The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations.
Spain is the most successful team in this competition, having won twelve titles. Spain are also the current champions.[1]
History and format
The competition has been held since 1948. It was originally called the FIFA International Youth Tournament, until it was taken over by UEFA in 1956.[2] In 1980, it was restyled the UEFA European Under-18 Championship. Until the 1997 tournament, players born on or after 1 August the year they turned 19 years were eligible to compete. Since the 1998 tournament, the date limit has been moved back to 1 January. The championship received its current name in 2001, which has been used since the 2002 championship.[3] The contest has been held every year since its inauguration in 1948, except for the period between 1984 and 1992, when it was only held every other year.
The tournament has been played in a number of different formats during its existence. Currently it consists of two stages, similar to UEFA's other European championship competitions. The qualifying stage is open to all UEFA members, and the final stage is contested between eight teams.
During even years, the best finishing teams qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup held in the next (odd) year. Currently, five teams can qualify for the World Cup, consisting of the top two of their groups plus the winner of a play-off match between the third-placed teams of each group.
Number of teams
Year of tournament
Format of the final round
Number of teams
1986–1992
Knockout format
8
1993
Two groups of four teams, third place play-off and final
1994
Two groups of four teams, fifth place play-off, third place play-off and final
1995–2002
Two groups of four teams, third place play-off and final
2003–2015
Two groups of four teams, semi-finals and final
2016–present
Two groups of four teams, fifth place play-off (in even years only, for qualifying to FIFA U-20 World Cup), semi-finals and final
Results
1948–1954: FIFA Youth Tournament - 7 Editions
1955–1980: UEFA Youth Tournament - 24 Editions (Exclude 1955 and 1956)
1981–2001: UEFA European Under-18 Championship - 17 Editions
Since 2002: UEFA European Under-19 Championship - 20 Editions (Exclude 2020 and 2021)
^FIFA attributes all the results of West Germany (1977–1991) to Germany.
^The USSR was dissolved in 1991. The 15 nations that were former Soviet Republics now compete separately. FIFA considers Russia as the successor team of the USSR.
