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Competition format

The successor to the UEFA European Under-18 Championship, the U19 event has been running annually since 2001/02 and consists of a qualifying round, an elite round and an eight-team final tournament.

The UEFA European Under-19 Championship trophy
The UEFA European Under-19 Championship trophy ©UEFA.com

The successor to the UEFA European Under-18 Championship, the U19 event has been running annually since 2001/02. It consists of a qualifying round, an elite round and an eight-team final tournament usually held in July.

The autumn qualifying round is made up of 13 groups of four teams playing round-robin fixtures at one venue. The top two from each progress. In the elite round, played in the spring, the qualifiers and the two team given byes compete in seven mini-tournament groups of four, with the winners joining the hosts in the finals.

The final tournament consists of two groups of four, with the top two from each progressing to the semi-finals where it becomes a knockout competition. The championship also serves as qualification for the biennial FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Regulations

The regulations for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship are initially drawn up by the UEFA Administration before being submitted to the UEFA Youth and Amateur Football Committee. They are then forwarded upon that committee's approval to the UEFA Executive Committee for ratification.