UEFA is planning a major restructuring of the qualification process for the 2030 FIFA World Cup and future European Championships, with proposals centred on a system inspired by the Champions League’s Swiss-style format.
According to reports, the proposed model would replace the traditional group-based qualification structure with a league-style competition that would produce more competitive fixtures and reduce the number of one-sided encounters between Europe’s top and lower-ranked national teams.
Under the proposed arrangement, the 36 highest-ranked European countries would compete in a top-tier League A structure divided into three groups of 12 teams.
Rather than playing every team in a group on a home-and-away basis, participating countries would reportedly face six different opponents during the qualification campaign.
The new format is expected to mirror aspects of the Swiss system already introduced in the UEFA Champions League, where teams face a limited number of opponents instead of a complete round-robin schedule.
