Zenit U21 faces a title defense: more teams, new tournament format

On July 10, the VTB United Youth League officially approved the list of participating teams and the competition regulations for the 2026/27 season, in which Zenit U21 will begin its title defense.

The upcoming edition of the Youth League championship will feature 16 teams. Alongside Zenit U21, the participating clubs are Avtodor-2 (Saratov), Enisey-2 (Krasnoyarsk Krai), MBA-MAI-Junior (Moscow), MINSK-M (Minsk), Nizhny Novgorod-Meshchersky (Nizhny Novgorod), PARMA-M (Perm Krai), Samara-2 (Samara Region), SSOR Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar Krai), UNICS-2 (Kazan), Uralmash-2 (Yekaterinburg), CSKA-Junior (Moscow), and Khimki-M (Moscow Region). Three new teams will also join the league: Dynamo-2 (Vladivostok), Dynamo-M (Ufa), and CBK-2 (Chelyabinsk Region). Kazakhstan's Astana-Zhastar has withdrawn from the competition.

With the expansion of the league, the championship format has also been updated. The regular season will be played in a double round-robin format, with each team playing 30 games — one home and one away game against every opponent. All 16 teams will advance to the playoffs. The Round of 16 and Quarterfinal series will be played in a best-of-three format, while the four remaining teams will compete in the Final Four to determine the league champion.