The FM21 Youth Academy Challenge

[darren1983]

Welcome back everyone!!

This is the new incarnation of the Youth Academy Challenge started by ri916 and continued by Braumiller before I picked it up, from now on rather than having a thread only for the current version of the game, this thread will also play host to people that are starting on older versions.

The Aim
To win your chosen countries' top division and win the Champions League of your continent with a previously unplayable club using only your academy as a way of acquiring new players - this mean NO TRANSFERS of any kind. No buying back former players. Even on a free. No loans not even as part of a deal to sell your player. 

The Available Countries
Previously any Country in Europe was eligible as long as you can get a previously unplayable side promoted from Holidaying, however from last year we were happy to extended it to the rest of the world as well as long as the team meets the criteria of being previously unplayable and that is the same this year. Custom leagues will be allowed from now on however if you complete the challenge on a custom DB we'll list your achievement with note to say it was done on a custom DB because we have no way of verifying the DB.

Helpful Information
There is often lots of speculation about what impacts the youth intake and what you as a player can do in order to get the best intake you can and the below is the information we have thanks to @Seb Wassell (sorry for the notification here mate)

Newgens & Youth Intake

Youth Recruitment
The Club’s recruiting of Juniors, those of home and foreign origin.

Youth Facilities
The training facilities available for Juniors (only).
Does NOT apply to visible players already at the club. All visible players currently at the club use Training Facilities regardless of age.

Junior Coaching
The quality and quantity of Junior Coaches at the Club.

Nation Youth Rating
The potential maximum quality and quantity of Juniors produced in that Nation.

Game Importance
How important football is considered to be in that Nation.

Producing Newgens
The Clubs with the best Youth Recruitment will generally pick up the best Junior talent from that Nation first, the scale of that talent being determined by the Nation Youth Rating and Game Importance. The lower the Youth Recruitment the further down the pecking order a club will find itself. Two clubs with identical Youth Recruitment will be sorted by Club Reputation. Being lower down this pecking order does not mean quality Newgens cannot be produced, it simply lowers the chances.

Youth Facilities and Junior Coaching then simulate and determine how that Junior progresses in the Club’s Junior system until a Newgen is produced and appears in game. It is at this point that the Current Ability (CA) and Potential Ability (PA) of the newgens are decided. The above factors all contribute to both CA and PA equally.

Head of Youth Development (HoYD)
The club’s HoYD is responsible for bringing Newgens into the club. He will influence what “type” of players are selected and can partially or fully pass on his personality to some of these Newgens. The “type” of players selected refers to a player’s position and style, for instance a HoYD with a preferred 4-5-1 formation and a Technical Coaching Style may produce more technically styled midfielders than another HoYD.
The HoYD will also influence the rare “freak” or exceptional Newgens that come through, modifying their ability and style.
This role is filled by the HoYD by default, however if none is employed whichever staff member is set to be responsible for youth development will fill this role.

Youth Intake Preview

In FM20 the Development Centre will provide a preview of the upcoming youth intake ahead of the day itself.
This preview will provide some information on the general quality of the intake, positions that are either blessed with or lacking in quality and any other notable highlights.

Junior Player Poaching

It is possible for Juniors to be poached from another club's youth system. This will most commonly occur from smaller reputation club > larger reputation club.
When this occurs a inbox item is received, offering a few details (similar to that of the Youth Intake Preview) on the player that has been poached. Poached players will appear in the next appropriate youth intake.

The Reset Dates
(Dates will appear when they have been confirmed for FM20 so please tag me when you know and if the country you pick isn't listed below just let me know the reset date and I'll add it)

Some leagues (any you find please let me know) don't have relegation for the firsts season so if you want to play in those leagues you will be required to holiday for 2 seasons. Norway for example the top two tiers run the first season and without relegation in the lowest one. Holidaying a season will make the other leagues start as normal season 2. So holidaying through that will allow the normal promotion to the 3rd tier. The reason for this is that all amateur football has been suspended this season in real life.

