‘league Of Nations’ Comp Gets 2018 Go Ahead
A new ‘League of Nations’ competition has been given the go-ahead by UEFA, designed as a third major tournament for European countries behind the World Cup and European Championship.
The competition, which been given a proposed start date of September 2018, will also provide four qualifying spots for Euro 2020.
According to media reports, UEFA is still finalising details of the format, but it is believed there will be four divisions – sub-divided into four smaller pools – with each division concluding with a ‘final four’ competition between the winners of each pool before promotion and relegation between divisions.
The opportunity to qualify for the European Championships is intended to make the League of Nations competitive, with the tournament to replace most international friendly fixtures.
Pool matches will be played between September and November 2018 and the ‘final four’ competition for each division played in 2019.
On current ranking, England would be in the top division alongside the likes of Spain, Germany and Italy, with each division then divided into pools of three or four teams.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – ranked 31, 34 and 39 respectively – could find themselves playing each other in the third or fourth divisions using the current national team coefficient.
While matches will be played on dates reserved for friendlies, there will still be flexibility for smaller countries to arrange high-profile fixtures with bigger European teams and for nations to play friendlies against national sides from outside Europe.
