Women’s Futsal EURO qualifying draw

The second edition of the UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO has begun with the qualifying draw involving 24 entrants, including debutants Gibraltar and Bosnia & Herzegovina. The match dates were moved from 2020/21 to 2021/22 as a result of the spread of COVID-19 in Europe.

Spain won the first edition in 2019 in Portugal, who were runners-up ahead of bronze-medallists Russia and fellow semi-finalists Ukraine. The 2022 edition will also end with a four-team knockout final tournament in March of that year.

Preliminary round

Group A: Serbia, Lithuania (hosts), Slovakia, Northern Ireland

Group B: Netherlands, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova (hosts)

Group C: Kazakhstan, Belgium, Gibraltar (hosts)

• The three group winners advance to the main round join the 13 teams given byes.

Main round

Group 1: Russia, Hungary, Belarus (hosts), winner preliminary round Group B

Group 2: Portugal, Croatia (hosts), Poland, Slovenia

Group 3: Ukraine (hosts), Finland, Czech Republic, winner preliminary round Group C

Group 4: Spain (holders), Italy, Sweden (hosts), winner preliminary round Group A

• The four group winners will advance to the knockout finals in mid-February, with one of the nations appointed as hosts.

The calendar

Preliminary round: 4 to 9 May & 16 to 19 August 2021
Main round: 19 to 22 October 2021
Finals draw: tbc
Final tournament: 24/25 & 26/27 March 2022

How the draw worked

Preliminary round

• The 13 nations with the highest ranking as per the UEFA Women’s Futsal National Teams Coefficient Rankings receive a bye.
• The other 11 entrants will enter in the preliminary round.
• The draw produced one group of three teams and two of four, played as one-venue mini-tournaments.
• The teams were split into three seeding tiers according to their coefficient.
• Lithuania, Moldova and Gibraltar were pre-selected as hosts and drawn from Pot 1, placed in Groups A and B according to their seeding tier (Gibraltar or Moldova would fill position 4 in Group A rather than 3 if drawn first).
• Pot 2 consisted of the three remaining lowest ranked teams; they were placed in position 3 (or 4 if available) in Groups A to C, missing out the groups which already had a host assigned to that position.
• Pot 3 consisted of the second tier of teams, with Armenia and Belgium placed to take position 2 in the groups in which Lithuania have not been drawn.
• Pot 4 consisted of the teams to fill position 1.
• The three group winners advance to the main round join the 13 teams given byes.

Pot 1 (hosts)
Lithuania (position 2)
Moldova (4 if Group A, 3 if Groups B or C)
Gibraltar (4 if Group A, 3 if Groups B or C)

Pot 2 (position 3, and 4 in Group A if available)
Slovakia
Northern Ireland
Bosnia and Herzegovina

Pot 3 (position 2)
Armenia
Belgium

Pot 4 (position 1)
Kazakhstan
Serbia
Netherlands

Main round

• The 13 teams given byes and the three preliminary round winners were drawn into four groups of four teams, played as mini-tournaments.
• Four teams were pre-selected as hosts and drawn from Pot 5, placed in groups according to their seeding tier.
• Pot 6 consisted of Slovenia and the three preliminary round winners, to fill position 4 in each group.
• Pots 7, 8 and 9 consisted of the teams to fill positions 3, 2 and 1 respectively, minus the hosts.
• The four group winners will advance to the knockout finals, with one of the nations appointed as hosts.

Pot 5 (hosts)
Ukraine (position 1)
Croatia (2)
Sweden (3)
Belarus (3)

Pot 6 (position 4)
Slovenia
Preliminary round winners x 3

Pot 7 (position 3)
Czech Republic
Poland

Pot 8 (position 2)
Hungary
Finland
Italy

Pot 9 (position 1)
Spain (holders)
Portugal
Russia