The European football federation profoundly changed the competition system for national team competitions on the continent. The new regulations come into force in the cycle that begins in 2028. European football’s highest governing body confirmed the changes this Wednesday afternoon on Suíça. The plan was presented shortly after the end of the continental tournament, which had Portugal as the big winner after defeating Espanha in the decision.
The competitive design copies the model that the entity implemented in the Liga of the Campeões in the 2024 season. The main intention of the association’s board of directors is to eliminate matches with low commercial and technical attractiveness. President Aleksander Čeferin stated that the new tournaments will bring more balance and dynamism to the public. The organization’s promise is not to overload the calendar of professional teams with new international dates in the coming years.
Nova division division reduces size of Liga from Nações
The continental competition between national teams will undergo a drastic reduction in its basic structure from the 2028 edition onwards. The confederation abolished the old fourth division of the competition. The tournament will now only feature the main groups A, B and C. Antes of this official announcement, the federation divided the countries into four leagues of different technical levels.
Participants will group together in a completely different way to the traditional format established in past seasons. The four-country groups no longer exist on the Europa calendar. The technical committee has organized larger brackets that house six national teams each for the two main levels of the football tournament.
The places and clashes will follow specific division rules:
- Três brackets with six teams in the first division of the championship.
- Três keys with six teams on the second continental shelf.
- Duas brackets with six members and a bracket with seven countries in the third division.
- Seis guaranteed matches for each national football team during the classification phase.
- Single Confrontos against selections from different pots determined by targeted draw.
- A round-trip game against a rival in the same competition draw level.
Eliminatórias of Copa of Mundo win groups with twelve selections
The qualification process for the world national team tournament will undergo the most radical change in the confederation’s history. The entity divided the participants according to their performance in the European tournament. The thirty-six best teams on the continent, which form the first two levels of the league competition, will compete in the so-called Liga 1.
The old classification model had twelve smaller keys. The new format reduces this number to just three supergroups that concentrate twelve countries each in the search for vacancies. The distribution of clashes eliminates the old mirrored shifts. Countries will no longer face the same opponents in successive round-trip duels.
Cada selection will play twice against opponents from each established pot. The leaders of each of these major brackets guarantee a direct passport to Copa from Mundo. The federation indicated that the remaining teams will compete for secondary places through knockout matches. The seventeen teams with the lowest technical ranking will compete in the Liga 2 in a system identical to that of the third continental division.
Federação schedules final project approval for September
The leadership of the football entity highlighted that the concepts presented this Wednesday will undergo fine adjustments over the next few weeks. Competition departments intend to refine tiebreaker rules and long-travel logistics before final member approval. The executive committee meeting that will stamp the final document is scheduled for September this year.
The directors’ movement seeks to stop the constant criticism from clubs and athletes about excessive international travel for friendly games. The confederation believes that the centralization of broadcasting rights in competitive matches will increase the revenue of medium-sized national associations. Real Madrid awaits updates on the calendar, while planning the arrival of coach José Mourinho for next season.