England Women U23s Kick Off the New Season in York

England Women U23s begin the defence of their European Competition title in York next month.

The Young Lionesses will welcome Norway to the LNER Community Stadium on Monday 12 October (19:30 BST), as Lydia Bedford’s side get their 2026/27 campaign underway.

Tickets are priced at £5 for adults, £3 for concessions and £1 for under-16s and can be purchased directly from the stadium.

The fixture will mark the start of England’s defence of the U23 European Competition title, which the Young Lionesses secured in April with a 3-0 victory over Sweden in the final. For the 2026/27 campaign, England have been drawn in Group B alongside Norway, Belgium, Portugal and Italy.

This is the WU23s fourth season competing in the competition after it was introduced to help bridge the gap between the end of the pathway and senior international football.

Lydia Bedford, who is currently leading the Young Lionesses at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, will begin her first full season in charge of the WU23s after being appointed head coach in March.

Lydia Bedford said: “I’m really excited to get the staff and players together for the new season. It’s going to be an important year for the WU23s, particularly with a senior World Cup on the horizon, and we want to keep pushing the players and helping them take the next steps in their development.

“We’re incredibly proud of what we achieved last season, and we’re excited by the challenge of defending our title. We know it won’t be easy and Norway will provide a difficult test to start the campaign. We’re looking forward to playing in York and I hope we see lots of England fans there to get behind the team.”