About UEFA Women's Euro Qualifying

History, Format, Organization, Media Coverage

The UEFA Women's Euro Qualifying is a tournament organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to determine participants for the UEFA European Women's Championship, commonly known as the UEFA Women's Euro. Up to 15 spots are available for the finals, with the host nation(s) automatically qualifying.

The qualifying structure mirrors the UEFA Women’s Nations League. Teams are divided into three categories: Leagues A and B, each containing 16 teams, and League C, which includes the remaining countries. A team's league placement is based on its performance in the previous UEFA Women’s Nations League campaign. For example, a country that secures a spot in or earns promotion to League A in the 2023-24 UEFA Women’s Nations League is placed in League A of the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying competition.

In Leagues A and B, teams are organized into four groups of four, while League C teams are grouped into threes or fours, depending on their number. The qualifying tournament features two rounds: a league phase followed by playoffs. The league phase employs a double round-robin format, where each side faces every other nation in their group, home and away.

Once the league phase concludes, group winners and runners-up from League A (eight teams in total) qualify for the UEFA Women’s Euro finals. The remaining spots are decided through two rounds of home-and-away playoff matches.

In the first round, third and fourth-placed teams from League A are drawn against group winners and the three highest-ranked runners-up from League C, with the eight winners advancing to round 2. Additionally, group winners and the two best-ranked runners-up from League B are drawn against the remaining two runners-up and four third-placed teams from that same division, with six winners progressing to round 2. If the host nation is in League B and wins their group, the other three group winners and the three best-ranked runners-up face the remaining runner-up, along with the four third-placed teams and the best fourth-placed nation. Fourteen teams from these two paths enter round 2, drawn into seven fixtures, with the seven winners qualifying for the UEFA Women’s Euro.

Furthermore, the UEFA Women's Euro qualifying tournament influences the following UEFA Women’s Nations League structure. Teams' performances dictate whether they remain in their current league, earn promotion or face relegation. The top three sides in each League A group stay in League A for the next Nations League campaign, while the runners-up and the three best-ranked third-placed countries in League B, along with the runners-up, third, and fourth-placed teams in League C, remain in their respective leagues. Group winners in Leagues B and C ascend to Leagues A and B, respectively. Conversely, fourth-placed sides in League A drop to League B, while the fourth-placed teams and the lowest-ranked third-placed team in League B descend to League C.