UEFA Nations League

The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body.[1]

This article is about the UEFA competition. For other uses, see Nations League (disambiguation).

UEFA Nations League
Founded2018 (2018)
RegionEurope (UEFA)
Number of teams55
Current champions France (1st title)
Most successful team(s) France
 Portugal
(1 title each)
Television broadcastersList of broadcasters
WebsiteOfficial website
2022–23 UEFA Nations League

The first tournament began in September 2018, following the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The four group winners from League A qualified for the finals, played in Portugal in June 2019. Four nations, one from each League, also qualified for the UEFA Euro 2020 finals.

The competition largely replaces the international friendly matches previously played on the FIFA International Match Calendar with more competitive matches.

Adoption

In October 2013, Norwegian Football Association President Yngve Hallén confirmed that talks had been held to create a third full national-team international tournament for UEFA members[2] in addition to the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship.

The concept of the UEFA Nations League would see all 55 of UEFA's member associations' national teams divided into a series of groups based upon a ranking formulated using their recent results, where they would be promoted and relegated to other groups according to their results within the group.[3] The proposed tournament would take place on dates on the FIFA International Match Calendar that were previously allocated for international friendlies and would not affect the FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship.[4]

In March 2014, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino stated that one of the benefits of the proposal would be to help less glamorous national associations arrange games.[4]

Royal Belgian Football Association's general secretary Steven Martens said that lower ranked nations would still benefit financially from the competition, as the television contract with UEFA would be centralised.[5] The UEFA Nations League was unanimously adopted by the 54 UEFA member associations at the XXXVIII Ordinary UEFA Congress in Astana on 27 March 2014.[1]

Format

Original format

According to the approved format,[1][6][7] the 54 UEFA national teams were divided into four divisions (called "Leagues"):[8][9] 12 teams in League A, 12 teams in League B, 14 teams in League C, and 16 teams in League D. In each league, four groups were formed (with three or four teams) and teams played each other both home and away.

Adjustment starting from 2020–21

After the completion of the first season, UEFA decided to adjust the format of the Nations League starting from the 2020–21 season. The new league structure comprised 16 teams in Leagues A, B and C and seven teams in League D.[10]

The transition to the new format occurred by making various one-time changes after the 2018–19 season, namely the suspension of relegations in both League A and League B, the promotion of the two best teams per group in both League C and League D (instead of only one team per group), and the promotion of the best third-placed team from League D.

This change to the format followed a collective consultation process, whereby all UEFA national associations reiterated their intent to further reduce the number of friendly matches. The number of competitive matches was increased from 142 to 168, thus increasing the commercial value and viewer attractiveness of the competition. Almost all teams in the same group played their last match simultaneously with the aim of promoting fairness.[11] More matches were played within Leagues A and B, with the two leagues now incorporating competition between the 32 highest-ranked UEFA national associations, instead of the previous system where Leagues A and B together only incorporated 24 of the highest-ranked UEFA national associations.

Possible addition of CONMEBOL teams from 2024–25

In an interview with Polish website meczyki.pl, UEFA vice-president Zbigniew Boniek said that all 10 teams from CONMEBOL, South America's football federation, would join the UEFA Nations League from the 2024–25 edition of the competition.[12] The plans, which would act as a response to FIFA's biannual World Cup plans, would involve a joint UEFA/CONMEBOL office in London to strengthen relations between the two confederations, and would see the six highest-ranked South American teams – presumably Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Uruguay – joining League A, while the remaining four – presumably Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Venezuela – joining League B.

Finals, promotion and relegation

In the top league, League A, the winners of the four groups go on to play in the Nations League Finals, with two semi-finals, one third and fourth place decider, and one final to decide which team becomes the UEFA Nations League champion.

Teams can also be promoted and relegated to a higher or lower league. Starting in 2020–21, each group winner in Leagues B, C, and D is automatically promoted to the next higher league for the next tournament. Each team placing last in its group in the Leagues A and B is automatically relegated to the next lower league; as League C has four groups while League D has only two, the two League C teams that are to be relegated are determined by play-outs beginning in March of even-numbered years. Based on the Nations League overall ranking of the fourth-placed teams, the first-ranked team face the fourth-ranked team, and the second-ranked team face the third-ranked team. Two ties are played over two legs, with the higher-ranked team hosts the second leg. The two teams that score more goals on aggregate over the two legs remain in League C, while the losing teams are relegated to League D. If the aggregate score is level, extra time will be played (the away goals rule is not applied). If still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out will be used to decide the winner.[13] The away goals was originally to be used, but was abolished by the UEFA Executive Committee on 16 December 2021.[14]

Main article: UEFA European Championship qualifying

The UEFA Nations League is linked with the UEFA European Championship qualifying, providing teams another chance to qualify for the UEFA European Championship.

