November 3 – In a major move that will reshape the women’s game, UEFA is to launch a Women’s Nations League that will also determine Europe’s three representatives at the Olympic Games.
Following work by the national team competitions working group, UEFA will introduce the new league-style format as early as 2023 and will see national associations divided into three tiers.
In 2025, Poland, France, Switzerland or the Nordic countries will stage the next European championship. The Nations League, leading to a Final Four, will be interconnected with the European qualifiers, with the first competition consisting of eight match days, followed by a further 10 match days.
“I said this summer that we would continue to invest in women’s football, and we are,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
“Off the back of a historic UEFA Women’s EURO, it is now time to further develop women’s national team football. We have built an open, competitive, and continuous system in which every match will matter, a true reflection of the European sports model. I am convinced that this format will help all European national associations and keep the dream of qualifying for a major international tournament alive.”
The eight top teams in League A will qualify directly for Euro 2025. The remaining seven slots will be decided by the European Qualifiers phase based on their Nations League rankings. The 16 League A teams will be decided by UEFA’s own weighted women’s national team coefficient.
On a quadrennial basis, the Nations League Finals will also serve as a pathway for the Women’s Olympic football tournament. Europe has three spots in the tournament. The two finalists will join France as Europe’s three Women’s Olympic football tournament representatives in 2024 in Paris. If France reach the final of the Nations League, the third-placed team will qualify for Paris 2024.
UEFA said: “With this new system, every match counts, ensuring more competitive matches and thus a greater sporting and commercial interest in national team football. The new system allows for multiple objectives to be achieved, by adding the Nations League title and qualification for the Olympics to the main goals of qualifying for the UEFA Women’s EURO or the FIFA Women’s World Cup.”
With more competition, the European confederation hopes to put a stop to a vast number of mismatches that ended with double-digit results in recent qualifying for the European championship.
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