The participating nations were drawn into five qualification tournaments, each with four teams. The two best-ranked teams from each group will qualify for the M18 EHF EURO 2024, to be held in Montenegro.
In group B, we have the only local derby of the qualifiers, as North Macedonia will meet Kosovo. Slovakia and Switzerland make up the quartet.
Poland were the best-placed team from the 2022 tournament to be taking part in these qualifiers, they are in group C with Israel, Luxembourg and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Italy have been making inroads in YAC competitions on the women's side, winning this summer's W19 EHF Championship in Kosovo. The men will be hoping to make a similar impression in group A when they face Netherlands, Greece and Lithuania.
The seeding for the draw was based on the ranking for the M18 age category, which were based on events between 2018 and 2022.
They will join the hosts and the teams ranked 1-13, which are pre-qualified for the event: Spain, Sweden, Germany, Croatia, Denmark, Iceland, Hungary, Slovenia, Portugal, Norway, France, Serbia, and the Faroe Islands.
The third and fourth teams from each qualification tournament will play the M18 EHF Championship 2024. Georgia, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Belgium and Azerbaijan are already registered for the EHF Championship II.
M18 EHF EURO 2024 qualification tournament draw
GROUP A
Italy
Netherlands
Greece
Lithuania
GROUP B
North Macedonia
Switzerland
Slovakia
Kosovo
GROUP C
Israel
Poland
Luxembourg
Bosnia & Herzegovina
GROUP D
Czech Republic
Ukraine
Türkiye
Estonia
GROUP E
Austria
Romania
Latvia
Finland
The order of the right to host the qualification groups has also been drawn. The teams in row 1 (Italy, North Macedonia, Israel, Czech Republic and Austria) were drawn first, meaning they have first refusal on the right to host their group's tournament.
Should any row 1 team decide not to host, then the hosting right falls to the team in row 3, then row 4 and finally row 2.
The fixture schedule will be confirmed after the hosting duties have been accepted.
