Overview
- UEFA’s Executive Committee approved the concept on Wednesday to split European qualifying into League 1 of the top 36 teams and a separate League 2 of the remaining 18 nations.
- League 1 will be three groups of 12 with each team playing six home‑or‑away matches against six different opponents drawn from three seeding pots in a Swiss/Champions League‑style draw.
- The Nations League will be restructured from the 2028‑29 edition into three leagues of 18 teams, each with three groups of six, keeping promotion, relegation and knockout phases.
- UEFA says group winners in League 1 will earn direct tournament places while remaining slots will be decided through play‑offs, though the exact automatic‑slot breakdown is not yet finalised.
- Officials framed the reform as a commercial and sporting fix to repeated blowouts that hurt fan and broadcaster interest and said the detailed format will be fine‑tuned before a final Executive Committee vote in September.