2022/23 UEFA Regions' Cup qualifying draw: preliminary and intermediate round
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
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The draw set groups for the preliminary and intermediate rounds as the European amateur competition returns.
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The UEFA Regions' Cup qualifying draws have set groups for the preliminary and intermediate rounds as the European amateur competition returns.
In all, 35 associations* have entered, with Malta and San Marino fielding national amateur teams and the rest to be represented by regional selections that win their country's qualifying competitions. The teams from the 30 associations with the highest competition coefficients will begin in the intermediate round, with the other five taking part in the preliminary round tournament to fill the remaining two intermediate round slots.
All preliminary round matches must be played between 1 May and 31 July 2022, while all intermediate round matches must be played between 15 August and 9 December 2022. The eight intermediate round group winners will qualify for the finals – to be held, in principle, in the last two weeks of June 2023.
The competition returns following the cancellation of the 2020/21 edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The most recent edition was in 2018/19, when Poland's Dolnośląski beat German hosts Bavaria in the final.
Preliminary round draw
The five teams will take part in a two-round, one-venue event hosted by Azerbaijan between 23 and 29 June (change of dates and venue). The teams in Group 1 will meet each other once; the teams in Group 2 will play twice. The winners of the two groups will both go through, and will play in a final to decide which intermediate round group they progress to.
Group 1: Georgia, Kazakhstan, Estonia
Group 2: Belarus, Azerbaijan (hosts)
All associations represented by regional amateur teams to be determined.
Intermediate round draw
The winners of each group qualify for the finals, which in principle will be held in the last two weeks of June 2023, with the hosts to be decided when the qualifiers are known.
Group 1*: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel, Scotland, preliminary round runners-up
Group 2: Poland, Slovakia, Latvia, Moldova
Group 3: Türkiye, Portugal, Finland, preliminary round winners
Group 4: Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Wales, Sweden
Group 5: Germany, Italy, England, North Macedonia
Group 6: Republic of Ireland, Bulgaria, Romania, San Marino**
Group 7: Spain, Hungary, Switzerland, Slovenia
Group 8: Croatia, Ukraine, Serbia, Malta**
Hosts/dates tbc
**National amateur team; all other associations represented by regional amateur teams.
Draw procedure and seedings
Preliminary round
The five teams will take part in a two-round one-venue event hosted by one of the contenders. The five contenders were drawn from a single pot into two groups.
The first three teams drawn went into Group 1, and the other two into Group 2. The winners of the two groups will both go through, and will play in a final to decide which intermediate round group they progress to.
CONTENDERS
Belarus
Azerbaijan
Kazakhstan
Estonia
Georgia
Intermediate round
The 32 contenders (30 teams entering in this round and the preliminary round winners and runners-up) were split into four pots of eight teams based on their coefficients. The teams were drawn into eight groups of four teams, each containing one team from each pot. Hosts will be appointed for each mini-tournament, with the eight group winners qualifying for the finals.
Pot 1
Turkey
Croatia
Republic of Ireland
Poland
Germany
Czech Republic
Spain
Russia*
Pot 2
Portugal
Ukraine
Hungary
Italy
Slovakia
Bulgaria
Northern Ireland
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Pot 3
Switzerland
Serbia
England
Israel
Latvia
Romania
Wales
Finland
Pot 4
San Marino*
Slovenia
Moldova
Malta*
North Macedonia
Scotland
Sweden
Preliminary round winners
*National amateur team; all other associations represented by regional amateur teams.