The 2021 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-19 football competition that would have determined the seven teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Romania in the 2021 UEFA European Under-19 Championship final tournament.[2] Players born on or after 1 January 2002 were eligible to participate.[3]
Apart from Romania, 53 of the remaining 54 UEFA member national teams entered the qualifying competition, where the original format consisted of two rounds: Qualifying round, which would have taken place in autumn 2020, and Elite round, which would also have take place in spring 2021.[4] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, UEFA announced on 13 August 2020 that after consultation with the 55 member associations, the qualifying round was delayed to March 2021, and the elite round was abolished and replaced by play-offs, with the 13 qualifying round group winners joining the top seed by coefficient ranking, Portugal (which originally received a bye to the elite round), in the play-offs in May 2021 to determine the teams qualifying for the final tournament.[5][6]
On 23 February 2021, UEFA announced that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and its effect on staging competitions, the tournament was cancelled.[7]
The qualifying competition originally consisted of the following two rounds:
Qualifying round: Apart from Portugal, which receive a bye to the elite round as the teams with the highest seeding coefficient, the remaining 52 teams were drawn into 13 groups of four teams. Each group was to be played in single round-robin format at one of the teams selected as hosts after the draw. The 13 group winners, the 13 runners-up, and the third-placed team with the best record against the first and second-placed teams in their group were to advance to the elite round.
Elite round: The 28 teams were to be drawn into seven groups of four teams. Each group was to be played in single round-robin format at one of the teams selected as hosts after the draw. The seven group winners were to qualify for the final tournament.
After the format change, the qualifying competition would have consisted of the following two rounds:
Qualifying round: The draw remained the same as before. The 13 group winners and Portugal, which originally received a bye to the elite round, would have advanced to the play-offs.
Play-offs: The 14 teams were to be drawn into seven ties. The seven winners would have qualified for the final tournament.
Each group contained one team from Pot A, one team from Pot B, one team from Pot C, and one team from Pot D. Based on the decisions taken by the UEFA Emergency Panel, the following pairs of teams could not be drawn in the same group: Spain and Gibraltar, Ukraine and Russia, Serbia and Kosovo, Russia and Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.
The qualifying round was originally scheduled to be completed by 17 November 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, UEFA announced on 13 August 2020 that after consultation with the 55 member associations, the qualifying round was delayed to March 2021,[6] before its cancellation earlier in February.[7]
The draw for the elite round would originally have been held on 9 December 2020 at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, and the matches were originally scheduled to be played in spring 2021. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, UEFA announced on 13 August 2020 that after consultation with the 55 member associations, the elite round would be abolished and replaced by play-offs.[6]
The fourteen teams were planned to be drawn into seven ties. The seven winners would have qualified for the final tournament. The play-offs were scheduled to be played in May 2021, before the tournament was ultimately cancelled.[6]
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