England's Leah Williamson and Millie Bright lift the trophy as they celebrate with teammates after winning Women's Euro 2022. (Reuters)A women’s UEFA Nations League is set to be launched next year as part of the revamped qualification process for the 2025 European Championship, the governing body said on Thursday.
The new tournament will divide countries into three tiers and teams will play in groups of three or four, with promotion and relegation between the leagues. The top two from each of the four League A groups will qualify automatically for the Euros, with the remaining seven places decided via playoffs among teams from Leagues B and C.
UEFA launched the men’s Nations League in 2018 to replace meaningless friendlies with more competitive games.
“The revamped format is interconnected, dynamic and meritocratic, and aims to create a more competitive environment with greater sporting and commercial interest,” UEFA said in a statement. The announcement comes on the back of this year’s successful women’s European Championship, with the tournament won by hosts England setting records for attendances and television viewers.
“I said this summer that we would continue to invest in women’s football, and we are. Off the back of a historic UEFA Women’s EURO, it is now time to further develop women’s national team football,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.