EURO CUP RULES

The Euro Cup is run by the European Football Council (EFC), the same governing body responsible for club competitions across the continent, and is contested every four years by EFC member nations. It sits alongside the World Cup as one of the two pinnacle international tournaments in the PFU world, with the four UK nations — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — entering separately rather than as a single side.

24 nations reach the finals from a wider EFC qualifying pool. Finalists are seeded into four pots by current strength and drawn into six groups of four, with nations from the same qualifying section kept apart where possible so the four UK nations, for instance, cannot meet in the group stage.

Each of the six groups plays a single round-robin (three matches per nation, six per group). Three points for a win, one for a draw. Group position is decided by points, then goal difference, then goals scored.

The top two nations in each group qualify automatically for the Round of 16. The four best third-placed nations across all six groups — ranked by the same points, goal difference and goals-scored criteria — join them to complete the last-16 field.

From the Round of 16 onwards it is single-match knockout: Round of 16, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and the Final. Matches level after 90 minutes go to thirty minutes of extra time, and if still level, a penalty shoot-out decides the winner.

Nations name a 23-player squad for the finals: typically 3 goalkeepers, 8 defenders, 7 midfielders and 5 forwards, all drawn from players eligible to represent that nation. Squads are locked shortly before the tournament begins, with injury replacements permitted only up to kick-off of a nation's opening match.

See the Euro Cup History page for the full roll of honour and the story of the tournament down the years.