UEFA EURO 2028 qualification system approved

The UEFA Executive Committee met today in Bilbao ahead of the UEFA Europa League Final and took the following decisions:

UEFA EURO 2028 – Qualification system

The UEFA Executive Committee has confirmed the qualification format for UEFA EURO 2028, to be held across nine venues in the UK and Ireland with 24 participating teams.

As in the current 2024-26 European Qualifiers, twelve qualifying groups will be formed of four or five teams. Hosts England, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales will also participate in qualifying, drawn into separate groups.

The 12 group winners and 8 best runners-up (20 teams) will advance directly to the EURO 2028 final tournament.

Two spots in the final tournament will be reserved for the two best ranked host nations who are not qualified as group winners or best runners-up after the completion of the qualifying group stage.

The remaining spots will be assigned via play-offs between the remaining runners-up in the qualifying groups and the best ranked 2026-27 UEFA Nations League non-qualified group winners.

Depending on the number of spots used by the host nations, the number of final tournament spots decided by play-offs may vary between two and four, in one of the three following scenarios:

• Both reserved qualifying slots for the hosts used: Eight teams compete in two paths for two final tournament spots, with single-leg semi-finals and finals.

• One reserved qualifying slot for the hosts used: Twelve teams compete in three paths for three final tournament spots, with single-leg semi-finals and finals.

• No reserved qualifying slot for the hosts used: Eight teams contest four home-and-away play-off ties, with the winners advancing to the final tournament.

The tournament schedule is expected to be released in autumn 2025. The tournament regulations with all remaining details will be published by the end of the year.

Club benefits programme - Distribution principles for 2024-2028

For the next cycle, linked to UEFA EURO 2028, EUR 240 million will be distributed in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between UEFA and the ECA. In addition, EUR 7 million remains available for distribution from the previous club benefits cycle.

Following a proposal from the European Club Association (ECA), it was agreed to shift EUR 3m of the leftover from the 2020/24 cycle to the Club Benefit Programme of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025, to increase its size from EUR 6m to EUR 9m.

The proposed distribution mechanism of the resulting amount of EUR 244m is unchanged compared to the 2020/24 cycle and shall be divided into two pots. The first pot of EUR 104 million shall cover the two UEFA Nations League editions 2024/25 and 2026/27 and the European Qualifiers 2026-28, while the second pot of EUR 140 million is reserved for clubs that release players to UEFA EURO 2028.

Full details will be published in due course.

UEFA Nations League Finals – Player lists

The UEFA Executive Committee approved the increase in the number of players that can be registered by the teams participating in the UEFA Nations League Finals 2025 from 23 to a maximum of 26, considering the dynamics of the end of season as well as an increase in activities over the summer 2025.

Standing Facilities Observer programme 

The UEFA Executive Committee received an update on the standing facilities observer programme and agreed an extension of the programme for the 2025-26 season in the men’s club competitions as of the centralised phase for the same ten national associations already involved in the programme, i.e. the ten national associations topping the UEFA Club Competition Access list in the current season (where the use of standing facilities is permitted at domestic level):

Permitted: Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Scotland and The Netherlands

Permitted but not implemented by clubs: Portugal

Not permitted under national law: Italy, Spain

UEFA Administration

The UEFA Executive Committee was also notified that Zoran Laković had been appointed UEFA Deputy General Secretary for National Associations’ Business Affairs and International Relations.

Next meeting

The next meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee will take place in Tirana, Albania on 11 September 2025.