Spain/Portugal - due to the restructuring at the end of season 1 where the new 4th division comes into play meaning we now have to start from even lower down in these leagues than before. So load all levels like normal, holiday season 1 as normal but when picking a side you must pick a side from the newly structured 4th tier, on the season summary page they're listed right near the bottom just above the cup winners so go through those (there's a lot due to the amount of new clubs) so check they didn't play in a league in the 2020/21 season. Easiest way to do this is by checking the club growth graph otherwise just look on the fixtures page and go back to the 2020/21 season and see. Also obviously don't pick a side that is a B team to a bigger side.

Holland - there is now no relegation from the bottom tier of Holland for 3 seasons so if people want to do this challenge in Holland you will have to holiday past 3 seasons to get a side that is eligible.

Argentina - June 24th

Austria - June 14th (Save on April 30th to get different teams)

Belarus - January 15th

Belgium - June 30th (Save on March 1st to get different sides)

Bulgaria - June 18th

Brazil - January 2nd (2022) (Save on December 5th to get different teams)

Chile - January 10th (Save on December 1st to get different teams)

China - December 27th (Save on November 1st to get different teams)

Croatia - June 20th

Czech Republic - June 30th

Denmark - June 30th (due to the league changing and a new league turning up the best plan is to holiday till June 1st 2022 and save for different teams. League rest is still June 30th)  

England - June 25th (Save on June 19th to get different teams)

Finland - December 14th (2020)

France  - June 20th

Germany - June 20th (Save on May 30th for different teams)

Greece - June 20th. (Save on 26th May 2021 to get different teams)

Holland - July 6th 2024 (save June 2nd to get different teams)

Hungry - June 20th

Iceland - November 25th Save on September 25th for different teams)

Israel - June 20th

Italy - June 30th (Save on June 5th for different teams)

Northern Ireland - June 25th (save June 4th for different teams)

Norway -  January 13th 2021 (pick your side and save scum them to promotion from the lowest tier)

Poland - June 28th

Portugal - June 30th (Save on May 30th for different teams)

Romania - June 30th Romania works like Norway where the lowest level (Liga III) isn’t playable, so you have to holiday for a year and select one of the teams promoted to Liga II. They have playoffs (two-legged semi final and final) for promotion, holiday until May 6th and save, to make sure your team gets through semi-final. Save on May 20th before the final.

Russia - June 20th

Scotland - June 25th ( Save on May 1st, holiday 1 day to the playoffs to ensure your team wins then holiday to reset date)

Serbia - June 16th

Slovenia - July 1st

Slovakia - June 29th 

South Africa - July 15th

Spain - July 10th

Sweden - 14th December (2020)

Switzerland - June 20th

Turkey - June 20th

Ukraine - June 27th (save on June 6th for different teams)

Uruguay - January 1st 2022 (save on September 1st for different teams, September 5th to check if your desired side makes the playoffs & September 8th to check playoff winners) 

Wales – June 25th (Save on May15th to get different teams)

 

Database Settings

Mandatory

Database size can be small, medium or large

Advanced Options have to be as shown here --

Optional

 

Any additional settings in the ‘Advanced Database Setup’ – Due to us not being allowed to buy players, adding extra players just adds to the realism of your game and potentially slightly increases difficulty. NOTE – It is highly recommended you add the highest unplayable leagues for your country, as this will help make sure the promoted teams (you will be taking control of) have players.

As an example, this is what I loaded for England - 

Players from Top Clubs in Europe is also recommended

We used to limit this to just loading the leagues from the country you are playing in but we now allow you to load as many leagues as you to add a bit more immersion into their saves. You don't have to add any more than the country you are playing in but the option is there for people that want to.

Steps When Getting Started

Add yourself as an unemployed manager. Call him holiday man if you want.

Go on holiday until the reset date of your nation or the day before if you’re planning on reloading.

Retire the manager

Add a new manager with your chosen nationality and the lowest possible reputation and qualifications

Choose the newly promoted club of your choice

Rules for the Challenge

No loans or transfers in are allowed but you can sell and loan players out.

