U18 - Is "U" the abbreviation of what word?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Dear teachers,

On newspapers, in football,I always see:

U18
U19
…

Coul you tell me “U” is the abbreviation of what word?

Thanks
Quoc

2

.
It’s possible that the U means “under”. So, the players in the U16 category would all be under the age of 16, the players in U18 would be under the age of 18, and so on.
.

3

Dear teacher,

My teacher said the players in the U16 means they are at the age of 16, exactly 16 years old, not under 16 years old.
How about your opinions?

Are you sure that [color=red]U means [color=red]under?

Thanks
Quoc

4

U stands for “under”, Quoc. I agree with Amy!

5

I’m an English teacher, not a football expert, so I can’t tell you precisely what the age rules are. But, it seems that U means under.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_U-17_Championship

6

Hi,

So, U17 means under the age of 17.
Under the age of 17 means < 17.

Is that right?

Quoc

7

Hi Quoc

I don’t know for sure what they mean precisely by “U17” or “under 17”. I don’t make the football rules!

“U17” may well mean “at or under the age of 17”. (Even though the “U” means “under”.)

For “U17” I can also imagine that a player would often BEGIN a season at the age of 16 and by the END of the season would be 17 (having had a birthday somewhere along the way…) 8)

For an exact definition, you’ll have to ask someone who knows the football regulations.