2028 European Cup: 12 qualifiers group first + 8 best group second + playoff spots

May 22nd UEFA Executive Committee held a meeting in Bilbao, Spain this Wednesday to determine the rules for the qualifying round of the 2028 European Cup.

The 2028 European Cup is jointly organized by the United Kingdom and Ireland. A total of 24 teams participated and the competition was held at 9 stadiums. The European Cup qualifiers are divided into 12 groups, each of which consists of 4 to 5 teams. Hosts England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland will also participate in the qualifiers and be divided into different groups. The rules for the promotion of the qualifiers are as follows:

1) ​​12 groups first and 8 best-achieved second teams have advanced directly to the European Cup.

2) If any of the four host teams fails to advance directly, then at most 2 places will be reserved for the hosts in this European Cup and allocated to the two highest-ranked host teams.

3) The remaining qualifications will be determined by the playoffs. The teams participating in the playoffs are: the second in the 4 poor performances in the European Cup qualifiers, and the teams that ranked the highest in the four levels of the UEFA Nations League and did not directly advance to the European Cup.

According to the number of different places assigned to the host team, there are three different situations in the play-offs that compete for the remaining qualifications:

a) Two reserved places are allocated for the host team: 8 teams are divided into 2 groups to participate in the play-offs, playing in the semi-finals and finals in a single round, and competing for 2 qualifications;

b) One reserved place is allocated for the host team: 12 teams are divided into 3 groups to participate in the play-offs, playing in the semi-finals and finals in a single round, and competing for 3 qualifications;

c) There is no reserved places for the host team: 8 teams are divided into 4 groups to participate in the play-offs, playing in two rounds of home and away games, competing for 4 qualifications.

The specific schedule of the 2028 European Cup qualifiers is expected to be announced this fall, and the rules and more details of the competition will be announced before the end of this year.

In addition, during the 2025-28 cycle, UEFA will allocate a total of 244 million euros to the clubs, of which 104 million euros will be distributed to clubs with players participating in the 2024-25 European League, 2026-27 European League, and 2028 European Cup qualifiers, and the remaining 140 million euros will be distributed to clubs with players participating in the 2028 European Cup.