The league stage draw for the new UEFA Women’s Nations League will be held on Tuesday.
With a similar format to the men’s UEFA Nations League, the 51 participating teams have been divided into three leagues (two of 16 and the other of 19) on the basis of their positions in the UEFA women’s national team coefficient rankings issued after the conclusion of the group stage of the UEFA European Qualifying Competition for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The league stage will determine which four teams progress to the finals (which will also act as Europe’s 2024 Olympic qualifiers) and also promotion and relegation between the leagues ahead of the European Qualifiers phase for UEFA Women’s EURO 2025.
League A: England, Germany, France, Sweden, Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Iceland, Switzerland, Wales, Portugal, Scotland
League B: Republic of Ireland, Poland, Czechia, Finland, Serbia, Slovenia, Northern Ireland, Romania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Hungary, Greece, Croatia, Belarus, Albania
League C: Malta, Israel, Azerbaijan, Türkiye, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Luxembourg, Estonia, Moldova, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Armenia, Andorra
The teams in both League A and League B are seeded into four pots according to the UEFA women’s national team coefficient rankings. Each group will contain one team from each pot and there will therefore be four groups of four teams in each of League A and League B.
League C: Four groups of four teams and one group of three teams
The teams in each league are seeded into four pots according to the UEFA women’s national team coefficient rankings. Four groups will contain one team from each pot, and the three-team group will contain a team from each of the first three pots.
Pot 1: Malta, Israel, Azerbaijan, Türkiye, North Macedonia
Pot 2: Kosovo, Montenegro, Luxembourg, Estonia, Moldova
Pot 3: Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Bulgaria, Cyprus
Pot 4: Faroe Islands, Georgia, Armenia, Andorra
Based on UEFA Executive Committee decisions valid at the time of the draw, Azerbaijan and Armenia cannot be drawn in the same group.
Due to winter venue restrictions, a maximum of two of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Faroe Islands may be drawn in the same group while to minimise teams’ travel burden, Kazakhstan can be drawn in a group with only one of the following: Andorra, Faroe Islands and Malta.
Promotion and Relegation
League A
The top two teams in each group remain in League A for the European Qualifiers for UEFA Women’s EURO 2025.
The four third-placed teams play off against against the second-placed teams in each group of League B. The winner of each match play in League A for the European Qualifiers phase; the defeated teams play in League B.
The fourth-placed teams are relegated to League B.
League B
The four group winners are promoted to League A.
The four second-placed teams play against the third-placed teams in League A. The winner of each match will play in League A; the defeated teams will play in League B.
The three best third-placed teams play off against the three best-ranked second-placed teams of League C. The winners will play in League B for the European Qualifiers phase; the defeated teams will play in League C.
The lowest ranked third-placed team and the four fourth-placed teams are relegated to League C.
League C
The five group winners are promoted to League B.
The three best-ranked second-placed teams play off against the three best third-placed teams of League B. The winners will play in League B for the European Qualifiers phase; the defeated teams will play in League C.
The remaining teams stay in League C.
Calendar
Matchdays 1–2: 20–26 September 2023
Matchdays 3–4: 25–31 October 2023
Matchdays 5–6: 29 November–5 December 2023
Finals
Between 21 and 28 February 2024
Promotion/relegation matches
Between 21 and 28 February 2024
UEFA European Qualifiers phase
The European Qualifiers start in spring 2024, following the conclusion of the UEFA Nations League, and are composed of a league stage and final tournament play-offs.
The European Qualifiers league stage is played in the same format as the Nations League, with teams split into three leagues: League A with 16 teams, League B with 16 teams and League C with 19 teams. Each team’s starting league position is determined based on the results of the Nations League, as described above.
Again, teams compete in groups of four or three teams (League C) and over six matchdays, with each team playing one home match and one away match against all the other teams in their group.
The ultimate goals of this phase of the competition are to qualify for the UEFA Women’s EURO (or the FIFA Women’s World Cup) and to be positioned as high as possible in the league system for the next cycle.
The European Qualifiers ranking at the end of the league stage determines three main outcomes: who qualifies directly for the final tournament, who goes into the play-offs for the final tournament, and what starting league position teams will have in the upcoming Nations League. Depending on the league standings, teams will either maintain their position in the league or be automatically promoted or relegated.