Rochdale AFC are delighted to announce that the Academy’s Under-15 side has qualified for the Premier League Floodlit Cup for the second time in three seasons.
They finished top of their group at Saturday’s qualifying competition in Hull, winning three and drawing one, including three clean sheets, in a group containing Doncaster Rovers, Hull City, Rotherham United and Bradford City.
Category two and three clubs from across the country enter the qualification stage, with only eight progressing through to join the Category One clubs in the prestigious competition.
YDP Coach Lee Riley said: “We’re really proud of the group for progressing through.
“It was a really tough qualifying group against teams with different styles of play and they handled the pressure of the occasion really well.
“The competition gives us an opportunity to test the lads at an elite level of academy football, the highest level available to them at their age.
“It also exposes them to games that mean something in terms of the result, having to get results in order to progress further in the competition.
“The likes of Dan Adshead and Luke Matheson played in the competition two years ago, as part of a team which reached the quarter-finals. It would be great to see a couple from this group go on to follow in their footsteps in the future.”
Dale have been drawn against Liverpool, Everton and Wigan Athletic, with the group stage getting underway later this month.
The Premier League Floodlit Cup gives young players the opportunity of playing competitive football, whilst allowing them to adapt to the demands and conditions of evening matches that senior players face on a regular basis.