The teams will be divided into two groups, and the matches will be played at the stadiums "Grbavica" in Sarajevo, "Pecara" in Široki Brijeg, "Bijeli Brijeg" in Mostar and the BH FF Training Centre in Zenica. The two best teams from the groups will qualify for the semifinals, and from this year the match for 3rd place will be played for the first time, because the three best teams will win a direct place in the World Cup, which will be played in India from 11th to 30th October 2022.
Totally 28 teams, divided into seven groups, are participating in the elite qualifying round, and only the winners will qualify for the final tournament in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Group A1 (23-29 March): Republic of Ireland*, Iceland, Finland, Slovakia
Group A2 (10-16 March): Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary*, Ukraine
Group A3 (24-30 March): Sweden, Norway*, Serbia, Romania
Group A4 (13-19 March): Denmark*, Russia, Greece, Belarus
Group A5 (23 - 29 March): Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Kosovo*
Group A6 (24-30 March): Poland*, France, England, Croatia
Group A7 (16-22 March): Netherlands, Portugal*, Italy, Montenegro
* Tournament’s hosts are marked
The championship in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be a total of 13 in a row. The competition has been held since 2007, and the first final tournament was held in 2008 and was won by the German national team, which is also the record holder with seven titles won. Spain won the championship four times, and the Poland triumphed once. The tournament has been held every year since 2008, but the championships in Sweden in 2020 and the Faroe Islands in 2021 were canceled due to a pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus.
