Cobham is the name of Chelsea's training ground, where the club's youngsters are developed and the first team prepare for Premier League matches. Under the change, the two sides will now be known simply as "Cobham Next Gen," or CNG for short, rather than the Chelsea Under-21s and Under-19s.
The Under-21s and Under-19s occasionally play matches at Cobham during the season, though their home fixtures are usually staged at Kingsmeadow, the former home of Chelsea's women's team.
Announcing the change on Tuesday, the club said in a statement: "The new name more accurately reflects the age profile of our leading Academy side and Chelsea's long-standing heritage of developing the next generation of players for the senior game."
The statement went on to explain the thinking behind the rebrand in more detail.
"While the squad competed in Premier League 2 as an Under-21s side, its average age last season was closer to that of an Under-18s group, with several players as young as 16 years old featuring regularly. Cobham Next Gen also better fits the role of the squad within the Academy.
"It recognises a group of young players with momentum, taking the next step in their development — the final one in the pathway to senior football — competing at a higher level as they continue their journey through Cobham towards the men's team."
The rebrand comes at a time when Chelsea's academy sides have continued to enjoy considerable success, with the club's youth teams having produced a string of players who have gone on to feature for the first team in recent seasons.
The renaming follows a broader trend among top-flight academies to move away from simple age-group labels as squads increasingly blend players of varying ages competing above their expected level. Chelsea's
Cobham base has become one of the most productive academy environments in English football in recent years, regularly supplying both the first team and loan markets with a steady stream of talent, and the club is keen for the new name to better reflect the elite status of the group as it prepares players for senior football.