At a meeting in Thessaloniki on September 15, the UEFA Executive Committee approved a structural reform of the Nations League. Starting from the 2028/29 season, the tournament will switch to a three-division model – the current Leagues A, B, C, and D will be replaced by three divisions, each featuring 18 national teams.
How the new format will work
In each of the three divisions, teams will be divided into three groups of six national teams and will play each other once. League A will retain the familiar playoff for the trophy: eight national teams will qualify for the knockout round – the top two from each group.
The remaining spots in League A will be determined as follows:
The two national teams finishing third with the best records will retain their place in the elite without additional matches.
Two more third-placed teams will play in a playoff against the two best fourth-placed teams.
Only the two worst national teams in League A will be directly relegated – in the transitional 2026/27 season, this number is halved compared to the previous format.
In League B, group winners are directly promoted to League A. Second-placed teams will play in transitional matches against the worst third-placed teams in League A, third-placed teams will remain in their division, and the outsiders of League B will fight for survival with the second-placed teams of League C.
In League C, group winners are automatically promoted to League B, while third and fourth-placed teams remain unchanged in the division. All national teams currently playing in League D will automatically join the new League C after the transitional 2026/27 season.
What this means for the Ukrainian national team
The transitional 2026/27 season will start soon. The Ukrainian national team is in a group with Hungary, Georgia, and Northern Ireland. Andrea Malderi's team will play its first match on September 25 against Hungary – kickoff at 21:45 Kyiv time.
