How does the Women's Nations League work?
England will face world champions Spain in their League A group
- Published
For European national teams, the journey to the Women's World Cup 2027 starts here.
Here's your guide to the 2025 Women's Nations League tournament, which starts on Friday, 21 February.
What is the Women's Nations League?
The league was launched in 2023, with the first edition offering qualification spots for the 2025 Women's European Championship.
Countries have been placed into groups of three or four teams, across three different leagues, with promotion and relegation between the leagues depending on the match results.
And there's a lot at stake.
Teams are not only competing for the Nations League title, but their finishing position will also determine where they start in the league system for the European qualifiers for the 2027 Women's World Cup.
What are the groups?
The 53 teams have been split into three leagues - League A, B or C. Each league has between four and six groups.
Teams in each group will play each other home and away, with three points for a win and one for a draw.
Leagues A and B have four groups of four teams. League C has six groups of either three or four teams.
League A
Group A1: Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Scotland
Group A2: France, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland
Group A3: Spain, England, Belgium, Portugal
Group A4: Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Wales
League B
Group B1: Poland, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania
Group B2: Republic of Ireland, Turkey, Slovenia, Greece
Group B3: Finland, Serbia, Hungary, Belarus
Group B4: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Croatia, Albania
League C
Group C1: Slovakia, Faroe Islands, Moldova, Gibraltar
Group C2: Malta, Georgia, Cyprus, Andorra
Group C3: Luxembourg, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein
Group C4: Azerbaijan, Montenegro, Lithuania
Group C5: Israel, Bulgaria, Estonia
Group C6: Kosovo, Latvia, North Macedonia
How does the league work?
Teams were placed in each league based on their rankings at the end of the 2024 women's European qualifying league stage.
The four League A group winners will meet in the semi-finals, followed by a third-place play-off and a final which crowns the Nations League winner. These will be played over two legs.
The teams who finish fourth in each League A group will be relegated to League B, and the League B group winners will be promoted.
Each group winner of League C will be promoted to League B, with the teams finishing at the bottom of League B, as well as two of the lowest ranked third-placed teams, dropping to League C.
Spain won the inaugural Women's Nations League title in 2024, claiming their second major trophy in six months.
How can teams qualify for the Women's World Cup?
The group standings at the end of the Nations League determine which teams are placed in each league for the European qualifiers for the 2027 Women's World Cup.
There will be another draw in November 2025 to decide the groups within the three leagues.
The teams who finish in the top two in each League A group stay in the top league for the World Cup qualifiers.
The top four teams in League B will be promoted.
The third-placed teams from League A will have to play the second-placed teams from League B to decide which four teams claim the final League A spots.
At the end of the World Cup qualifiers, the four League A winners will qualify directly for the Women's World Cup. Other teams will be entered into the play-offs to claim the remaining spots.
Who are the new teams?
Gibraltar and Liechtenstein will make their Women's Nations League debut in 2025. This will also be the first time the countries are involved in senior women's competition.
Both teams will play in League C.
When are the fixtures?
The group stage fixtures all take place before the 2025 Women's Euros, which starts on 2 July.
League phases
Match days 1-2: 21-26 February
Match days 3-4: 4-8 April
Match days 5-6: 30 May-3 June
Finals
Semi-finals (two legs): 22-28 October 2025
Final/third-place play off (two legs): 26 November - 2 December 2025