If you are sacked, sorry, you have to start again.

No save game editors are allowed. Only cosmetic database edits are allowed. (Team/competition names/logos)

No international management until completion of challenge.

Signing backroom staff is allowed. Signing players on trial or signing grey players isn't allowed.

Rules for this Thread

Player naming is allowed.

General discussion on tactics is allowed, although people should not refer to downloaded tactics. They are not banned, but I would expect the majority of people to avoid them.

Screenshots for anything are encouraged but please post links to your pictures, don't post them as images as it makes the pages slower to load.

When you join the challenge, could you post a screenshot of your manager's profile on the league reset date.

Progress of your club should be documented using this thread. The beauty of these challenge threads is to share your story and to read others. Please keep us updated, even if you are not performing as you may wish.

Season Update

Youth Candidates

All Tagged Players Attribute page

Transfers (to prove that you haven’t signed any players)

Squad

League Table

Anything else is optional. 

Also, some people like to nickname/tag their best players from each youth intake in chronological order. For example, you could nickname your best player in the intake in season 1 as *their name* YP01a, and so on. But this is not compulsory if you don't wish to.

  

Good luck to all

Edited April 29, 2021 by darren1983

[darren1983]

 

 

 

User                         Club         Country            Year Completed      	Version

Zdnap			Lotte		  Germany		2032			FM21
OlivierL		RW Essen	  Germany		2030			FM21
toshimitzou1		AO Aigaleo	  Greece		2041			FM21
darren1983		South Shields	  England		2046			FM21
TerminalPortugal 	Portalegrense	  Portugal		2043			FM21	
scarp			Bora Rangers	  Scotland		2049			FM21
libbyshuss		FC Mirassol  	  Brazil		2045			FM21
holidaysong		FC United	  England		2048			FM21
Slipky			Ashton United	  England		2036			FM21
steve.rush		Sannois SG	  France		2046			FM21
Cheez3y			Wits		  South Africa		2026			FM21
Armeniar		Sedan		  France		2035			FM21	
Cheez3y			Lyn TF		  Norway		2031			FM21
thomas_e		Sacachispas	  Argentina		2030			FM21
JAwtunes		Widzew Lodz	  Poland		2038			FM20
vikeologist           	Palermo           Italy       		2041   			FM20                         
thomas_e              	South Shields     England  		2040                    FM20       
dkouv                  	Scarborough       England  		2045                    FM20       
Miek                    Nuneaton Boro     England		2049                    FM20   
Padders                	Scarborough       England   		2277 (not a typo)    	FM20
thomas_e               	Energie Cottbus   Germany		2033                    FM20
XaW			Kettering Town	  England		2036			FM19
thomas_e		Real Jean	  Spain			2038			FM19
b101			Sampedrense	  Portugal		2031			FM18

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by darren1983

[darren1983]

Well Beta is out - let's get cracking guys 

[XaW]

Oh, lovely, I'm staying here in Norway and going to take over Follo again! This time I will do it!

Oh, and @darren1983, I expanded upon my post in the other thread to make it clearer how to make Norway work.

Edited November 10, 2020 by XaW

[darren1983]

1 minute ago, XaW said:

Oh, lovely, I'm staying here in Norway and going to take over Follo again! This time I will do it!

Oh, and @darren1983, I expanded upon my post in the other thread to make it clearer how to make Norway work.

Yeah I just saw mate so have edited the OP. Cheers for the info. 

