Scotland-eligible under-21 players clocked more than 94,000 minutes in last season’s KDM Evolution Trophy after a change in format aimed at enhancing youth development.
New figures released by the SPFL show young Scots played 94,229 minutes during the 2025/26 competition, more than four times the 21,489 minutes recorded the previous season.
🏴 Young Scots played 94,229 minutes in the 25/26 KDM Evolution Trophy - four times as many as season 24/25 Who'll make their mark in this season's competition? 🏆@TheKDMGroup | #InYourHands pic.twitter.com/FJTWeICvNv
— SPFL (@spfl) August 10, 2026
The former straight knockout tournament was replaced by a league phase involving League One, League Two and Premiership B teams, giving clubs more guaranteed fixtures before the knockout rounds.
The change was designed to create more competitive opportunities for young players.
The total also represents a significant increase on the 24,425 minutes played by under-21 players in the 2023/24 tournament.
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SPFL group chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “These are extremely encouraging figures, and a reflection of how the new KDM Evolution Trophy format has provided significantly more opportunities for young Scottish players year-on-year.
"This new format was introduced to give more exposure to senior football for the country’s best emerging talent, and to see these numbers rise fourfold is fantastic.
"This can only be good news for our national sport. We wish the best of luck to all the clubs involved in this year’s competition."
This season’s KDM Evolution Trophy gets underway tomorrow night (Tuesday, August 10).
