Mansfield Town's title-winning under 18s begin their EFL Youth Alliance title defence at home to local rivals Chesterfield on Tuesday 08 August (12.00pm kick-off).
Stags sealed their second consecutive Youth Alliance crown in May and the hard work of retaining the title begins at Rainworth Miners Welfare on Tuesday.
Academy manager John Dempster's side won the division by a six-point margin last season, ahead of Rotherham United in second place and Oldham Athletic in third.
Six members of that youth team squad subsequently signed professional deals with the club as their stand-out performances caught the eye throughout the season.
Goalkeeper Sam Wilson, defenders Teddy Bloor, Kieran Harrison and Kane Baldwin and midfielders Alistair Smith and Cameron Healey, in addition to forwards Jason Law and Zayn Hakeem, are now all ineligible to play for the under 18s and will instead be plying their trade for the under 21s this season.
Stags have brought goalkeeper Keaton Mars, midfielders Jack Cornell, James Tague and Andrew Briggs, winger Tom Gledhill and strikers Kamen Cashmore, Riley O'Sullivan and Kieron Darby into the squad to complement last year's batch of first year scholars, who have now moved into the second year of their deals with the club.
Last season, Chesterfield finished seventh in the EFL Youth Alliance, 20 points behind the Stags.
Tuesday's fixture will be the first of the season for both sides, however eight clubs began their campaigs on Saturday.
The match will kick-off at 12.00pm on Tuesday 08 August at the following venue:
Rainworth Miners Welfare
Kirklington Road
Mansfield
Notts
NG21 0JY
Supporters of all ages will be required to pay £3 to watch the game.
