The Malta U-17’s men’s national team was handed a tough draw in round 1 of the upcoming European qualifiers as they will face England, Sweden and Latvia.
One team will be selected to host each group since they will be played as one-venue mini-tournaments between July 1 and November 19, 2024.
UEFA announced that this U-17’s qualifying competition will follow the same format that has already been implemented in the women’s tournaments.
Qualifying consists of two stages, now named round 1 (in autumn) and round 2 (in spring), with both rounds are played as single-venue mini-tournaments.
All entered teams participate in round 1, including the final tournament hosts – Albania (who currently do not take part in qualifying, and who will continue to have their place in the finals assured under the new format).
The entrants will be drawn into 14 groups of 4 or 3 teams, depending on the number of participating associations.
Following round 1, 28 teams qualify to take part in round 2 League A, with the remainder going into League B.
In future seasons, the results of round 1 will be taken into account for the round 1 draw for the following edition.
On completion of round 1, all the participating teams will be divided into League A (28 teams – 7 groups of 4 teams) and League B (26 teams – 5 groups of 4 teams and 2 group of 3 teams) for round 2.
The top 2 teams in each of the 14 round 1 groups will qualify for League A in round 2, to compete in spring for the 7 places alongside hosts Albania in the finals.
Teams in League B will compete for promotion to League A for qualifying round 1 of the 2026/2027 U-19’s Euro.
The seven teams ranked fourth in the League A groups will be relegated to League B for round 1 of U-19’s Euro qualifying for the same age cohort (so teams relegated from League A in 2024/2025 U-17’s Euro round 2 will begin 2026/2027 U-19’s Euro round 1 in League B).
In League B, the teams will be drawn into 7 groups of 4 or 3, depending on the number of competitors.
The 7 League B winners will be promoted to League A for round 1 of U-19’s Euro qualifying for the same age cohort (so teams promoted from League B in 2024/2025 U-17’s Euro round 2 will begin 2026/2027 U-19’s Euro round 1 in League A).
The draw for round 2 will be held in the December following round 1.
The new eight-team final tournament will be in Albania in 2025.
U-19’s to face Turkey, Poland
Meanwhile, the U-19’s selection will face Turkey, Poland and Gibraltar in Group 4 of the qualifications.
One team will be selected to host each group and all groups will be played as one-venue mini-tournaments.
The top 2 teams in each group and the best 3rd-placed team will join Portugal in the elite round in spring.
The 7 elite round group winners will join hosts Romania in the summer finals.
