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UEFA Nations League
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UEFA Nations League
The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to increase revenue under the guise of minimizing friendlies and giving nations competitive encounters with equally ranked teams. Teams from all the European associations compete in a league structure featuring promotion and relegation.
The first tournament was in September 2018, with the four group winners from League A qualifying for the first finals, played in Portugal in June 2019. The host team, Portugal defeated the Netherlands in the final to become the inaugural competition winners. In 2021 France won the trophy by beating Spain in the host country, and Italy achieved 3rd place by beating Belgium. In the 2023 tournament, Spain won by beating Croatia on penalties. The current champions are Portugal, who defeated holders Spain in the 2025 final to secure their second title.
Since 1999, various UEFA bodies had discussed national associations' needs for more competitive fixtures, including more attractive international friendlies, more competitive matches and increased revenue. In 2001, UEFA proposed three potential formats for a new national team competition, with a first edition tentatively planned for 2004–2007. However, this ultimately did not come to fruition.
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 in addition to the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship.
The concept of the UEFA Nations League would see all 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. 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.
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.
The 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. 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.
The 55 UEFA national teams were divided into four leagues: 12 teams in League A; 12 teams in League B; 15 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.
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UEFA Nations League
The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to increase revenue under the guise of minimizing friendlies and giving nations competitive encounters with equally ranked teams. Teams from all the European associations compete in a league structure featuring promotion and relegation.
The first tournament was in September 2018, with the four group winners from League A qualifying for the first finals, played in Portugal in June 2019. The host team, Portugal defeated the Netherlands in the final to become the inaugural competition winners. In 2021 France won the trophy by beating Spain in the host country, and Italy achieved 3rd place by beating Belgium. In the 2023 tournament, Spain won by beating Croatia on penalties. The current champions are Portugal, who defeated holders Spain in the 2025 final to secure their second title.
Since 1999, various UEFA bodies had discussed national associations' needs for more competitive fixtures, including more attractive international friendlies, more competitive matches and increased revenue. In 2001, UEFA proposed three potential formats for a new national team competition, with a first edition tentatively planned for 2004–2007. However, this ultimately did not come to fruition.
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 in addition to the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship.
The concept of the UEFA Nations League would see all 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. 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.
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.
The 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. 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.
The 55 UEFA national teams were divided into four leagues: 12 teams in League A; 12 teams in League B; 15 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.