UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO 2019: entries and dates – UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO – News

A total of 23 nations have entered the first UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO and all will be involved in the qualifying draw, streamed live from Nyon at 13:30CET on 5 July.

Last year UEFA announced the launch of its first women’s futsal competition for national teams, to be held every two years with initially a four-team knockout final tournament. That will be held in mid-February 2019, to be hosted by one of the four eventual qualifiers.

The entrants include Northern Ireland, taking part in their first international futsal tournament for men or women. The full procedure for the qualifying draw (which will cover both rounds) will be confirmed before the ceremony.

Qualifying format:

Preliminary round: 21–26 August

• The 13 nations with the highest ranking as per the UEFA futsal national teams coefficient ranking receive a bye.
• The other ten entrants will enter the preliminary round.
• The draw will produce two groups of three teams and one of four, played as one-venue mini-tournaments.
• The teams are split into three seeding tiers according to their coefficient.
• Moldova, Lithuania and Northern Ireland have been pre-selected as hosts and will be drawn from Pot 1, placed in Groups A and B according to their seeding tier (Lithuania or Northern Ireland would fill position 4 in Group A rather than 3)
• Pot 2 consists of the two remaining lowest ranked teams; the first drawn will be placed in position 4 of Group A (or 3 if position 4 has been filled by Lithuania or Northern Ireland) and the other in the remaining position 3 place in the group in which Lithuania and Northern Ireland have not been drawn.
• Pot 3 consists of the second tier of teams, with Finland and Belgium placed to take position 2 in the groups in which Moldova have not been drawn.
• Pot 4 consists of the teams to fill position 1.
• The three group winners advance to the main round join the 13 teams given byes.

Pot 1 (hosts)
Moldova (position 2)
Lithuania (4 if Group A, 3 if Groups B or C)
Northern Ireland (4 if Group A, 3 if Groups B or C)

Pot 2 (position 3, and 4 in Group A if available)
Sweden
Armenia

Pot 3 (position 2)
Finland
Belgium

Pot 4 (position 1)
Slovakia
Belarus
Netherlands

Main round: 11–16 September

• The 13 teams given byes and the three preliminary round winers will be drawn into four groups of four teams, played as mini-tournaments.
• Four teams have been pre-selected as hosts and will be drawn from Pot 5, placed in groups according to their seeding tier.
• Pot 6 consists of the Poland and the three preliminary round winners, to fill position 4 in each group.
• Pots 7, 8 and 9 consists of the teams to fill positions 3, 2 and 1 respectively, minus the hosts. 
• Based on decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee, Russia and Ukraine cannot be drawn into the same group. Should Russia be drawn into the group hosted by Ukraine, they will be moved to the other available slot, and Kazakhstan assigned to the group of Ukraine.
• The four group winners will advance to the knockout finals in mid-February, with one of the nations appointed as hosts later in September.

Pot 5 (hosts)
Spain (position 1)
Portugal (1)
Ukraine (2)
Croatia (3)

Pot 6 (position 4)
Poland
Preliminary round winners x 3

Pot 7 (position 3)
Hungary
Czech Republic
Romania

Pot 8 (position 2)
Italy
Serbia
Slovenia

Pot 9 (position 1)
Russia
Kazakhstan

The calendar
Preliminary round: 21–26 August
Main round: 11–16 September
Finals draw: tbc
Final tournament: 14 or 15 & 16 or 17 February