The draw for the qualifiers of the 2025 UEFA Women's European Championships is scheduled for Tuesday at noon, during which Ireland will learn their League A opponents.
Eileen Gleeson, the Head Coach of Ireland, will be in attendance at the Draw in Nyon, Switzerland, marking the commencement of their journey towards the 2025 finals tournament.
Following their promotion from League B in the UEFA Nations League last year, Ireland will be placed in Pot 4 in League A. The top two teams in League A will secure automatic qualification for EURO 2025, while the third and fourth-placed teams will participate in a Play-Off series later in the year.
Furthermore, the outcomes of the qualifiers will impact the 2025-27 Nations League, with the winners, runners-up, and third-placed teams of League A remaining in the same league. Conversely, the fourth-placed team will face relegation to the subsequent league.
Ireland's primary objective is to secure their first ever qualification for the European Championships and aim for a spot in Switzerland next year.
In the league stage, running from April to July, teams are organized into three leagues based on their UEFA Women's Nations League rankings:
- League A consists of the top 16 teams (ranked 1st to 16th). League A features four groups of four teams each.
- League B comprises teams ranked 17th to 32nd. League B is composed of four groups of four teams each.
- League C includes teams ranked 33rd to 51st. League C consists of four groups of four teams each and one group of three teams.
League A:
- Pot 1: Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands
- Pot 2: England, Denmark, Italy, Austria
- Pot 3: Iceland, Belgium, Sweden, Norway
- Pot 4: Republic of Ireland, Finland, Poland, Czech
Qualifying Process:
League Phase: During qualifying, teams are grouped into four-team or three-team groups (League C) similar to the league stage of the Nations League. Over six matchdays spanning from April to July, each team competes in one home match and one away match against every other team in their group.
For the qualifying phase, the top two teams in each League A group secure berths in the July 2025 finals, alongside hosts Switzerland (who will participate in League B, yet have automatic qualification). The remaining seven spots are determined through two rounds of play-offs in October and November/December.
Play-Offs:
- The first round of play-offs is divided into two paths. In one path, the third and fourth-placed teams from League A compete against the five group winners and the three highest-ranked runners-up in League C. The eight victors advance to the second round.
- In the other first-round path, the four group winners and the two highest-ranked runners-up in League B are paired against the remaining two runners-up and four third-placed teams in League B, forming six ties. The winners of these ties progress to the second round.
- In the second round, teams from both paths are drawn into seven ties. Seeding for the seven highest-ranked teams is based on the European Qualifiers overall league rankings. The winners of these ties secure places in the final tournament.
The play-off paths may be adjusted as needed to accommodate the performance of Women's EURO hosts Switzerland, who compete in League B but are guaranteed a spot in the final tournament.
If Switzerland finishes as a League B winner, runner-up, or in third place, the highest-ranked fourth-placed team in League B completes the round 1 path 2 play-off lineup, and the draw seeding for the six ties is adjusted accordingly.
WNT Camp on film 🎞️👇#COYGIG pic.twitter.com/SwqqjEZTUX
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 2, 2024
KEY DATES
March 5 | Qualifying League Stage Draw April 3–9 | Match Days 1 & 2 May 29-June 4 | Match Days 3 & 4 July 10-16 | Match Days 5 & 6 July 19 | Play-Off Draw October 23-29 | Play-Off Round 1 (2 legs) November 27-December 3 | Play-Off Round 2 (2 legs) December 16 | Finals Draw July 2-27, 2025 | EURO 2025 Tournament