Monaco withdraws its National 3 reserve to play in a competition linked to the Premier League
The AS Monaco reserve team, relegated from National 2 to National 3 at the end of last season, will not compete in this championship next year, the club announced on Thursday, which will register it in a European competition linked to the Premier League.
This team, led by Damien Perrinelle, now called “elite group”will participate “to a competition bringing together some of the best European clubs in the prestigious Premier League International Cup”indicates in a press release the club of the Principality.
This competition is intended for players in the U23 category. On the other hand, the U19 teams, led by Frédéric Barilaro, and U17, led by Manuel Dos Santos, will still take part in national competitions in their category in France.
According to the club’s sports management, “this new orientation, the result of a reflection on the global project for the development of young potential, marks the club’s desire to define the best possible training course for its young players”.
“In the search for the best training course, this opportunity is the best way to develop the various bridges in our current ecosystem, and to bring AS Monaco and Cercle Bruges even closer together”, according to Pascal de Maesschalck, Director of Development young ASM players.
Monaco are the second Ligue 1 team, after Paris SG, to be removed from their reserve team in the French national championships.
During the 2021-2022 season, five L1 clubs (Monaco, Marseille, Montpellier, Metz and Lens) saw their reserve team relegated from N2 to N3.
Next season, in 2022-2023, only six reserved teams (Auxerre, Lorient, Lyon, Reims, Nantes and Angers) out of the 20 L1 clubs will compete in the French N2 championship. Twenty years ago, in 2002-2003, they were 17 out of 20.
Bayern Munich are the last winners of the Premier League International Cup, in 2018-2019. Since 2020, the competition, which hosted twelve English and twelve European teams, had been on hold due to Covid-19.