Genk Youth League selection youngest in all of Europe

Both the first team in the Jupiler Pro League and Jong Genk in the Challenger Pro League field the youngest squads in their respective competitions. This philosophy of giving young talents opportunities extends to the youth ranks, where quality takes precedence over age. On Wednesday evening, KRC Genk's U19 team competed in the second round of the UEFA Youth League at the Puskás Akadémia stadium in Budapest. With an exceptionally young starting lineup averaging just 17 years old, our boys were also the youngest team to play at the highest level of international youth football this week.

Age Gap with Opponents
Our opponents, Puskás Akadémia, fielded a team with an average age of 18.2 years, creating an average age gap of 1.2 years compared to Genk's U19. The youngest player in our starting lineup was 15-year-old Elie Mbavu, born in October 2009. On the other end of the spectrum, the 'oldest' player was Ilyas Bouazzaoui, at 17 years old. This achievement becomes even more impressive when looking at other clubs in the UEFA Youth League. Teams such as AZ Alkmaar, Benfica, Dynamo Kyiv, and Celtic have already competed with an average age of 18.8 years.

Opportunities for Young Talent
Koen Daerden, Technical Director of our youth academy, is proud of this accomplishment:
"This is the perfect learning experience for our boys to showcase themselves against the best young players in Europe. The fact that we have the youngest team demonstrates that in Genk, opportunities are given regardless of age. We focus on quality, not age. This philosophy aligns perfectly with KRC Genk’s vision. We believe in giving young talents chances and fostering their development at the highest level. The UEFA Youth League provides the ideal platform for this.”

We are proud of our young talents and look forward to their continued performances in this prestigious competition. On December 17, our boys will face their Hungarian competitors on home ground to overturn a 0-1 deficit. Kickoff is at 6:00 PM on the B-pitch next to the Cegeka Arena. More information will follow.