A match-up between Germany and Norway and an encounter involving France and Denmark are among the ties in the inaugural UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship first qualifying round.
Powerhouses meet
The competition's first ever draw was made by Susanne Erlandsson of the UEFA Youth & Amateur Committee in Nyon, Switzerland, following a welcome from interim UEFA CEO Gianni Infantino. Forty nations have entered the 2007/08 tournament, which will have two qualifying rounds, leading to a four-team final round next spring. Germany, who have won the U19 competition - which was an U18 event until 2001 - four times in nine attempts, will visit another powerhouse of women's football, Norway, and also play Israel and Bulgaria in Group 9, scheduled for 5-10 September, one of ten single-venue mini-tournaments taking place between then and November. Over in Group 5 are two other former women's youth champions, France and Denmark, meeting hosts F.Y.R. Macedonia and Armenia, while Group 10 brings together two more strong women's youth forces, Russia and England, against home team Georgia and Slovakia.
World Cup chance
Cyprus, entering a women's national-team competition for the first time, are in Group 1 in Switzerland also involving Wales and Lithuania. The top team from each group, plus the six runners-up with the best records against the sides finishing first and third in their pool, will go through to the second qualifying round. As well as offering the chance to win a new European title, the competition will also carry three places for the first FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, held in 2008 in New Zealand.
2007/08 UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship
First qualifying round draw
Hosts in bold
Group 1 (11-16 October) | Switzerland | Wales | Lithuania | Cyprus |
| Group 2 (dates tbc) | Poland | Netherlands | Greece | Azerbaijan |
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Group 3 (11-16 September) | Finland | Belgium | Estonia | Faroe Islands |
| Group 4 (dates tbc) | Ukraine | Iceland | Slovenia | Latvia |
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Group 5 (16-21 October) | France | Denmark | F.Y.R. Macedonia | Armenia |
| Group 6 (19-24 October) | Republic of Ireland | Sweden | Turkey | Moldova |
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Group 7 (5-10 November) | Italy | Spain | Belarus | Czech Republic |
| Group 8 (20-25 October) | Scotland | Hungary | Northern Ireland | Croatia |
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Group 9
(5-10 September)