[2] The Professional Development League 2 is Under-21 football's second tier, designed for those academies with Category 2 status.
The league is split regionally into north and south divisions, with each team facing opponents in their own region twice both home and away and opponents in the other region once resulting in 30 games played for the North Division, while the south division played 29 games.
The sides finishing in the top two positions in both regions at the end of the season will progress to a knockout stage to determine the overall league champion.
Reading U21s regained Category One status in the summer leaving the league after one solitary season.
[12] Meanwhile, AFC Bournemouth U21s,[13] and Fleetwood Town U21s[14] join the league for the very first time as both Academies reaches Category Two status for the 2023-24 season.