The 2010-12 UEFA European Football Championship consists of three stages: the qualifying group stage, the play-offs and the 16-team final tournament in Poland and Ukraine from 8 June to 1 July 2012.

Qualifying group stage
The 51 entrants were drawn into nine groups, six of six teams and three of five. Matches are played on a home-and-away basis between 3 September 2010 and 11 October 2011. The nine winners and the runner-up with the best record against the top five sides in their pool qualify directly for the final tournament. The eight remaining runners-up enter the play-offs.

Play-offs
The four sides with the best UEFA national team coefficient ranking will be seeded with a draw determining the pairing and order of home and away ties. The first legs will be played on 11 or 12 November and the returns on 15 November. The teams which score the greater aggregate of goals in each tie qualify for the finals, with away goals and then penalties used to determine the winner in the event of a draw.

Final tournament
Poland and Ukraine will be placed in the first pot of four, along with holders Spain if they qualify, for the final tournament draw. The remaining teams will be ranked as per coefficients, and will be drawn into four groups of four teams with the top two reaching the quarter-finals. The competition is then played as a straight knockout.

Further details, including the criteria for separating teams that finish level on points in a group, or after extra time in a match, can be found in the official competition regulations. You can also find the official match schedule here.