A MULTI-tiered men’s European Championship (which, from the early 2000s, has been the most frequently contested international tournament) will start in October.
Nine nations will contest three competitions – Euro B, Euro C and Euro D – with promotion and relegation involved in each section to determine the 2026 format.
Places have been allocated into the initial groups based on the IRL world-ranking positions at the end of 2024.
Euro B will comprise Serbia, Netherlands and Malta, Euro C embraces Greece, Italy and Ukraine and Euro D will involve Czechia, Germany and Norway.
In both Euro B and D, each nation will stage one home and one away fixture. Euro C, meanwhile, will be played entirely in Italy, at Pasian Di Prato, which was the venue of the 2022 European Under 19 Championship, because of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The winners of Groups C and D will be promoted, whilst the third placed teams in Groups B and A are set to be relegated with the next competition scheduled to be played during October 2026.
ERL chair Dean Andrew said: “I’m delighted that European Rugby League are in a position to announce the first phase of this new-look European Championship.
“Our members were very clear on their desire for a multi-year competition framework, and we have co-designed the format with them which gives certainty of games over the next two seasons to further extend their international calendars.”
It is planned to integrate further nations into the framework from 2027, with the format also taking into account ongoing bilateral match agreements, Rugby League World Cup qualifying and the final in 2026.
Fixtures
Euro B
Saturday 18 October: Malta v Netherlands.
Saturday 25 October: Netherlands v Serbia.
Saturday 1 November: Serbia v Malta.
Euro C
Saturday 18 October: Italy v Ukraine.
Wednesday 22 October: Greece v Ukraine.
Saturday 25 October: Italy v Greece.
All three games to be played in Italy.
Euro D
Saturday 11 October: Norway v Czechia.
Saturday 18 October: Czechia v Germany.
Saturday 25 October: Germany v Norway.
Venues to be confirmed.
