The wait is over. Here's everything you need to know about the 2026 JCL season structure, your team's pathway, and what you're playing for at every stage.
Season Pathway
Your complete guide to the 2026 competition structure
⚽ U8/9 Girls & U10/11 Girls
These age groups will not go through the qualification phase and will jump straight into the action, kicking off from Matchday 1 midweek. More details on their specific format will be shared shortly.
Groups of 4
Top 2 teams qualify to JCL1 Group Stage
Groups of 5
Top 3 teams qualify to JCL1 Group Stage
Round of 16 and Quarter Finals played on the same day. All games: 25-min halves.
- R16Lose: knocked out
- QFWin R16: progress to QF on the same day
- SFWin QF: advance to Semi-Finals
JCL3 is introduced at Matchday 4, matching teams as closely as possible to their level for a fair finals pathway.
JCL2 & JCL3 progressions confirmed closer to MD4, based on total team numbers and regional teams joining.
U8 – U13 Categories (32 or fewer teams)
For these age groups, Phase 1 serves as a seeding process. All teams progress to Phase 2 and remain in JCL1 (JCL2 does not exist for these groups).
Top team from each qualifier group stays in the same group for Phase 2 (avoiding a top-vs-top draw). Second placed teams move to a new group but won't face another second placed team. All remaining teams are randomly allocated. From there, same pathway as everyone else.
