UEFA Regions' Cup intermediate round: Aragón, Dolnośląski, Hradec Králové, Länsi-Vantaan Ylpeys, Rijeka, San Marino, Vaud, Vojvodina qualify
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Article summary
Aragón, Dolnośląski, Hradec Králové, Länsi-Vantaan Ylpeys, Rijeka, San Marino, Vaud and Vojvodina are through to next summer's finals.
Article top media content
Article body
The 2024/25 UEFA Regions' Cup intermediate round has decided the eight teams that will compete in next summer's finals of Europe's premier amateur competition.
Qualified for finals
Aragón (ESP), Dolnośląski Region (POL), FA of Vojvodina (SRB), Hradec Králové (CZE), Länsi-Vantaan Ylpeys (FIN), Rijeka Region (CRO), San Marino (SMR), Vaud (SUI)
The first team to qualify were Länsi-Vantaan Ylpeys when they topped Group 2 as hosts to become the first side from Finland to reach the finals. Czechia's Hradec Králové then secured their return as Group 5 winners, having previously appeared in the 2019 finals.
They were joined from Group 1 by Poland's Dolnośląski Region, winners in 2007 and 2019, and now extending their record number of final tournament appearances to five. FA of Vojvodina from Serbia topped Group 3; they previously qualified for the second edition in 2001. Rijeka Region won Group 8 to become the third different Croatian representatives to make a Regions' Cup final tournament.
Group 4 hosts Vaud became the second distinct Swiss region to reach the finals, following Ticino, who qualified in 2003 and 2007. In the other concluding game in the group, Northern Ireland Western manager Harry McConkey took charge of a Regions' Cup game for a record 45th time, overtaking the previous benchmark of 44 set by Gerry Smith, who coached various Republic of Ireland squads.
Aragón, who beat 2023 UEFA Regions' Cup winners Galicia for the right to represent Spain in this edition, qualified from Group 7. It means Spain has a team in the final tournament for a record tenth time from the 13 editions and Aragón will be the seventh distinct region from their nation to qualify, equalling Czechia's mark.
The finals qualifiers were San Marino (who, like Malta, enter a national rather than regional team). Three victories ensured they are the first San Marino side to earn a place in any UEFA final tournament.
How the intermediate round worked
The associations with the highest competition coefficients began in this round – 30 in all (including the pair of withdrawals), joined by the two winners of the preliminary round groups, debutants Albania Amateur and Football School Bridge of Georgia. While Malta and San Marino fielded national amateur teams, the rest were represented by regional selections that won their country's qualifying competitions.
The eight intermediate round group winners have qualified for the finals – to be held, in principle, in the first two weeks of either June or July 2025 and hosted by one of the qualifiers.
This is the 13th edition. The 12th edition was won in June 2023 by Spanish hosts Galicia, who beat Serbia's FA of Belgrade in the final.
Intermediate round groups
Group 1
Qualified for final tournament: Dolnośląski Region (POL)
Also in group: Football Club Akbet (KAZ, hosts)
Israel & Ukraine withdrawn
Group 2
Qualified for final tournament: Länsi-Vantaan Ylpeys (FIN, hosts)
Also in group: Arthurian League (ENG), Lisboa (POR), Latvia Amateur (LVA)
Group 3
Qualified for final tournament: FA of Vojvodina (SRB, hosts)
Also in group: West Slovakia (SVK), Tim Rhanbarthol y De (WAL), North Macedonia Amateur (MKD)
Group 4
Qualified for final tournament: Vaud (SUI, hosts)
Also in group: Munster FA (IRL), Northern Ireland Western (NIR), Football School Bridge (GEO)
Group 5
Qualified for final tournament: Hradec Králové (CZE)
Also in group: Tuzla Canton (BIH, hosts), Albania Amateur (ALB), Central Scotland (SCO)
Group 6
Qualified for final tournament: San Marino* (SMR, hosts)
Also in group: Istanbul (TUR), Hungary Amateur (HUN), Medobčinska nogometna zveza Ljubljana (SVN)
Group 7
Qualified for final tournament: Aragón (ESP)
Also in group: South-West Bulgaria (BUL, hosts), FC Ivatsevichi-Duss (BLR), ARF Anenii Noi (MDA)
Group 8
Qualified for final tournament: Rijeka Region (CRO)
Also in group: Liguria (ITA, hosts), Romania Amateur (ROU), Malta* (MLT)
*National amateur team; all other associations represented by regional amateur teams.