[Padders]

Holiday Man is on holiday

#letsgo

[_JHTB_]

Argentina -  24th June

Austria - 14th June

Belarus - 15th January

Belgium - 30th June

Bulgaria - 18th June

Brazil - 2nd January 2022

Croatia - 20th June

Czech Republic - 30th June

Denmark - 30th June

England - 25th June

Finland - 14th December 2020

France  - 20th June

Germany - 20th June

Holland - 7th July

Hungry - 20th June

Iceland - 25th November 

Israel - 20th June

Italy - 30th June

Northern Ireland - 25th June

Norway - 13th January

Poland - 28th June

Portugal - 30th June

Romania - 30th June

Russia - 20th June

Scotland - 25th June

Serbia - 16th June

Slovenia - 1st July

South Africa - 15th July

Spain - 10th July

Sweden - 14th December 2020

Switzerland - 20th June

Turkey - 20th June

Wales – 25th June

This is all the reset dates of the nations in the OP unless covered all in 2021 - Will add this is just league reset dates, noted it was covered some leagues aren't running first year

Edited November 10, 2020 by _JHTB_

[Wavelberry]

Italy is still 30th

[DazRTaylor]

Tomorrow I will get the start dates and crucially, the save dates (the dates when you save to enable different teams).  I will get England, Scotland, Wales, The Netherlands, Germany and Italy done first.  I will then post on here so the OP can be updated.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I am determined to tackle this once the proper version comes out.

[Padders]

Well here we go...........

After a few restarts, gone with Witton Albion

[Maikol]

Finland here we come!

[OlivierL]

Damn I promised myself to start a proper 'dafuge' challenge and doing transfer this time.. but after seeing that hall of fame , i want to be in that list ! so lesson one... pick a league from a 'big ' nation.. Doing it in iceland or scotland (braves) is hardcore and not realistic (for me). lesson two , don't put to much details in the season update(s).. because after a few seasons it took me an hour to update .

Going to think about this, damn u all !  

Edited November 10, 2020 by OlivierL

[Padders]

Well we won the first game,

It's very different!

[Crispypaul]

I will likely start this at some point after my enjoyable game in Norway in FM20 which sadly it appears I won't complete.

Am I reading that as the 2022 season is the first that is eligible?

[OlivierL]

@XaW @darren1983 @thomas_efrom your experience.. did anyone started on the beta and played it for 30 seasons or more? i mean this challenge..

looking for excuses  

Edited November 10, 2020 by OlivierL

[thomas_e]

5 minutes ago, OlivierL said:

@XaW @darren1983 @thomas_efrom your experience.. did anyone started on the beta and played it for 30 seasons or more? i mean this challenge..

looking for excuses  

I played with NK Zadar for about 10 seasons from the beta. I am planning to start the Youth Academy Challenge straight away now on the beta. 

[OlivierL]

Just now, thomas_e said:

I played with NK Zadar for about 10 seasons from the beta. I am planning to start the Youth Academy Challenge straight away now on the beta. 

thanks

I'm going to wait on the first instant result skin, because i need to have the abilty to IR the 'not important' games.

[thomas_e]

2 minutes ago, OlivierL said:

thanks

I'm going to wait on the first instant result skin, because i need to have the abilty to IR the 'not important' games.

But just to be sure: there hasn't been any indication from SI staff that beta saves won't be compatible with the full game? 

[lloyd_doyley]

First attempt at this challenge, and I will be managing Bonnyrigg Rose in Scottish League 2.

Poor Youth Facilities, so recommended to use the transfer market... and no goalkeeper.

Wish me luck!

[OlivierL]

Just now, thomas_e said:

But just to be sure: there hasn't been any indication from SI staff that beta saves won't be compatible with the full game? 

No they are compatible for sure. and i think that doing a youth only is the savest thing u can do on the beta.. a few data bugs won't mess a YT only save up.. so it's almost a done deal.. but a third FM edition in a row.. no transfers.. not sure if i can cope with that  

[thomas_e]

1 minute ago, OlivierL said:

No they are compatible for sure. and i think that doing a youth only is the savest thing u can do on the beta.. a few data bugs won't mess a YT only save up.. so it's almost a done deal.. but a third FM edition in a row.. no transfers.. not sure if i can cope with that  

Haha, I agree, I actually missed it a bit on my last save. But just cant wait to get started now. Just so unsure about which team to pick! Or nation for that matter! 

