The 2026/27 season has begun for FC Lugano U21. The team, managed by Andrea Vitali, gathered yesterday, Wednesday 1 July, at the Al Maglio Sports Centre in Canobbio to officially kick off their pre-season preparations.
Following the first day, which was devoted to medical and fitness tests, the young bianconeri held their first on-pitch training session today, Thursday 2 July, thus beginning the journey leading up to the start of the new Hoval Promotion League season.
A JOURNEY OF GROWTH
The U21s are building on a positive season, which ended with the achievement of their main objective: avoiding relegation, secured with two matchdays to spare. This was a significant achievement in a competitive and developmental league, in which Vitali’s squad had to combine individual development, competitiveness and the ability to adapt to senior-level football.
The 2025/26 season also confirmed the importance of the U21s as a stepping stone to the first team. Ilija Maslarov and Gjan Ajdin made their Brack Super League debuts for Mattia Croci-Torti’s FC Lugano, confirming the value of the development they have undergone within the U21 squad and the increasingly direct link with the senior team.
This journey of development will now continue through new experiences. During this transfer window, two young talents who have come through the U21 ranks have been loaned out to the Dieci Challenge League to test themselves in a new environment: Ilija Maslarov to FC Rapperswil-Jona and Yuri Peverelli to Neuchâtel Xamax.
Also absent from the return to training were the youngsters Ajdin, Parente, Puddu, Raffa, Zurmühle and Tiraboschi, who have been called up by Mattia Croci-Torti to the first team for this phase of pre-season training.
HEADING TOWARDS THE LEAGUE
DEBUT The official campaign in the Hoval Promotion League will kick off on the weekend of 1 August. The fixture list has seen the U21s drawn to face FC Bulle in their opening home match – the first fixture of a new season in which the bianconeri will continue to compete in a top-flight league, with the aim of building on their progress and consolidating the work carried out last season.