League C consists of 19 UEFA members ranked 33rd to 51st among competition entrants in the 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League ranking, split into four groups of four (Groups 1 to 4) and one group of three (Group 5). Each team played six matches (in four-team groups) or four matches (in three-team group) within their group, using the home-and-away round-robin format with double matchdays in April, May to June, and July 2024.[1]
After the league phase, the five group winners and the three best group runners-up advanced to the play-offs to determine who qualifies for the final tournament.[2] For the first play-off round the eight League C teams were unseeded, and drawn against the eight lowest-ranked teams in League A. The winner of those ties will advance to the second round.[1][2]
The competition also acted as the first phase for the 2025–26 UEFA Women's Nations League, which will use an identical league structure. The five group winners were promoted to League B.[1][2]
^ abc Bulgaria, Latvia, Montenegro, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, and Ukraine participated in the League B vs League C promotion/relegation matches in February 2024 to determine each team's league allocation.
The draw took place in Nyon, Switzerland on 5 March 2024 at 13:00 CET.[3] Groups 1 to 4 contained one team from each pot, while Group 5 contained one team from Pots 1 to 3. The draw started with Pot 1 and ended with Pot 4, with drawn teams assigned to the first available group in ascending order from C1 to C5. The teams that previously played in three-team groups in the 2023-24 Women's Nations League (Bulgaria and North Macedonia), were drawn into four-team groups for this competition.[3]
Groups
Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Source: UEFA Rules for classification: Tiebreakers (P) Promoted Notes:
^ abLithuania refused to play against Belarus due to Belarusian involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[4] UEFA subsequently declared the matches as forfeited by Lithuania and they were deemed to have lost both matches 0–3.
The three best-ranked group runners-up advanced to the play-offs along with the five group winners.[2]
Due to unequal group sizes in League C, results against fourth-placed teams were not considered when comparing teams finishing first, second, or third in their groups.[1]
Source: UEFA Rules for classification: Ranking criteria – not considering results against 4th-placed teams
League ranking
The 19 League C teams were ranked 33rd to 51st overall in the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying according to their league ranking.[1] The five group winners were promoted to League B for the upcoming 2025–26 UEFA Women's Nations League.[1][2]
Due to unequal group sizes in League C, results against fourth-placed teams were not considered when comparing teams finishing first, second, or third in their groups.[1]
^ abcdefg"Regulations of the UEFA European Women's Championship including UEFA Nations League and European Qualifiers". UEFA. 7 February 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
^ abcdef"Women's European Qualifiers for EURO 2025: Who is in what league?". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Association. 11 December 2023.
^ abc"Women's European Qualifiers league stage draw". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
^ ab"Lithuanian national team refuses to play in the qualification for the UEFA EURO against Belarus". dailysports.net. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
^"Belarus teams to play on neutral ground in UEFA competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
^"UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body. Decisions of 15 May 2024" (PDF). UEFA. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
^"Lithuania fined for refusing to play with Belarus - Ukrainian Komersant". Комерсант Український. 2024-05-21. Retrieved 2024-05-25.