2012-13 NextGen Series
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 15 August 2012 – 1 April 2013 |
| Teams | 24 (from 1 confederation) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |
 Aston Villa (1st title)
|
| Runners-up |
Chelsea
|
| Third place |
 Sporting CP
|
| Fourth place |
Arsenal
|
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 88 |
| Goals scored | 268 (3.05 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
 Graham Burke Islam Feruz(7 goals) |
| Best player |
Lewis Baker
|
The 2012–13 NextGen Series was the second season of the NextGen Series. The tournament involved the under-19 teams from 24 different countries across Europe. The tournament was won by Aston Villa who overcame Chelsea in the final.
From the previous season's competition, one major format change has been announced, with the competition moving from a 16-team to a 24-team affair. The group stage was run in six groups of four, an expansion of the same format as the previous season.
The 24 teams were sorted into six groups, where they played each other home and away in a Round-robin tournament. The top teams advanced to the finals of the competition.
Fifteen of the 16 founder-members reprise their roles, consisting of some of the highest-reputations teams from across UEFA, mirroring the current or recent Champions League involvement of their first teams. Only Basel of Switzerland declined the invitation to reappear.
They were joined by a further nine teams of high standing for the expanded series.
The 24 teams were sorted into six groups of four, where they play each other home and away in a double round robin format. The top-two teams from each group progressed to the knock-out stages of the competition alongside the four highest points-scoring third-place finishers.
Kickoff times are in CET.
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