There were play-offs for each of Leagues A, B, C, and D in October and November 2020. Each group winner earned a spot in the semi-finals. If the group winner was already one of the 20 qualified teams, rankings were used to give the play-off spot to another team of that league. If fewer than four teams in the entire league remained unqualified, play-off spots for that league were given to teams of the next lower league. This determined the four remaining qualifying spots for the European Championship (out of 24 total).[8][9][15]

Main article: FIFA World Cup qualification § Europe

The Nations League is linked with European qualification for the FIFA World Cup, although to a lesser degree than the UEFA European Championship qualifying play-offs. The first round of the World Cup qualification consists of ten groups. The winner of each group will directly qualify for the World Cup. Then, the second round (which follows a play-off format) will be contested by the ten group runners-up, plus the best two Nations League group winners (based on the Nations League overall ranking) that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group. The play-offs will be split into three play-off paths, played in two semi-finals (hosted by the six best-ranked runners-up of the qualifying group stage) and the final (with the home teams to be drawn), from which an additional three teams will also qualify.[16]

Support and criticism

UEFA devised the tournament as a means to eliminate international friendlies—an aim that has been shared by many football clubs and supporters, with the regular football season being interrupted with non-competitive international matches as part of the FIFA International Match Calendar.[17][18][19]

In February 2012, it was agreed between UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) that the international friendly schedule would be reduced from 12 to 9 matches a year with the August round of international friendlies in the UEFA confederation abolished from 2015.[20] The aspiration to eliminate friendlies in favour of a more competitive tournament has been both welcomed and criticized by many football commentators.[21][22][23]

Supporters more than most realise that most friendlies fail to deliver competitive and meaningful football. Now they will have the opportunity to see their teams play in more competitive matches, take part in a new competition and get a second chance to qualify for the major tournaments. There will certainly be fewer friendly internationals and undoubtedly fewer meaningless friendlies. However, there will still be space in the calendar for friendly internationals—particularly warm-up matches for final tournaments. UEFA is also keen that European teams will still have the chance to play opponents from other confederations.

— UEFA.[24]

The format has been criticised as allowing weaker teams to qualify through the Nations League to compete in the European Championship finals, instead of qualifying through the standard qualification process.[25] However, once the tournament began in 2018, it got applaud for 'very high-level matches' and impressive turnouts in initial round of fixtures.[26]

Trophy

The UEFA Nations League trophy was unveiled during the phase draw in Lausanne, Switzerland. The trophy represents all 55 UEFA National associations and is made of sterling silver. The trophy weighs 7.5 kg and is 71 cm tall.[27]

Anthem

The official anthem of the UEFA Nations League was recorded with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, singing in Latin. It is a mix of classical and electronic music, and is played when the players are entering the field of play, in television sequences and for ceremonial purposes. The composers are Giorgio Tuinfort and Franck van der Heijden.[27][28]

Seasons

Each season of the UEFA Nations League is typically played from September to November of an even-numbered year (league phase), and June of the following odd-numbered year (Nations League Finals of League A), meaning a UEFA Nations League champion is crowned every two years. An exception will be made in the 2022–23 season when the league phase will be played in June and September 2022, due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup played in Qatar at the end of the year.[8][9][15]

Results of Nations League finals
Season Host Final Third place play-off
Winner Score Runner-up Third place Score Fourth place
2018–19
Details		  Portugal
Portugal		 1–0
Netherlands
England		 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(6–5 p)
Switzerland
2020–21
Details		  Italy
France		 2–1
Spain
Italy		 2–1
Belgium
2022–23
Details		 TBA

Performances by team
Team Winners Runner-up Third place Fourth place
 Portugal 1 (2019*)
 France 1 (2021)
 Netherlands 1 (2019)
 Spain 1 (2021)
 England 1 (2019)
 Italy 1 (2021*)
  Switzerland 1 (2019)
 Belgium 1 (2021)
* = hosts

