Insights for parents
E1, U10-2, Jugendleiter: A little dictionary for football parents
U11 or E-Jugend, the German youth category? E1 or E2? And who do I ask when the player registration is missing? The terms everyone uses at the pitch and hardly anyone explains.
In my first season as a football mum, I spent more time googling than reading in the parents’ group. “The U10-2 plays on Saturday”, “Ask the Jugendleiter, the head of youth football”, “He is still in the younger year group”. Everyone knew what it meant. I did not.
Here is the dictionary I needed back then.
Letters and U-numbers: two names for the same thing
The letters are the traditional German labels; the U-numbers are the international ones. “U11” means “under 11”.
| Letter category | U-categories | Approximate age |
|---|---|---|
| G-Jugend (Bambini, youngest children) | U7 and younger | up to 6 years |
| F-Jugend (youth category F) | U8 and U9 | 7 to 8 years |
| E-Jugend (youth category E) | U10 and U11 | 9 to 10 years |
| D-Jugend (youth category D) | U12 and U13 | 11 to 12 years |
| C-Jugend (youth category C) | U14 and U15 | 13 to 14 years |
| B-Jugend (youth category B) | U16 and U17 | 15 to 16 years |
| A-Jugend (youth category A) | U18 and U19 | 17 to 18 years |
The cut-off date
What matters is the year of birth, not the age on match day. The cut-off date is 1 January. Each letter category covers two birth-year groups: in E-Jugend, U10 is the younger group and U11 the older one. A child therefore spends one year as “junger Jahrgang”, the younger year group, and one as “alter Jahrgang”, the older year group. Especially for younger children, a year makes a big physical difference, which explains some line-ups.
What the number after it means
U10-1, U10-2 or E1, E2, E3: this is the team number. If a club has many children in one age category, it registers several teams. Team 1 is often the strongest, but not always. Some clubs group children by ability, others by year of birth or deliberately mix them. The club decides how teams are grouped, and it is worth asking rather than guessing.
Girls
For girls, the categories are called Juniorinnen, meaning female youth players, with the same letters. Many girls play alongside boys when they are young because their club does not yet have a girls’ team.
Playing formats by age
The youngest children play in small teams on small pitches so that every child gets plenty of touches. As they get older, the pitch and team grow, until eleven-a-side football on a full-size pitch starts at C-Jugend. The association sets the exact formats, and these have changed considerably in children’s football in recent years.
Who does what at the club?
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Vorstand (club board) | Runs the club legally and financially: chair, treasurer, secretary |
| Abteilungsleitung Fußball (head of football) | Leads the football section in multi-sport clubs |
| Jugendleiter or Jugendleiterin (head of youth football) | Responsible for the entire children’s and youth section, registers the teams and represents youth football on the board |
| Jugendkoordination or sportliche Leitung (youth coordination or sporting lead) | Sporting concept, grouping teams, selecting and supporting coaches |
| Trainer and Co-Trainer (coach and assistant coach) | Training, line-up, match day |
| Betreuer or Teammanager (team organiser) | Organisation around the team: dates, kits, communication with parents |
| Torwarttrainer (goalkeeper coach) | Specialist training, often for several teams at once. Many clubs have none at all |
| Passwart (player registration officer) | Player registrations, joining and leaving the register, changes of club |
| Schiedsrichterobmann (referee coordinator) | Supports the club’s referees |
| Kinderschutzbeauftragte (child safeguarding officer) | Contact for boundary violations and prevention |
| Platzwart (groundskeeper) | Pitches, changing rooms, equipment |
Almost all of it is voluntary
Most of these tasks are done in people’s free time, alongside work and family. In small clubs, one person often has three roles, and not every role is filled. Keeping that in mind changes the tone of quite a few messages from parents.
Who do I ask about what?
- Dates, kits, lift-sharing: Betreuer, the team organiser
- Training, playing time, my child’s development: Trainer, the coach
- Team allocation, changes, general concerns: Jugendleitung, the youth leadership
- Player registration: Passwart, the registration officer, or Jugendleitung, the youth leadership
And what about goalkeeping?
The goalkeeper coach is on the list because this role is so often missing. That is exactly why we have our camps at Elite GK Coaching on Tour: for what there is barely room for in everyday club life.
As of October 2026. Simplified overview. Terms, age limits and playing formats may vary by state association and club.
Read more: District, region, association