Chelsea youth chief Neil Bath can see the benefits of the growing popularity of youth football.
Bath admits the bigger crowds and greater competition is helping prepare their young players for a pro career.
"It is good the boys have played in more first-team stadiums, in front of bigger crowds than ever before for the Under-21 age group, with live TV games under floodlights," Bath told chelseafc.com.
"It is not the finished product, it is not league football, but it is getting closer and I can see in the future there being prize money at Under-21 level and this will have the benefit of added pressure.
"We are developing these boys to go into the real football world and to experience the pressure of league football in the future, and pressure is part of their development.
"As a club it is our view that Under-21s should experience some pressure and the results should be important. We prepare our players to play a good brand of football but with a purpose to go out and win.
"The UEFA Youth League I'm sure will grow as a tournament and when I look at the FA Youth Cup final and the Under-21 final at Old Trafford, it terms of the technical level and the energy and passion, and in terms of the excitement the crowds are showing, it is certainly getting closer to the real thing."
