Chelsea drop club name from youth sides in rebrand to Cobham Next Gen

Chelsea have stripped their name from their age-group teams ahead of the 2026-27 season, rebranding the under-21 and under-19 sides as Cobham Next Gen — or CNG — for their Premier League 2 campaign.

The club says the new identity more accurately reflects the squad’s age profile after last season’s under-21 side regularly featured players as young as 16, with an average age closer to an under-18 group. The name is drawn from Chelsea’s Surrey training base at Cobham, where youth sides occasionally host fixtures, though most home games are played at Kingsmeadow.

In a club statement, Chelsea said: “The new name more accurately reflects the age profile of our leading Academy side and Chelsea’s long-standing heritage of developing the next generation of players for the senior game. Cobham Next Gen also better fits the role of the squad within the Academy — it recognises a group of young players with momentum, taking the next step in their development, the final one in the pathway to senior football.”

Last season’s under-21 side finished top of the Premier League 2 regular-season table before falling to Tottenham in the play-off quarter-finals. Winger Jesse Derry made his senior league debut during a Premier League defeat to Nottingham Forest in May, though he was forced off in the first half with a serious head injury.

Two academy graduates currently feature in Xabi Alonso’s first-team squad: club captain Reece James and centre-back Levi Colwill. The Cobham system has also produced Arsenal and England midfielder Declan Rice and Manchester United’s Mason Mount, while five-time Premier League title-winning captain John Terry is among its most celebrated alumni.

Chelsea open their 2026-27 Premier League season away at Fulham in a London derby at Craven Cottage next Monday.