UEFA Futsal Euro 2026

Last updated

UEFA Futsal Euro 2026
2026. gada Eiropas čempionāts telpu futbolā
2026 metų Europos salės futbolo čempionatas
Evropsko prvenstvo v futsalu 2026
Tournament details
Host countryLatvia
Lithuania
Slovenia
City Riga
Kaunas
Ljubljana
Dates20 January – 7 February
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)4 (in 3 host cities)
← 2022
2030 →

The 2026 UEFA Futsal Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Futsal Euro 2026, will be the 13th edition of the UEFA Futsal Championship, the international futsal championship organised by UEFA for the men's national teams of Europe.

Contents

This will be the second tournament to be held on a four-year basis and featuring 16 teams after 2022. It will take place between 20 January and 7 February 2026. [1] The tournament will be co-hosted for the first time, with venues in Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovenia. [2] [3]

Portugal are the two-time defending champions after previously won in 2018 and 2022.

Host selection

The bidding procedure for hosting was launched in 2022, with a deadline of January 2023 to express their interest in hosting.

The final proposal had to delivered with the bid dossier in May 2023 at the latest, and UEFA received four bids: [4]

Original bids

Soon after, Belgium and France became two separate bids, while Latvia and Lithuania merged their bids.

On 2 December, Latvia and Lithuania were awarded the hosting rights in Hamburg, Germany. [7] [8] Slovenia were added as a co-host prior to the qualification play-offs, with two venues in Ljubljana. [3]

Qualification

The 14 teams joining the automatically qualified co-hosts Latvia and Lithuania in the final tournament will be decided by a qualifying competition held between April 2024 and September 2025.

Qualified teams

The following 16 teams qualify for the final tournament.

TeamQualified asDate of qualificationAppFirstLastStreakBest placement in tournament WR
Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia Co-host2 December 20231stDebut—
Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania Debut—
Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal Group 7 winners5 February 202511th 1999 2022 10Champions (2018, 2022)—
Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia Group 6 winners12 March 20251stDebut—
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic Group 9 winners9th 2001 2016 1Third place (2003, 2010)—
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Group 3 winners10 April 20254th 2022 3Group stage (2001, 2018, 2022)—
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia Group 4 winners8th 2003 7Quarter-finals (2014, 2018)—
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine [Note UKR] Group 1 winners11 April 202512th 1996 11Runners-up (2001, 2003)—
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Group 5 winners7th 1999 2Fourth place (2012)—
Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus [Note BLR] Group 2 winners2nd 2010 1Group stage (2010)—
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Group 8 winners15 April 202513th 1996 2022 13Champions (Seven times) [A] —
Flag of France.svg  France Group 10 winners16 April 20252nd 2018 1Group stage (2018)—
Play-off winners23 September 2025—————
—————
24 September 2025—————
—————
  1. ^
    Note BLR: Latvia's Sports Law states that it is prohibited in Latvia to organize team sports competitions of national teams (adults, youth and juniors) in which national teams of Russia or Belarus participate under their flag or in a neutral status (2nd paragraph of article 171). [9] [10] On 27 June, UEFA announced they would play all their games in Slovenia.
  2. ^
    Note UKR: As of April 2025, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine has yet to sanction the Ukraine national team's participation at the UEFA Futsal Euro; a boycott of the tournament is being considered in protest of the Belarus national team being allowed to compete whom it believes should be barred from participating due to Belarus' role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [11]

Final draw

The final draw will be held at Žalgirio Arena in Kaunas on 24 October 2025. [12] Co-hosts Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia will be drawn into Groups A, B and C respectively, with Belarus also being drawn into either Group C or D, ensuring all their potential fixtures are played in Slovenia. [3]

Venues

The tournament will be held at four venues, with two in Ljubljana and one each in Riga and Kaunas. [3]

Riga, Latvia Kaunas, Lithuania
Xiaomi Arena
Capacity: 9,975		 Žalgiris Arena
Capacity: 15,415
Arena Riga.jpg Zalgirio Arena in 2023 by Augustas Didzgalvis.jpg
UEFA Futsal Euro 2026 (Europe)
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Arena Stožice
Capacity: 12,480		 Tivoli Hall
Capacity: 4,500
Arena Stozice.jpg

Group stage

The group winners and runners-up advance to the quarter-finals.

Tiebreakers

In the group stage, teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Articles 20.01 and 20.02): [13]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams have the same number of points, and they met in the last round of the group and are tied after applying all criteria above (not used if more than two teams have the same number of points, or if their rankings are not relevant for qualification for the next stage);
  8. Disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
  9. UEFA coefficient ranking for the final draw.

All times are local, CET (UTC+1).

