UEFA additionally changed the format of the League of Nations. No adjustments are proposed for the European finals, which have 24 groups.
The new formats for the males’s nationwide workforce competitions, which is able to begin in drive in September 2024, have been permitted, UEFA introduced, following a gathering of the group’s Executive Committee in Nyon, Switzerland.
The goal of the adjustments in the League of Nations and {qualifications} for the European and world championships is “to supply extra enticing and thrilling competitions inside the present dates, in addition to to strengthen the sources of nationwide federations and guarantee a robust restoration from the impression of the pandemic”, reads the UEFA web site.
The League of Nations will probably be expanded with a brand new knockout stage to be performed in March, thus creating continuity between the group stage, which ends in November, and the closing stage to be performed in June.
The winners and runners-up of the League A teams will take part in the quarter-finals, with residence and away video games, and the winners of those qualifiers will qualify for the Final Four (Final Phase).
Third place in League A and second place in League B, third place in League B and second place in League C, play a home-and-away promotion/relegation play-off.
According to UEFA, the growth of this competitors in the March worldwide calendar window will solely cowl a sure variety of groups and the relaxation will probably be accessible to start out European qualification.
The new European qualification format for the European Championships or the FIFA World Cup will probably be extra consolidated, with the groups being drawn into 12 teams of 4 and 5 groups, “thereby invigorating the competitors and making it which is much less predictable and extra dynamic”, stated UEFA.
With the conventional home-and-away video games in place and the ‘everyone performs everyone’ precept maintained, this easy format will “provide extra aggressive groups in any respect ranges”, he added.
Teams drawn in teams of 5 will start qualifying matches in March or June, if they’re competing in the Nations League quarter-finals or promotion/relegation matches in the identical competitors.
The groups drawn in 4 teams will begin their respective campaigns in September.
“The winners of the European Qualifiers group qualify immediately for the EURO or the FIFA World Cup, whereas the runners-up qualify immediately or take part in the play-offs (with groups from the League of Nations). for the European Championship )”, he stated.
No adjustments are proposed for the European finals, which have 24 groups.
According to the entity led by Aleksander Ceferin, these adjustments, which will probably be carried out after Euro’2024, will end in “extra enticing video games with out rising the whole variety of video games”.
“The introduction of the UEFA Nations League was successful, changing buddies with extra competitors. Now, with the introduction of the new knockout section, groups have extra alternatives to progress, saving in the identical variety of video games inside the International Calendar of Games”, burdened the president of UEFA.
According to the official, “the predictability of the European qualification can be addressed and handled, with a brand new format that may provide all groups an equal likelihood of qualifying for the most important tournaments. soccer in Europe, which continues to develop extra and extra”.
In at this time’s assembly, the Executive Committee additionally determined to appoint the Football Association of Slovakia (SFZ) to host the closing spherical of the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship with 16 groups. The video games will probably be performed in eight venues, in eight totally different cities throughout the nation, in the summer time of 2025.
At the identical time, following the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and the present basic developments all through Europe, together with the removing of earlier measures in place in most native competitions, the Committee of The UEFA Executive has determined to droop the utility of the UEFA Return to Play Protocol.
“In accordance with the repeal of the Protocol, it was additional determined to not introduce the related Annexes associated to the particular guidelines relevant on account of covid-19, included in the competitors laws of UEFA, as a result of these guidelines are linked to the utility of the protocol”, defined UEFA.
However, the group ensures that it’s going to proceed to “carefully monitor the evolution of the pandemic and, if there’s a important change in circumstances, it’ll suggest the applicable measures to make sure the security of all these occasion and the easy working of its competitions, together with, if crucial, re-enforce any related obligations and sanitary measures”.
The laws for the 2023-25UEFA European Under-21 Championship and the laws for the 2023-25UEFA European Women’s Championship have additionally been permitted.
The subsequent assembly of the UEFA Executive Committee is scheduled for April 4, 2023, the day earlier than the forty seventh Ordinary UEFA Congress in Lisbon.
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