2028–29 UEFA Nations League

Following a change in format, the UEFA Nations League will move from four to three leagues. The three leagues will feature 18 teams each, divided into three groups of six teams. The teams will be allocated to leagues and seeded in the draw based on the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League final overall ranking. The draw will feature three pots of six teams for each league, with each group containing two teams from each pot. Each team will play six matches within their group, with two matches (home and away) against the team from their same pot, and one match against the other four teams in their group. Therefore, each team will play one home match and one away match against a team from each pot. The leagues phase will be played from September to November 2028.

In the top division, League A, the group winners, runners-up and two-best third-placed teams will advance to the quarter-finals, played home-and-away over two legs in March 2029. The four quarter-final winners will qualify for the Nations League Finals, which is played in a knockout format, consisting of the semi-finals, third place play-off and final. The semi-final pairings, along with the administrative home teams for the third place play-off and final, are determined by means of a draw. The host country will be selected, preferably from among the four qualified teams, by the UEFA Executive Committee, with the winners of the final crowned as the Nations League champions.

Teams also compete for promotion and relegation to a higher or lower league. The group winners in Leagues B and C are directly promoted, while the last-placed teams of each group in Leagues A and B are directly relegated. The competition will also feature promotion/relegation play-offs following the league phase, with the fourth- and fifth-placed teams of League A facing the second- and third-placed teams of League B, and the fourth- and fifth-placed teams of League B facing the second- and third-placed teams of League C. The matches will be played home-and-away over two legs in March 2029, with the winners going to the higher league and the losers entering the lower league.^[1][2]

In all two-legged ties, the higher-ranked teams host the second leg. The team that scores more goals on aggregate is the winner. If the aggregate score is level, extra time is played (the away goals rule is not applied). If the score remains level after extra time, a penalty shoot-out is used to decide the winner.^[3]

Below is the schedule of the 2028–29 UEFA Nations League.

All 55 UEFA national teams are able to submit an entry into the competition. However, Russia were suspended indefinitely on 28 February 2022 from participating in UEFA and FIFA competitions due to their country's invasion of Ukraine.^[5] Therefore, it is unclear whether they will compete in the Nations League.

The two worst-ranked fourth-placed teams in League A from the 2026–27 season will move down a league, while the group winners of Leagues B and C, as well as all teams in League D (due to the format change), will move up. Additionally, the winners of the promotion/relegation play-off ties will enter into the higher respective league, while the losers will play in the lower league. The remaining teams will stay in their respective leagues.^[6]

Not a member of a league

•  Russia (suspended)

The draw for the promotion/relegation play-offs will be held following the completion of the league phase. The first and second legs will be played between 19–27 March 2029.