A National under-21 football team represents the second-highest stage in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an international football

International football

International football generally refers to association football matches between representative national teams carried out under the regulation of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association...

 competition. Only Europe (UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

) uses an under-21 age limit - all of FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

's other Confederations - and FIFA itself - run competitions for under-20

FIFA U-20 World Cup

The FIFA U-20 World Cup, until 2005 known as the FIFA World Youth Championship, is the world championship of football for male players under the age of 20 and is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association...

 age groups. European countries compete for the UEFA Under-21 Championship. To be eligible in U-21 teams it is necessary to be a maximum of 21 years old when the competition starts.