[OlivierL]

1 minute ago, thomas_e said:

Haha, I agree, I actually missed it a bit on my last save. But just cant wait to get started now. Just so unsure about which team to pick! Or nation for that matter! 

I also missed it but enjoyed my name tagging and replacing faces thing to much... and feels like unfinished business .. 

The only thing i'm afraid of (beside no transfers) is picking a league that's to 'long' or picking a league with a low reputation so i won't get near the highest divison or achieving any of the challenges..

[thomas_e]

2 minutes ago, OlivierL said:

I also missed it but enjoyed my name tagging and replacing faces thing to much... and feels like unfinished business .. 

The only thing i'm afraid of (beside no transfers) is picking a league that's to 'long' or picking a league with a low reputation so i won't get near the highest divison or achieving any of the challenges..

I've done both those "mistakes". I chose NK Zadar in Croatia and domestically it was great fun. A small league so the years went really fast, but it soon became clear that I was never going to win the Champions League. Maybe someone better at the game than me could, but I deemed it impossible. Especially considering that the board sold my best players every year! 

I've also done the mistake of doing the challenge in England. To say that it's a mistake is of course silly, because it isnt, and I did complete the challenge, but the way up the league ladder in England is too long in my mind. I think Germany, Spain and Italy is perfect with the third tier being the lowest. 

How about giving it a go in South or North America? Would be great fun seeing someone doing the challenge "overseas". 

[OlivierL]

4 minutes ago, thomas_e said:

I've done both those "mistakes". I chose NK Zadar in Croatia and domestically it was great fun. A small league so the years went really fast, but it soon became clear that I was never going to win the Champions League. Maybe someone better at the game than me could, but I deemed it impossible. Especially considering that the board sold my best players every year! 

I've also done the mistake of doing the challenge in England. To say that it's a mistake is of course silly, because it isnt, and I did complete the challenge, but the way up the league ladder in England is too long in my mind. I think Germany, Spain and Italy is perfect with the third tier being the lowest. 

How about giving it a go in South or North America? Would be great fun seeing someone doing the challenge "overseas". 

Was thinking about England but u are right, that's a long league.

U did it in Germany, any tips? If i would start this YT challenge it could be Germany or Italy. Not sure about south or north america, first i want to do it in a 'normal' league  don't make me crazy.

 

[thomas_e]

I really enjoyed Germany. Considering I finished the challenge yesterday with Cottbus I dont want to start there all over again, but I would strongly recommend it. The clubs are solid from the start and usually decent youth facilities. 

Just remember that players under 17 can't play! 

[Gbrexiton]

5 minutes ago, thomas_e said:

I really enjoyed Germany. Considering I finished the challenge yesterday with Cottbus I dont want to start there all over again, but I would strongly recommend it. The clubs are solid from the start and usually decent youth facilities. 

Just remember that players under 17 can't play! 

Didn’t they change is to U16?

[thomas_e]

7 minutes ago, Gbrexiton said:

Didn’t they change is to U16?

Yes you can use players that are 16 from the start of the season, as long as they turn 17 before 31.12.XXXX. 

[darren1983]

3 hours ago, _JHTB_ said:

Argentina -  24th June

Austria - 14th June

Belarus - 15th January

Belgium - 30th June

Bulgaria - 18th June

Brazil - 2nd January 2022

Croatia - 20th June

Czech Republic - 30th June

Denmark - 30th June

England - 25th June

Finland - 14th December 2020

France  - 20th June

Germany - 20th June

Holland - 7th July

Hungry - 20th June

Iceland - 25th November 

Israel - 20th June

Italy - 30th June

Northern Ireland - 25th June

Norway - 13th January

Poland - 28th June

Portugal - 30th June

Romania - 30th June

Russia - 20th June

Scotland - 25th June

Serbia - 16th June

Slovenia - 1st July

South Africa - 15th July

Spain - 10th July

Sweden - 14th December 2020

Switzerland - 20th June

Turkey - 20th June

Wales – 25th June

This is all the reset dates of the nations in the OP unless covered all in 2021 - Will add this is just league reset dates, noted it was covered some leagues aren't running first year

Awesome. These dates confirmed then? If so I'll add them to the OP

[darren1983]

1 hour ago, Crispypaul said:

I will likely start this at some point after my enjoyable game in Norway in FM20 which sadly it appears I won't complete.

