The UEFA Nations League operates across four leagues featuring 55 national teams, with broadcasting rights secured by Fox Sports in the United States through 2028 and Channel 4 alongside the Viaplay Group in the United Kingdom.
The UEFA Nations League is a biennial tournament for European A-national teams that replaced most international friendlies to provide competitive matches during the FIFA international match calendar. Established in September 2018, the competition’s first title was won by Portugal when captain Cristiano Ronaldo led his side to a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in the final on June 9, 2019, according to tournament records.
Tournament Structure and Promotion Relegation Rules
Fifty-five UEFA national teams compete in the tournament, divided into four distinct tiers: League A, League B, League C, and League D. Sixteen teams play in League A, 16 in League B, 16 in League C, and seven in League D. Each league is split into groups of three to four teams, except for League D, which features only two groups. Teams play home-and-away fixtures against everyone else in their group to determine the standings.
The competition utilizes a promotion and relegation mechanism across its tiers. Group winners in Leagues B, C, and D earn promotion, while the bottom teams in Leagues A and B face relegation. Because League C has four groups and League D has only two, the two lowest-ranked teams in League C are automatically relegated. Meanwhile, the four group winners and four runners-up from League A advance to a two-legged quarterfinal round. The quarterfinal victors move on to single-leg semi-finals and a single-leg final.
Beyond the primary trophy, the tournament serves as a secondary qualification pathway for the European Championship. Four of the 24 spots at the European Championship are decided through Nations League play-offs.
Broadcasting Rights in the United States and United Kingdom
Viewers in the United States can watch live coverage across multiple platforms. Fox Sports holds the English-language rights through a six-year contract running from 2022 to 2028, making the network a home for European international football that also includes European Championship matches and qualifiers. Matches air across the FOX Network, Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, the FOX Sports App, Foxsports.com, and Tubi.
Spanish-language broadcasts in the United States are handled by TelevisaUnivision. Selected matches are televised on Univision and TUDN, while the entire slate of Nations League fixtures streams live on ViX, alongside coverage on TUDN USA, Galavision, UniMás, the TUDN App, TUDN.com, TUDNxtra, and Univision NOW.
In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 holds the broadcast rights for all England national team matches running from 2022 to 2028. All other fixtures not involving the Three Lions are broadcast across Viaplay Group platforms, including Viaplay Sport 1, Viaplay Sport 2, and the Viaplay UK live-streaming service.
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