New U17 EURO format from 2024/25 and U19 EURO format from 2026/27
Sunday, April 7, 2024
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A new format will begin next season, leading to a similar change for the U19 EURO from 2026/27
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A new format for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship will begin from 2024/25, and will feed into a change of competition system for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2026/27.
The UEFA Executive Committee approved the introduction of the following format at its meeting on 28 June 2023.
Key changes: Summary
- From 2024/25, U17 EURO qualifying will consist of two stages named round 1 and round 2. All teams (including the final tournament hosts) compete in both stages, with round 2 now split into League A and League B. It will also decide the European teams for the annual FIFA U-17 World Cups from 2025.
- The U17 EURO final tournament will now involve eight teams, including the hosts.
- From 2026/27, U19 EURO qualifying will consist of three rounds, initially split into League A and League B as set by 2024/25 U17 EURO round 2. Round 1 will be played in spring of the year before the eventual final tournament, with round 2 in autumn and round 3 the spring prior to the summer finals.
- Rounds 1 and 2 will be played under the two-league format, and involve the final tournament hosts. Round 3 will resemble the current elite round with 28 teams.
- The U19 EURO final tournament will continue to involve eight teams, including the hosts.
- The 2024/25 and 2025/26 editions of U19 EURO wil be played under the existing format of qualifying round, elite round and final tournament.
U17 EURO format from 2024/25
Qualifying
Qualifying will consist of two stages, now named round 1 (in autumn) and round 2 (in spring). As now, both rounds will be played as single-venue mini-tournaments.
Round 1
All entered teams will participate in round 1, including the final tournament hosts (who currently do not take part in qualifying, and who will continue to have their place in the finals assured under the new format). The entrants will be drawn into 14 groups of four or three teams, depending on the number of participating associations.
Following round 1, 28 teams will qualify to take part in round 2 League A, with the remainder going into League B.
In future seasons, the results of round 1 will be taken into account for the round 1 draw for the following edition.
The draw for round 1 will in principle be held in the December of the previous year (although the draw for round 1 of the 2024/25 edition will be in spring 2024).
Round 2
In League A, the 28 teams will be drawn into seven groups of four. The seven group winners will qualify to join the hosts in the final tournament. If the hosts are among the seven group winners, the best runners-up will also qualify.
The seven teams ranked fourth in the League A groups will be relegated to League B for round 1 of U19 EURO qualifying for the same age cohort (so teams relegated from League A in 2024/25 U17 EURO round 2 will begin 2026/27 U19 EURO round 1 in League B).
In League B, the teams will be drawn into seven groups of four or three, depending on the number of competitors. The seven League B winners will be promoted to League A for round 1 of U19 EURO qualifying for the same age cohort (so teams promoted from League B in 2024/25 U17 EURO round 2 will begin 2026/27 U19 EURO round 1 in League A).
The draw for round 2 will be held in the December following round 1 (eg December 2024 for round 2 of the 2024/25 edition).
Final tournament
The final tournament will involve eight teams from 2025 onwards, initially competing in two groups of four, with the top two in each section progressing to the semi-finals.
World Cup
The FIFA U-17 World Cup is changing from 2025 to become an annual 48-team tournament, for which the 2024/25 U17 EURO will act as Europe's qualifying tournament, with full details of confederation allocations to follow. Qatar has been announced as hosts for the first five annual U-17 World Cups between 2025 and 2029.
U19 EURO format from 2026/27
Qualifying
Qualifying will be split into three rounds. For 2026/27, round 1 will be played in spring 2026, round 2 in autumn 2026 and round 3 in spring 2027, setting the pattern to be followed in future seasons. As now, the final tournament will consist of eight teams. The final tournament hosts will compete in qualifying, although their finals place will already be assured.
Round 1
Teams will be split into League A (28 nations) and League B (remaining entrants), the league determined by round 2 of qualifying for the relevant U17 EURO (for 2026/27 U19 EURO, the league will be set by round 2 of 2024/25 U17 EURO).
The teams in League A will be split into seven groups of four. The fourth-ranked teams will be relegated to League B for round 2.
The teams in League B will be split into seven groups of four or three, depending on the number of participants. The group winners will be promoted to League A for round 2.
The draw for round 1 will be held in the December of the previous year (eg December 2025 for round 1 of the 2026/27 edition).
Round 2
The teams in League A will be split into seven groups of four. The fourth-ranked teams will be eliminated.
The teams in League B will be split into seven groups of four or three, depending on the number of participants. The group winners will be promoted to League A for round 3, with the remaining teams eliminated.
The draw for round 2 will be held following the completion of round 1 (eg June/July 2026 for round 2 of the 2026/27 edition).
Round 3
The format will resemble the current elite round, with 28 teams drawn into seven groups of four. The seven group winners will qualify for the final tournament, joining the hosts.
The draw for round 3 will be held following the completion of round 2 (eg December 2026 for round 3 of the 2026/27 edition).
Final tournament
The final tournament will, as now, involve eight teams, initially competing in two groups of four, with the top two in each section progressing to the semi-finals.
In even-numbered years, the final tournament will continue to count as the European qualifying competition for the following year's FIFA U-20 World Cup (eg the 2028 U19 EURO will lead to the 2029 FIFA U-20 World Cup).