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia (H)00000000 Knockout stage
2A200000000
3A300000000
4A400000000
First match(es) will be played: 20 January 2026. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
A2vA4
Xiaomi Arena, Riga
Latvia  Flag of Latvia.svgvA3
Xiaomi Arena, Riga
A2vA3
Xiaomi Arena, Riga
A4vFlag of Latvia.svg  Latvia
Xiaomi Arena, Riga
Latvia  Flag of Latvia.svgvA2
Xiaomi Arena, Riga
A3vA4
Žalgiris Arena, Kaunas

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania (H)00000000 Knockout stage
2B200000000
3B300000000
4B400000000
First match(es) will be played: 21 January 2026. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
B2vB4
Žalgiris Arena, Kaunas
Lithuania  Flag of Lithuania.svgvB3
Žalgiris Arena, Kaunas
B2vB3
Žalgiris Arena, Kaunas
B4vFlag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania
Žalgiris Arena, Kaunas
Lithuania  Flag of Lithuania.svgvB2
Žalgiris Arena, Kaunas
B3vB4
Xiaomi Arena, Riga

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia (H)00000000 Knockout stage
2C200000000
3C300000000
4C400000000
First match(es) will be played: 22 January 2026. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
C2vC4
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
Slovenia  Flag of Slovenia.svgvC3
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
C2vC3
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
C4vFlag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
Slovenia  Flag of Slovenia.svgvC2
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
C3vC4
Tivoli Hall, Ljubljana

Group D

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1D100000000 Knockout stage
2D200000000
3D300000000
4D400000000
First match(es) will be played: 23 January 2026. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
D2vD4
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
D1vD3
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
D2vD3
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
D4vD1
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
D1vD2
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
D3vD4
Tivoli Hall, Ljubljana

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary, except for the third place match where extra time is not played but a direct penalty shoot-out is used, instead.

Bracket

 
 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
 
          
 
1 February – Xiaomi Arena, Riga
 
 
Winner Group A
 
5 February – Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
 
Runner-up Group B
 
Winner Quarter-final 1
 
2 February – Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
 
Winner Quarter-final 2
 
Winner Group C
 
7 February – Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
 
Runner-up Group D
 
Winner Semi-final 1
 
1 February – Žalgiris Arena, Kaunas
 
Winner Semi-final 2
 
Winner Group B
 
5 February – Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
 
Runner-up Group A
 
Winner Quarter-final 3
 
2 February – Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
 
Winner Quarter-final 4 Third place match
 
Winner Group D
 
7 February – Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
 
Runner-up Group C
 
Loser Semi-final 1
 
 
Loser Semi-final 2
 

Quarter-finals

Winner Group AQuarter-final 1Runner-up Group B
Xiaomi Arena, Riga
Winner Group CQuarter-final 2Runner-up Group D
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
Winner Group BQuarter-final 3Runner-up Group A
Žalgiris Arena, Kaunas
Winner Group DQuarter-final 4Runner-up Group C
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana

Semi-finals

Winner Quarter-final 1Semi-final 1Winner Quarter-final 2
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
Winner Quarter-final 3Semi-final 2Winner Quarter-final 4
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana

Third place match

Loser Semi-final 1vLoser Semi-final 2
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana

Final

Winner Semi-final 1vWinner Semi-final 2
Arena Stožice, Ljubljana

Squads

Each national team have to submit a squad of 14 players, two of whom must be goalkeepers. During the final tournament, each team is allowed to replace a maximum of one outfield player if they are injured or ill preventing them from participating in the tournament. Each team is also allowed to temporarily replace a goalkeeper if there are fewer than two healthy goalkeepers. [13]

Notes

  1. ↑ Spain have won in 1996, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "UEFA to revamp and expand futsal competitions". UEFA . Union of European Football Associations. 4 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "Latvia and Lithuania selected to host Futsal EURO 2026". UEFA . Union of European Football Associations. 2 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Slovenia joins Latvia and Lithuania as Futsal EURO 2026 host". UEFA . Union of European Football Associations. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  4. ↑ "FINLAND, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, FRANCE, AND BELGIUM BID TO HOST THE 2026 UEFA FUTSAL EURO". Futsal Focus. 23 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "The FFF candidate for the organization of the Euro Futsal 2026".
  6. ↑ "Lēmums par telpu futbola EURO 2026 rīkošanu gaidāms 2. Decembrī".
  7. ↑ "UEFA EURO 2024 prize money distribution system confirmed". 2 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Istorinis UEFA sprendimas – Lietuvoje vyks 2026-ųjų Europos futsal čempionatas". www.lrytas.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  9. ↑ "Sporta likums" (in Latvian). 27 February 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  10. ↑ "Agresorvalsts Baltkrievija kvalificējas Latvijā un Lietuvā gaidāmajam EČ finālturnīram futzālā" (in Latvian). 12 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  11. ↑ "Ukraine may boycott Euro 2026: Reason and Shevchenko's response". RBC-Ukraine. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  12. ↑ UEFA.com. "The official website for European football". UEFA.com. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  13. 1 2 "Regulations of the UEFA European Futsal Championship 2024-26". UEFA.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.