Here are the dates: Women’s European Qualifiers (WEQ) • League stage o Draw: 4 November 2025 tbc o Matchdays 1-2: 26 February-7 March 2026 o Matchdays 3-4: 9-18 April 2026 o Matchdays 5-6: 3-9 June 2026 • Play-offs for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup o Draws for Round 1 and Round 2: 22 June 2026 tbc o Round 1 1st and 2nd legs: 7-13 October 2026 o Draw Round 2: 16 October 2026 tbc (if cannot take place on 22 June due to prohibited clashes) o Round 2 1st and 2nd legs: 26 November-5 December 2026 5. Financial Article 27.03 includes holding provisions until the number of slots assigned to UEFA has been confirmed by the FIFA Council. Following confirmation on the number of slots, the proposed play-off pathway and seeding principles will be submitted to the UEFA Executive Committee for approval and the regulations updated and republished accordingly.
As confirmed by FIFA yesterday 11 direct slots and one play-off slot for UEFA (to qualify automatically for the second phase based on sporting performance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 play-off tournament) So the structure will be similar to what we saw at the previous WWC qualifiers: Group winners will get the direct slots, then play-offs to decide who gets the remaining direct slots and who will go into the 10 teams intercontinental FIFA World cup play-offs.
And there we have it the UEFA qualification format: At the conclusion of the league stage of the Women's European Qualifiers phase, the four League A group winners qualify directly for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup and two rounds of play-offs are used to determine the other European teams. Round 1 of the play-offs is played in two paths as follows: Path 1: The four second-placed teams and four third-placed teams of League A play against the six first-placed teams and two best-ranked second-placed teams of League C. Path 2: The four fourth-placed teams of League A and four first-placed teams of League B play against the four second-placed teams and four third-placed teams of League B. In round 1 of the play-offs, the ties are determined by means of a draw and the following principles apply: For the path 1 draw, the eight League A teams are seeded and play their second-leg matches at home; for the path 2 draw, the four fourth-placed teams from League A and four first-placed teams from League B are seeded and play their second leg matches at home. Additional draw conditions may be applied, subject to approval by the UEFA Women's Football Committee. The winners of the round 1 play-offs qualify for the round 2 play-offs. In round 2 of the play-offs, the ties are determined by means of a draw and the following principles apply: The round 1 path 1 ties are seeded for the round 2 draw and the winners of those ties play the round 2 second leg match at home. Additional draw conditions may be applied, subject to approval by the UEFA Women's Football Committee. The seven best-ranked round 2 play-off winners according to the 2026 Women’s European Qualifiers overall league rankings qualify directly for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The one remaining round 2 play-off winner qualifies for the FIFA Women’s World Cup intercontinental play-offs.