Sweden, Germany, France top seeds

The procedure and seedings have been confirmed for the UEFA Women's EURO 2013 final tournament draw which takes place from 18.30CET on 9 November at the Svenska Mässan Exhibition and Congress Centre, Gothenburg.

Three groups of four teams will be set by the draw, with each pool containing one nation from the top seeding section (automatically allocated), as well as one from Pot 1 and two from top Pot 2. Hosts Sweden are top-seeded and the 11 qualifiers are classified on the basis of the women's national team coefficient rankings.

Sweden are automatically placed in position one of Group A, played in Gothenburg and Halmstad. Holders Germany will be in Group B in Vaxjo and Kalmar and the other top-ranked side, France, are in Group C in Norrkoping and Linkoping.

England, the 2009 runners-up, former champions Norway and Italy, finalists in 1993 and 1997, are the seeds in Pot 1, and will be drawn into position two in the three groups. The unseeded sides – Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Russia, the Netherlands and Spain – will be drawn into positions three and four in the groups from Pot 2. There are no other restrictions on the draw.

According to the tournament schedule, the group stage will be played from 10 to 18 July, with the top two in each section and the two best third-placed teams progressing to the quarter-finals on 21 and 22 July. The semi-finals are on 24 and 25 July, with the final in Solna three days later.

Full draw procedure

Final tournament draw seedings
Top-seeded teams: Sweden (placed in Group A), Germany (Group B), France (Group C)

Seeded Pot 1: England, Norway, Italy

Unseeded Pot 2: Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Russia, Netherlands, Spain

UEFA President Michel Platini said: "The UEFA Women's EURO is the ultimate stage for women's national team football in Europe. I would like to thank the Swedish Football Association for its dedication towards making this draw and next summer's final tournament a success. The UEFA Women's EURO 2013 will serve as a showcase of UEFA and its member associations' commitment for women's football."

The draw ceremony will start at 18.30CET and member of the UEFA Executive Committee and chairwoman of the UEFA Women's Football Committee Karen Espelund will give a keynote speech on behalf of UEFA. The draw will be conducted by UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino, who will be assisted by UEFA Women's EURO 2013 ambassadors Steffi Jones and Patrik Andersson.

Germany won the competition in 2009 and the German Football Association (DFB), represented by general secretary Helmut Sandrock, will, at the draw ceremony, hand the UEFA Women's EURO trophy back to UEFA President Michel Platini. He will subsequently entrust the trophy to the hosts of the 2013 tournament, the Swedish Football Association (SvFF), for safekeeping until the final tournament.

Karl-Erik Nilsson, SvFF president, said: "Women's football is gaining ground in Europe, as well as internationally, and the Swedish FA is proud to be hosting UEFA's flagship women's national team competition this July in Sweden. We are confident the tournament will have impeccable organisation and provide an unforgettable experience for fans, players, teams, officials and other guests, with the beautiful Swedish summer as its backdrop."

MEDIA INVITATION
Media representatives are invited to the UEFA Women's EURO 2013 finals draw and to a joint press conference prior to it. It will be held by UEFA, the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) and the UEFA Women's EURO 2013 local organising committee at the Svenska Mässan Exhibition and Congress Centre at 17.00CET.

In attendance will be Karen Espelund (member of the UEFA Executive Committee and chairwoman of the UEFA Women's Football Committee), Karl-Erik Nilsson (SvFF president), Göran Havik (tournament director), Steffi Jones and Patrik Andersson (UEFA ambassadors).

The official adidas match ball for the finals will also be launched at the draw.

Running order:
17.00: Press conference
17.40: Mini EURO host cities' grassroots tournament final              
18.30-19.00: Live TV broadcast of draw
19.00-19.30: Post-draw media interviews

Accreditation:
Media representatives wishing to attend the press conference or any other events on the day are requested to apply for accreditation by emailing media@uefa.ch. Any interview requests should also be emailed to this address.