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In an attempt to better the format of International football , UEFA has approved a new tournament, The Nations League, from 2018 that will be played every second year. It received unanimous support from UEFA’s 54 member associations in Kazakhstan.
The tournament, where countries can win qualifying places for the 2020 European Championship if they perform well in the league, will help in reducing the number of unwanted and uncompetitive friendlies.
The exact format of the competition is yet to finalised, but is expected to feature 54 countries split into four divisions according to rankings, with promotion and relegation.
“We accept and respect that all UEFA member associations have agreed to create a new competition,” said Wolfgang Niersbach, chairman of the National Teams Competition Committee.
“This is a big step for national teams in Europe and we hope that fans will support the format.”
The Football association, too, have welcomed the introduction of the tournament.
Alex Horne, General Secretary of the FA, told Sky Sports News: “It’s a positive one. We’ve been working on this for perhaps 18 months now as a collective.
“I think what we have got in front of us with the Nations League is the prospect of some really exciting fixtures followed by the qualification games. For an England player, for manager Roy Hodgson, you want to be taking part in those big games.”
Horne insists club managers should back the new competition and eased concerns about the increased workload of players.
“We’re not taking any more dates so it’s the same 18 dates, the nine double-headers that we agreed we would work to,” he said.
“I think better quality games make for better quality development of players and the club managers ought to embrace it.”