Am I reading that as the 2022 season is the first that is eligible?

I think so yeah, will wait for @XaW to confirm though 

[darren1983]

1 hour ago, OlivierL said:

@XaW @darren1983 @thomas_efrom your experience.. did anyone started on the beta and played it for 30 seasons or more? i mean this challenge..

looking for excuses  

Not sure, I have tried but usually get sacked a few times before I find my club/style for the year so my beta starts never last  

[OlivierL]

Don't know if this is a bug but if u nickname a player (to give him a yt tag, his complete name is gone. u have to write everything again.)

 

[_JHTB_]

5 hours ago, darren1983 said:

Awesome. These dates confirmed then? If so I'll add them to the OP

Those dates are what are given on the add/remove league page in game which should be the correct dates - haven't loaded to them to completely verify but don't see why they'd change. (Except for league specific rules i.e no promoted clubs in first year or whatever) 

[Bartrcm]

Portugal: save on 30/05 to get different teams coming up. Then holiday until 30/06.

And something new in Portugal: you can start in the 4th division.

Freamunde is my first try.

[JLAB]

I'll give this a try once I've got a feel of the game.

[Padders]

Anyone getting friendlies arranged all the time during the season?

[scarp]

Hello, first time with this challenge. Hopefully it won't be too hard for me. I will take Brora Rangers in Scotland. 

I will also make monthly updates in career updates section and post yearly updates here. I hope that's okay.

[DazRTaylor]

@darren1983England is Save on June 19 2021 and then holiday until June 25 2021 for the season reset.  This enables different teams.  Much better than last year.  

[metallimuse]

Unsure of the exact date's for Mexico as I was having a few dram's while waiting for BETA and while loading but when I checked 23.07.2021 a new team had appeared.

[DazRTaylor]

@darren1983Scotland.  Save on 1 May 2021.  Holiday for one day to get different teams.  Once your team wins the playoff, holiday until June 25 2021 for the season reset.

[DazRTaylor]

@darren1983.  Wales.  Save to 15 May 2021 to enable different teams.  Now Holiday to 25 June 2021 for the season reset.

[Padders]

It's going really well 

[DazRTaylor]

@darren1983Germany.  Save to 30 May 2021 to enable different teams.  Holiday until 20 June 2021 for the season reset.

[DazRTaylor]

@darren1983The Netherlands.  Only one season of holidaying required this year and save to 6 June 2021 to enable new teams.  Holiday until 7 July 2021 for the season reset.

[metallimuse]

Do you think this is a bug? Apparently my formerly Mexican third division side spent £90m on wages last month?

[Muggert]

Alright... So FMT won't get a beta this year. Might as well try something that can't really be done on FMT.. This challenge.

Carl Zeiss Jena appoint Miroslav Klose

Profile

Edited November 11, 2020 by Muggert

[XaW]

3 minutes ago, metallimuse said:

Do you think this is a bug? Apparently my formerly Mexican third division side spent £90m on wages last month?

Does any of your player earn too much? It's often a case of the researcher forgetting to put in the currency and then it defaults to GBP. So if the currency is at a low 1 to 1 value compared to the pound then this could happen.

[darren1983]

4 minutes ago, metallimuse said:

Do you think this is a bug? Apparently my formerly Mexican third division side spent £90m on wages last month?

Yeah would say that's a bug for sure unless they're now the Mexican Man City? 

[metallimuse]

Ok so reported that and now simming again, I will try to get the dates for the opening post.

[DazRTaylor]

@darren1983Italy.  Save on 5 June 2021 to enable different teams.  Holiday until 30 June 2021 for the season reset.