UEFA announce new European Qualifiers and Nations League format

UEFA have announced radical changes to the format of the Nations League and qualifying for the European Championship, following the Champions League system.

The final details have not yet been confirmed, as they will be fine-tuned following consultation, but the new concept will be implemented after the EURO 2028 tournament.

The Nations League in the 2028-29 edition will transition from the current system of four leagues to three leagues of 18 teams.

Each league will be composed of three groups of six teams, playing six matches against five different opponents, half of them at home and half away.

It is effectively similar to the current iteration of the Champions League, to avoid simply playing the same teams home and away every time.

The quarter-finals, Final Four and promotion/relegation play-offs will remain as they are.

In turn, the European Qualifiers will also be changed to a tiered structure with teams playing six home or away matches against six different opponents.

While directly qualified to the final tournament anyway, the host teams will still participate in the European qualifiers, contributing to their next Nations League positions.

The best ranked teams of each group of League 1 will qualify directly, while the remaining places will be allocated via a system of Play-Offs, which will guarantee fair qualification chances also to League 2 teams.

Italy and Turkiye are co-hosting EURO 2032.

“The new formats will improve competitive balance, reduce the number of dead matches, offer a more appealing and dynamic competition to fans, while ensuring a fair qualification chance for all teams and without adding any additional dates in the international calendar,” explained UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.

“Altogether, the changes will grow the value of UEFA men’s national team football and we are very much looking forward to the implementation of the new competition systems.”