Meet the Founding Clubs of the Next Wave Championship

Nine founding teams. Different pathways. One shared ambition to develop the next generation.

The inaugural Next Wave Championship brings together an exciting mix of EFL clubs, established football institutions and elite development programmes for its first season in 2026/27.

From clubs competing in League One and League Two to ambitious National League and non-league environments, the founding line-up reflects exactly what the Championship has been created to provide: different styles, different challenges and meaningful competitive football for emerging players.

Here are the nine founding teams.

Milton Keynes Dons

Sky Bet League One

MK Dons enter the inaugural Next Wave Championship on the back of promotion to League One for the 2026/27 season, beginning a new chapter following a successful promotion campaign.

Alongside the first team, the Dons continue to expand their development structure, providing an increasingly important bridge between academy and senior football.

Their involvement in Next Wave is therefore a natural fit: creating another high-quality competitive environment in which emerging players can be challenged, assessed and prepared for the demands of senior football.

There is an added connection for MK Dons, with the inaugural Championship season ultimately culminating on home soil at the Grand Final at Stadium MK in May.

Bromley FC

Sky Bet League One

Few clubs enter the inaugural Championship with greater momentum than Bromley.

The Ravens secured promotion to League One for the 2026/27 season, continuing a remarkable period of progression and taking the club to another new level within the English football pyramid.

That upward trajectory makes their involvement in Next Wave particularly exciting.

The competition will provide another environment for Bromley’s emerging players to gain competitive experience as the club continues to strengthen its pathway between development and first-team football.

Luton Town

Sky Bet League One

A club with recent Premier League experience, Luton Town begin the 2026/27 campaign competing in League One.

Luton’s journey through the divisions in recent years provides a powerful example of progression within the English football pyramid and of the importance of building strong player pathways.

Their presence brings another established professional development environment into Next Wave and gives players across the Championship the opportunity to test themselves against talent from a highly regarded EFL academy structure.

Oxford United

Sky Bet League One

Oxford United compete in League One for the 2026/27 season, bringing another established professional academy and development pathway into the inaugural Next Wave Championship.

The U’s have a strong tradition of developing players and providing opportunities for emerging talent to progress towards senior football.

For Oxford’s developing players, the Championship provides another platform to accumulate meaningful match experience, face different styles of opposition and demonstrate their readiness for the next stage.

Swindon Town

Sky Bet League Two

Swindon Town continue their long-standing Football League tradition in Sky Bet League Two during 2026/27.

The Robins have a strong history of developing young footballers and providing opportunities for talented players to progress towards first-team football.

Their involvement gives Next Wave another established EFL development programme and creates a strong competitive test for players throughout the league.

Southend United

National League

Southend United begin the 2026/27 season competing in the National League.

With a long Football League history and strong ambitions to climb back through the pyramid, Southend bring a different but equally important perspective to the Championship.

The demands of senior football at National League level make the club an excellent addition to a competition designed to help bridge the gap between youth development and the men’s game.

Their involvement will expose emerging players across the Championship to another competitive environment shaped by the realities and expectations of senior football.

Billericay Town

National League South

Billericay Town bring a strong senior non-league dimension to the founding line-up.

The Essex club compete in the National League South and provide another important connection between player development and the realities of senior men’s football.

Their involvement reflects an important part of the Next Wave philosophy: development does not only take place inside professional academies, and exposure to strong senior non-league environments can be invaluable in preparing young players for the next stage of their careers.

Pro Direct Academy XI

National Academy Select Team

The Pro Academy XI brings together a selection of the best players from across Pro Direct’s nationwide network of football and education sites.

Rather than representing a single academy centre, the team is selected from talent across the country, creating a national representative side made up of standout players from within the Pro Academy pathway.

That makes the Pro Academy XI a distinctive addition to the Next Wave Championship, giving high-performing players from across its academy network the opportunity to test themselves regularly against professional club development squads and other elite emerging talent.

It also reflects one of the Championship’s central aims: to create meaningful opportunities for talented players regardless of where they are currently positioned within the traditional academy system.

Varsity Nine

Professional & US College Development Pathway

Varsity Nine completes the inaugural founding line-up with a squad built around ambitious young players seeking the next stage of their football careers.

Its full-time football environment is designed for players pursuing routes into professional football and leading US college programmes, creating a pathway for talented players who may sit outside, or have recently exited, the traditional professional academy system.

The Next Wave Championship will sit at the heart of that programme, giving Varsity Nine players regular competitive exposure against professional club opposition and an opportunity to build a credible body of performances across an entire season.

Different Clubs. Different Pathways. One Competition.

That diversity is one of the defining strengths of the Next Wave Championship. They are different football environments, but they share a common challenge:

How do we give talented young players enough meaningful football to prepare them for what comes next?

The Next Wave Championship has been created to help answer that question.

Across the 2026/27 season, the founding teams will compete home and away, with players given opportunities to accumulate minutes, experience different styles of opposition and demonstrate their ability in matches where the result matters.

The leading teams will then progress into the Next Wave Championship Play-Offs, culminating in the inaugural Grand Final at Stadium MK in May.

Nine founding teams.

A new competitive platform.

And an opportunity to see who emerges as football’s Next Wave.