The UEFA Nations League and European Qualifiers will transition to a tiered league system from 2028/29.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT:

Following a thorough review of the current UEFA men’s national team competition formats and extensive consultation with all UEFA member associations, a new concept has been validated for implementation post UEFA EURO 2028.

In the new structure, the UEFA Nations League (UNL) will transition, as of the 2028/29 edition from the current four leagues to three leagues of 18 teams. Every league will be composed of three groups of six teams playing six matches against five different opponents: home or away against teams from different pots, home and away against the opponent of their same pot. With 55 teams participating, League C will include one group of seven teams, whose calendar will start one window earlier. Quarter-finals, Final Four and Promotion/relegation Play-Offs will complete the format with no change.

The European Qualifiers will also assume a tiered structure: League 1, composed of the 36 teams of UNL Leagues A and B and League 2 composed of the remaining 18 (or 19) UNL teams. In League 1 there will be three groups of 12 teams drawn from three pots of 12 teams. Every team will play six home-or-away matches against six different opponents, two per pot, similarly to the format of the UEFA club competitions. League 2 will be staged exactly as UNL League C with three groups of six (or one of seven).

While directly qualified to the final tournament, the host teams will take part in the European Qualifiers with an objective linked to their position in the next edition of the UEFA Nations League. 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 (visuals are available here).

The concept will be fine-tuned over the next few months before being submitted for final approval of the detailed format at the next UEFA Executive Committee meeting in September. A full analysis of the new format will be presented at a media conference following that meeting.

Commenting on the new formats, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said:

“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.

“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.”