I have no objection to the introduction of new competitions or formats, I am open to ideas that add something new to the game. However, I strongly believe that any additions should complement the existing youth structure rather than come at its expense.

By all means expand the game, but please don’t do so by reducing the area that brings me a lot of joy.

Totally agree. I'm not a fan at all of this change if I'm being honest. As someone who primarily focuses on the Youth squad, I think this could heavily impact the ability for these players to develop.