UEFA Nations League shrinks to three tiers from 2028/29 as League D scrapped

UEFA has confirmed a significant restructuring of the Nations League, abolishing League D and expanding the remaining three tiers to 18 teams each, with the new format taking effect from the 2028/29 edition.

The current 2026/27 campaign will act as a transitional cycle, operating under a revised set of promotion, relegation, and play-off rules specifically designed to bridge the gap between the old four-league structure and the incoming three-tier model.

How the new format works

From 2028/29, Leagues A, B, and C will each contain 18 nations competing across a standard six-matchday group phase. The composition of each league will be determined by results in the 2026/27 transitional cycle.

League A will be made up of the eight 2026/27 quarter-finalists, the two best third-placed teams from League A, the four League B group winners, and the four winners of the League A/B play-offs.

League B will draw from the two lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams in League A, the four sides beaten in the League A/B play-offs, all four third-placed teams in League B, the four League C group winners, and the four winners of the League B/C play-offs.

League C will be formed by the four losers of the League B/C play-offs, all eight teams finishing third or fourth in League C, and all six nations currently in League D.

The 2026/27 transitional rules

Because League D is being eliminated entirely, all six of its current members receive automatic promotion to League C for 2028/29, regardless of their 2026/27 results.

Elsewhere, the four group winners in League B earn direct promotion to League A, while the four group winners in League C move straight up to League B. Relegation from League A is limited to just the two lowest-ranked fourth-placed sides, who drop to League B.

The League A/B play-offs will pit the two lowest third-placed teams and the two highest fourth-placed teams from League A against the four runners-up from League B. The four play-off winners enter League A; the four losers remain in League B.

The League B/C play-offs follow a similar structure, contested between the four bottom-finishing sides in League B and the four runners-up in League C. Winners stay or move into League B, while the losers are placed in League C for the new cycle.

The overhaul represents UEFA’s most substantial revision of the Nations League since the competition launched in 2018, consolidating the structure while ensuring all current League D nations retain a pathway into the revamped system.