© EuroFootball.com
UEFA is ready to present a new plan on how to turn national team matches into a greater entertainment for spectators. Friendly matches that have been held so far may be replaced by the Nations League. This idea is seriously considered at UEFA executive meetings.
The idea is quite simple - during the time when friendly matches with teams from other countries are scheduled in the national team calendars, the Nations League would be organized. All 54 UEFA members would take part in it.
Sources who participated in UEFA meetings confirmed to "The Guardian" newspaper that this is one of the organization's attempts to make national team performances more attractive.
UEFA would divide all teams according to their current ranking. There would be a total of nine divisions, and teams that perform well or poorly would move up or down accordingly.
The winner of the UEFA Nations League would be considered the champion of the first division. They would receive a solid prize established by the organization.
The urge to introduce new ideas from UEFA stems from the thought that with more national teams participating in the European Championships since 2016, the qualification tournament receives less audience interest. Organizers want all national teams to participate in the Nations League without any qualification needed.
Representative Karl-Erik Nilsson from Sweden admitted that it is currently very difficult for UEFA to engage spectators with friendly matches.
Proposed groupings could look like this:
First division: Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, England, Portugal
Second division: Russia, Greece, Croatia, Sweden, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Third division: Ukraine, Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, Hungary, Czech Republic
Fourth division: Ireland, Serbia, Norway, Slovakia, Turkey, Israel
Fifth division: Slovenia, Austria, Romania, Montenegro, Poland, Finland
Sixth division: Scotland, Armenia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus
Seventh division: Wales, Northern Ireland, Albania, Iceland, Lithuania, Macedonia
Eighth division: Georgia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Kazakhstan
Ninth division: Liechtenstein, Faroe Islands, Malta, Andorra, San Marino, Gibraltar
