How B Teams Work Across Europe: 6 Systems for Reserve Sides in Senior Leagues and What RubiScore Data Shows About Them

A B team is a second side run by a professional club that plays in the senior league pyramid rather than in a youth competition. It gives young players regular minutes against adult opponents before they are ready for the first team. RubiScore lists fixtures and results for many of these reserve sides, and the rules that govern them differ sharply from one country to the next.

Some countries let B teams climb almost to the top of the pyramid, others cap them low, and England keeps them out of the league system entirely. Those differences shape how a young player's statistics should be read. RubiScore data on reserve-team football is available at https://rubiscore.com, and the six systems below show the main models used in Europe. On RubiScore, a B team appears as its own club entry, so its results and squad can be followed separately from the first team.

Why Do Clubs Run B Teams at All?

The case for a B team rests on a gap in player development. Between the ages of about 18 and 21, many talented players are too good for youth football but not yet ready for a first team. Clubs have three main ways to fill that gap:

• Youth leagues. Under-21 or under-23 competitions keep players within the club but against opponents of the same age.
• Loans. Sending a player to another club gives senior minutes, but the parent club loses control over his role, coaching and playing time.
• A B team. The club keeps control while the player faces adult opponents every week, often in a physically demanding league.

Each route has costs. A B team is expensive to run, and its results can suffer as the best players are promoted. But for clubs that want a consistent style from the academy to the first team, it offers a level of control that loans cannot match.

1. Spain: Filial Teams in the Same Pyramid

Spain has one of the oldest and best-known B-team systems. Clubs such as Real Madrid, with Real Madrid Castilla, and Barcelona, with Barça Atlètic, run reserve sides known as filial teams within the national league pyramid.

The key rules are:

• No sharing a division. A B team cannot play in the same division as its first team, so it can never be promoted to La Liga.
• A ceiling in the second tier. A B team can reach the Segunda División only if its first team is in La Liga.
• No Copa del Rey. Reserve teams are not allowed to enter the national cup.

The Spanish model gives young players a long ladder to climb. A B team in the second or third tier offers a very demanding level of senior football, which is one reason Spanish academies have produced so many first-team players.

2. Germany: Reserve Sides Up to the 3. Liga

German clubs field reserve teams, usually shown with the suffix II, such as Bayern Munich II or Borussia Dortmund II. These teams can play at every level of the pyramid except the top two divisions, the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga.

That makes the 3. Liga their ceiling. A reserve side that finishes in a promotion place there cannot go up, and the place passes to the next eligible club. This happened in 2022-23, when Freiburg's reserves finished second in the 3. Liga but were not eligible for promotion. Lower down, the number of reserve sides in each Regionalliga division is limited, so the regional leagues are not dominated by second teams.

3. Netherlands: Jong Teams in the Eerste Divisie

Dutch clubs enter "Jong" teams, such as Jong Ajax, Jong PSV and Jong AZ, in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football. This places reserve sides just one level below the Eredivisie.

Because they share a league system with their parent clubs, Jong teams face strict limits. They are not eligible for promotion, the promotion play-offs or the KNVB Cup. When a Jong team finishes high in the table, the promotion places pass to the next eligible clubs. The Dutch model offers a high level of competition, but it also means the second division always includes several clubs that cannot go up.

4. Portugal: B Teams in the Second Tier

Portugal follows a similar approach. Clubs such as Benfica and Porto have run B teams that spent long spells in Liga Portugal 2, the country's second division.

As in Spain and the Netherlands, these teams cannot be promoted into the top flight where their first teams play. The Portuguese model has been closely linked to the country's reputation for developing and selling young players, since a B team in the second tier gives prospects a strong senior test before a first-team debut or a transfer.

5. Italy: Second Teams in Serie C

Italy came to the idea late. Juventus were the first club to enter a second team in Serie C, the third tier, in 2018. The side was originally called Juventus Under-23 and is now known as Juventus Next Gen.

Others followed. Atalanta entered Atalanta U23, and Milan launched Milan Futuro, which was relegated to Serie D in 2025 after losing a play-out to SPAL. In July 2025, Inter U23 was admitted to Serie C, taking the place of the excluded SPAL. Italy's model places second teams alongside established professional clubs, but with relegation possible, as Milan's experience showed.

6. England and Scotland: Outside the Pyramid, With Exceptions

England has no B teams in its league pyramid. Premier League academies instead play in age-group competitions such as Premier League 2. Since the 2016-17 season, some academy sides have been invited into the EFL Trophy, a cup for lower-league clubs, a move that drew strong opposition from some supporters. The EFL has made clear that it does not want Premier League B teams in the league structure.

Scotland tried a different route. In 2021-22, Celtic and Rangers entered B teams in the Lowland League, a fifth-tier competition, on the basis that they could not be promoted. Hearts added a B team the following season, while Rangers later withdrew theirs.

What Do the Six Systems Have in Common?

Despite their differences, the systems share several principles:

• A ceiling below the first team. No country allows a B team to play in the same division as its parent club.
• Cup restrictions. Reserve teams are usually kept out of the main national cup.
• Protection for other clubs. Limits on the number of reserve sides, and on their access to promotion, protect independent clubs from being crowded out.

How Should B-Team Data Be Read?

B-team football creates its own challenges for anyone reading player statistics. RubiScore records reserve-team matches as senior league fixtures, which makes the following points important:

• Senior minutes count. Appearances for a B team are against adult opponents. They are usually a stronger signal of readiness than the same minutes in a youth league.
• The level varies by country. A season in the Spanish or Dutch second tier is a much tougher test than a season in a fifth-tier league. Compare B-team output only with the level it was achieved at.
• Squads change constantly. First-team players sometimes drop down to regain fitness, while the best prospects are promoted mid-season. A B team's results can swing for reasons that have nothing to do with its regular squad.
• League tables have gaps. When a B team finishes in a promotion place, the promotion goes to someone else. The table and the promotion outcome do not always match.
• Age profiles matter. B teams are usually much younger than the clubs they face. Their results reflect development priorities as much as competitive ones.

A Worked Example

Consider two hypothetical 19-year-old midfielders with identical numbers: 30 league appearances, 2,400 minutes and similar passing and defensive output. The first played for a B team in a national second division. The second played in an under-21 league against players of his own age.

On paper they look equal. In practice, the first player's numbers were produced against experienced professionals, many of them in their late twenties, in matches where results mattered for promotion and relegation. The second player's numbers came in a development competition with no relegation at stake. Most scouts would treat the first record as the stronger evidence of readiness for first-team football, even though the statistics are the same.

The Takeaway

B teams are one of the main bridges between academy football and the first team, but each country builds that bridge differently. Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal allow reserve sides into the second tier, Germany stops them at the third, Italy places them in Serie C, and England keeps them out of the pyramid altogether. Knowing which system a player came through, and at what level, is essential context for any statistic recorded in a B-team shirt, and following those sides on Rubi Score keeps their senior minutes in view alongside the first team's.