Women's Under-17 Championship starts again
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
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After a long gap since the 2013/14 final last December, the competition returns with the 2014/15 qualifying round as 40 teams start the race to the finals in Iceland.
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After a long gap since the 2013/14 UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship final last December, the competition returns this month with the 2014/15 qualifying round.
The 2013/14 finals in England, the first to contain eight teams after six four-nation showpieces in Nyon, Switzerland, was played last winter due to the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup being held in March in Costa Rica. But for the 2014/15 edition, concluding in Iceland, the competition reverts to its standard timetable of autumn qualifying round, spring elite round and summer final tournament.
While Iceland qualify directly for the finals as hosts, the three countries with the highest rating on the coefficient ranking list receive a bye to the elite round in April 2015: holders Germany, France, and world and European runners-up Spain. The remaining 40 entrants contest the qualifying round, played as ten one-venue groups of four teams between 25 September and 31 October.
The ten group winners, ten runners-up and the third-placed side with the best record against the top two in their section will accompany the three top seeds into the elite round. Seven countries will eventually qualify for the finals to join Iceland from 22 June–4 July 2015.
Qualifying round (*Hosts)
Group 1 (26–31 October): England, Russia, Moldova, Bulgaria*
Group 2 (17–22 October): Poland,Finland, Estonia*, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group 3 (11–16 October): Switzerland, Hungary*, Azerbaijan, Portugal
Group 4 (17–22 October): Republic of Ireland, Serbia*, Lithuania, Romania
Group 5 (18–23 October): Czech Republic, Austria*, Ukraine, Northern Ireland
Group 6 (9–14 October): Sweden, Scotland, Croatia*, Montenegro
Group 7 (6–11 October): Belgium, Wales, Latvia*, Belarus
Group 8 (16–21 October): Denmark, Turkey, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, Kazakhstan
Group 9 (25–30 September): Norway, Italy, Greece, Faroe Islands*
Group 10 (22–27 October): Netherlands, Slovenia*, Israel, Slovakia
Elite round draw: 19 November (matches in spring)
Byes to elite round: Germany (holders), France, Spain
Final tournament:22 June–4 July
Bye to final tournament: Iceland (hosts)
