World Cup qualifying shake-up? UEFA to consider adopting Champions League-style format to spice up excitement amid fears of declining interest

The Times report that UEFA is to hold a ‘major review’ of international qualifiers amidst fears of declining interest amongst fans and broadcasters.The new Champions League format was only introduced at the start of last season, but the Swiss model format may already be set to inspire a change in the qualification process in international football. The league-style format was praised for its increased jeopardy for all teams involved, while each side faces eight different teams and this leaves more room for heavyweight clashes.

The Women’s Nations League has been incorporated into qualification for the World Cup and Euros since 2023 and this may yet extend to the men’s game, with general secretaries from 55 European federations meeting in Malaga to be informed of the changes being considered. The possible benefits and drawbacks of all options were discussed at length.

The current World Cup qualification process sees European nations play in small groups of four or five, playing each side twice. But viewing figures and fan interest are dwindling and this could be due in part to the lack of eye-catching fixtures which take place in qualification.

The report states that broadcaster and fan engagement with the Nations League have gone up in recent years. The issue with having this play a role in qualification is that it would offer less opportunities for European minnows to gain the huge financial rewards which can come from facing elite opponents. Using a process inspired by the new Champions League format could, therefore, be a viable option.

While qualifying fixtures have always had the purpose of qualifying, of course, the desire remains to maximise the amount of money and fan interest which can be drawn from the fixtures to keep engagement in international football high all year round. Mid-season international breaks are often seen as an unwelcome inconvenience, and UEFA would naturally like to change that.

"Broadcast revenues and fan engagement around the international qualifiers have been going down but they have been going up in the Nations League," a source told The Times. "This has been looked at before but it is very difficult to find the right formula that keeps some jeopardy for the big nations and is competitive but gives smaller teams opportunities, too."

However, another source said that there are differences between club and international football and that despite the success of the new Swiss-style Champions League format, it "is not a magical formula".

This move could provide a welcome shake-up to international football as it has certainly felt that the general public interest in qualifiers has decreased in recent years. Especially as club football and in particular the Premier League continues to become a more entertaining spectacle watched globally, the mid-season international breaks can be demoralising for fans in comparison.

It will certainly be interesting to see if a new format for qualifying fixtures does take into account the Nations League, the new Champions League format or even something completely new and different.

If the new Champions League format is used, England could have the chance to face a couple of similarly ranked teams in addition to smaller ones. With World Cup qualifying as an example, if there are 16 spots available, the top 12 could qualify automatically with the next eight teams going into play-offs to decide the remaining four spots.

As long as all nations are still given a fair and equal chance of qualifying for the World Cup and Euros, that is of course the main thing. If the qualifying process can become more entertaining for fans and drive up viewing figures as a result, then that would be an added bonus.