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UEFA has proposed a renewal of qualification for the 2030 World Cup and the 2032 European Championship that could end inconsistencies between the strongest and weakest teams with a format similar to the Champions League.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin revealed last year that the reform was planned to revive interest from fans and broadcasters because many traditional men’s qualifying groups had become predictable.
Skewed recent results that raised concerns included France thrashing Gibraltar 14-0 in a Euro 2024 qualifier and Austria’s 10-0 win over San Marino last year in a 2026 World Cup qualifier.
On Wednesday, UEFA proposed creating a top tier of the 36 best-placed teams, playing in three groups of 12 in a format similar to the Champions League.
Teams in these groups would each play six games against six different opponents and be ranked in a 12-team league table. Teams will be drawn from three different seeding pots playing a weighted schedule with two teams from each pot.
Such a format could fit into existing FIFA-mandated schedules from September to November and would not add extra games to the player’s workload.
The top 36 teams would not play teams ranked 37 to 55 by UEFA, who could play matches in a separate tier and also have a path through the play-offs to qualify for major tournaments.
A decision on the proposed redevelopment is expected in September, UEFA said after an executive committee meeting on the sidelines of the Europa League final in Istanbul, Turkey.
“The concept will be fine-tuned over the next few months before being submitted for final approval of the detailed format at the next Executive Committee meeting,” UEFA said.
UEFA did not specify how many direct qualification places would be earned from each 12-team group.
The 2030 World Cup, hosted mainly by Spain, Portugal and Morocco – with three opening matches in South America – is expected to be a 48-team tournament. Europe should get 16 qualification places.
FIFA has been asked by South American soccer body CONMEBOL to consider expanding to 64 teams.
Report from the Associated Press.