Team performances by season
  •  1  – Champions
  •  2  – Runners-up
  •  3  – Third place
  •  4  – Fourth place
  • – Promoted
  • * – Promoted after format change
  • – No movement
  • – Relegated
  • – Originally relegated in previous season (spared after format change)
  • Q – Qualified for upcoming UEFA Nations League Finals
  •    – Host country of UEFA Nations League Finals
National team Season
2018–19 2020–21 2022–23
LG RK P/NM LG RK P/NM/R LG RK P/NM/R
 Albania C34 C35 B
 Andorra D53 D55 D
 Armenia D45* C36 B
 Austria B18 B18 A
 Azerbaijan D46* C43 C
 Belarus D43 C38 C
 Belgium A5 A4 A
 Bosnia and Herzegovina B13 A15 B
 Bulgaria C29* B31 C
 Croatia A9 A12 A
 Cyprus C36 C46 C
 Czech Republic B20 B19 A
 Denmark B15 A7 A
 England A3 A9 A
 Estonia C37 C47 D
 Faroe Islands D50 D50 C
 Finland C28 B21 B
 France A6 A1 A
 Georgia D40 C42 C
 Germany A11 A8 A
 Gibraltar D49 D49 C
 Greece C33 C37 C
 Hungary C31* B20 A
 Iceland A12 A16 B
 Israel C30* B25 B
 Italy A8 A3 A
 Kazakhstan D47* C45 C
 Kosovo D42 C44 C
 Latvia D51 D53 D
 Liechtenstein D52 D51 D
 Lithuania C39 C41 C
 Luxembourg D44* C39 C
 Malta D54 D52 D
 Moldova D48* C48 D
 Montenegro C35 C34 B
 Netherlands A2 A6 A
 North Macedonia D41 C40 C
 Northern Ireland B24 B32 C
 Norway C26 B22 B
 Poland A10 A10 A
 Portugal A1 A5 A
 Republic of Ireland B23 B28 B
 Romania C32* B26 B
 Russia B17 B24 B32
 San Marino D55 D54 D
 Scotland C25 B23 B
 Serbia C27 B27 B
 Slovakia B21 B30 C
 Slovenia C38 C33 B
 Spain A7 A2 A
 Sweden B16 A14 B
  Switzerland A4 A11 A
 Turkey B22 B29 C
 Ukraine B14 A13 B
 Wales B19 B17 A

Influence

Shortly after the foundation of the UEFA Nations League, CONCACAF, inspired by its success, announced that a similar competition format, the CONCACAF Nations League, would be established.[29] The first edition was played in 2018. Also inspired by the recent success of the Nations League, the AFC has begun to formalise a similar competition, planned to begin in 2021 before being stalled due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.[30][31]

See also

References
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  2. Hojem Kvam, Lars (9 October 2013). "Hva om Ronaldo, Özil, Balotelli og Pique møtes til ligaspill – med sine landslag?". dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  3. Gibson, Owen (10 October 2013). "Uefa explores internationals shake-up with Nations League plan". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  4. "Nations League: New European tournament to be confirmed". BBC Sport. 26 March 2014. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  5. "Nations League moet nieuwe mijlpaal in Europese voetbal worden". zita.be (in Dutch). 26 March 2014. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
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  8. "UEFA Nations League format and schedule approved". UEFA.com. 4 December 2014. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
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  10. "How the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League will line up". UEFA.com. 24 September 2019. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
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  12. Włodarczyk, Tomasz. "Rewolucja w Lidze Narodów! Czeka nas mini-mundial. Polska może zagrać z Brazylią! [NASZ NEWS]". Meczyki.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  13. "Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2018–20". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 March 2018. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  14. "UEFA Executive Committee approves a new Football Sustainability Strategy 2030". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  15. "UEFA Nations League and European Qualifiers competition format, 2018–2020" (PDF). UEFA.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  16. "UEFA Executive Committee agenda for Nyon meeting". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 November 2019. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
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  18. Lawton, James (20 February 2018). "Friendlies do not have to be as meaningless as this". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
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  20. "Clubs and Uefa agree to reduce international matches". BBC Sport. 28 February 2012. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  21. Liew, Jonathan (13 October 2017). "Abstract and absurd, Uefa's Nations League is anything but the Ctrl-Alt-Delete the international game needs". Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  22. "What is the Uefa Nations League – and will it be successful?". The Guardian. 23 January 2018. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
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  25. Dunbar, Graham (24 March 2017). "As World Cup hope fades, Europeans turn to Nations League". USA Today. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  26. "UEFA Nations League: Tournament draws praise for 'very high-level matches', impressive turnouts in initial round of fixtures-Sports News , Firstpost". Firstpost.com. 10 September 2018. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
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  28. "What are the lyrics to the UEFA Nations League Anthem?". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
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