MILAN (AP) — Plans for a shake-up in the European qualifying process for the World Cup and European Championship will be revealed within six months, but UEFA was adamant Friday it won’t follow a Champions League-style format.
The new-look Champions League was a success last year as a single-standings 36-team league was more unpredictable than the traditional group stage had been. Eventual title holder Paris Saint-Germain and 2023 winner Manchester City risked elimination in the last of eight rounds.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin was asked at a Football Business Forum in Milan if that could also be the way forward for national team qualifying which often sees mismatches and heavy losses for the smallest countries.
“No,” he said firmly.
When pressed on when the new plans would be revealed, Ceferin added: “I would say in around six months we should know.”
One month ago, speculation UEFA preferred a Champions League-style format for the next Euros followed Ceferin's hints at a similar conference in Lisbon.
Europe's soccer body is reviewing how teams qualify for major tournaments amid fears of declining interest among fans and broadcasters.
The 2026 World Cup qualification process — which ends this month — sees European nations play in round-robin groups of four or five teams, playing each opponent twice.
But there was a lack of eye-catching fixtures this year and the most lopsided result was Austria beating San Marino 10-0 last month.
France beat Gibraltar by 14-0 in a Euro 2024 qualifier two years ago.
“It’s too early to say anything concrete and I even don’t know because we have two options, we are not sure yet what to do,” Ceferin said. “But from one point of view, does it make sense that you have a result of 10-0? From the other point of view, does it make sense that because such small and middle-sized teams have to play with the big ones, they never qualify to play Europe?
“If you could combine somehow that, it’s good … if you ask (a small team), do you want to play Italy, France, England, Germany in the qualifiers, or do you want to have much more chances to play them at the Euro? It’s the second option. But we are still discussing it.”
UEFA has used its third-tier Nations League competition to ensure one low-ranked team qualifies for the men's Euros.
It was North Macedonia at Euro 2020 then Georgia at Euro 2024 and both exceeded expectations. Georgia was one of the most exciting teams in the group stage before losing to eventual champion Spain in the round of 16.
AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.
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FILE - UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin speaks during a press conference after the 49th ordinary UEFA congress, in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)
BANGKOK (AP) — Floodwaters in Thailand ’s capital were slowly receding on Monday after nearly continuous rainfall over the weekend, although some neighborhoods and major roads remained inundated.
Rain continued intermittently, but Bangkok city officials said conditions had improved enough to accelerate drainage efforts. Water levels in four main canals had risen too high over the weekend to take in runoff from surrounding communities.
More rain was forecast across much of Thailand, although Bangkok was expected to receive less. Cambodia and Myanmar were also experiencing severe weather.
The weekend flooding affected 329,000 households, or about 700,000 people, the Bangkok Flood Control Center reported, according to Deputy Gov. Tavida Kamolvej. Thai media reported two flood-related deaths in the city and at least 10 nationwide.
Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt declared a flood emergency Saturday across all 50 city districts, although some were relatively unscathed. He said authorities were prioritizing assistance for vulnerable residents, including older people and those with disabilities, by delivering supplies or evacuating them. City officials said nearly 7,000 people were staying in shelters.
Neighborhoods in eastern Bangkok were hit hardest. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul donned white rain boots Sunday night to inspect a heavily flooded housing estate in Bang Kapi district and help distribute relief supplies.
Water was about knee-deep Monday near a train station and shopping mall in Bang Kapi. Despite intermittent downpours, shoppers waded through the water carrying bags, backpacks and boxes of groceries. Some traveled to and from the station in a small boat provided by the mall.
For Naowarat Supanikorn, a 55-year-old maid who shares a single-story house with three dogs and six cats, the flooding was more than an inconvenience.
She said she realized at about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday that water was seeping into her home.
“I had to take my dogs and cats out,” she said. “I had to leave them with my neighbor. I have taken them back today because they said the sun would come out, but it looks like the rain will come back.”
She said the flooding in her neighborhood reached above her hips at its highest, and had since dropped to about knee-level. She said the bigger problem is that she has lost her job working at a condominium.
“My workplace also said if I can’t come to work, they’re happy to take my resignation. So I thought, that’s fine, I’ll quit.”
To try to generate some income, she bought supplies to make some food she can sell streetside, but business is slow in the flooded conditions.
“It’s stressful. If the bills come, I’d be cooked, because I don’t have work now. If I have to pay for water or electricity now it would be bad,” she said. “I’m not worried about me but I’m worried about my pets. I’ve lived with them my whole life. They’re my priority. It’s ok if I don’t have work and starve myself, but I’d like help for my pets.”
The flood also has had knock-on effects, including panic buying of food, disrupted supply chains for food and other items, and staffing problems at various enterprises whose employees were unable to get to their jobs.
The Thai Air Force announced it was sending 69 ground personnel to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport to help clear a backlog of passenger luggage caused largely by airport workers being unable to get to their place of work.
“This deployment is a vital mission to care for, assist, and facilitate travelers — including tourists from around the world — ensuring smooth operations and preventing delays in ground services, thereby upholding the nation’s positive image,” the air force said.
The airport previously attributed the baggage pileup to “insufficient staffing to support ground handling operations” and problems with some baggage carts.
The disruptions delayed some departures and forced arriving passengers to wait longer than usual for their luggage, with baggage from several flights still undelivered, the airport said.
The government declared special holidays on Monday and Tuesday for state offices. It advised state enterprises, financial institutions, private businesses and hospitals to determine whether they needed to remain open.
Thailand’s meteorological agency forecast heavy to very heavy rain across several parts of the country. It warned residents, particularly in northern, central and eastern regions, to prepare for possible flash floods, river overflows, forest runoff and landslides, especially near waterways, foothills and low-lying areas.
In neighboring Myanmar, at least 10 people were killed and dozens were missing after heavy rain triggered widespread flooding and landslides in the southern coastal region of Tanintharyi, local media reported.
Dawei township recorded 346 millimeters (13.62 inches) of rain Monday, breaking an 80-year-old record. Myanmar’s Meteorology Department warned that conditions could worsen as the storm front moved closer to Yangon.
Flash floods struck at least 10 provinces in Cambodia, affecting 44,889 families and forcing nearly 4,000 people to evacuate, according to disaster management officials.
The agency overseeing the archaeological park in Siem Reap province, home to the centuries-old Angkor temple complex, said it was operating water gates and diversion systems to reduce the risk of flooding.
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Associated Press writer Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia contributed to this report.
Residents of a building look out at the flooded street after heavy rain in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers evacuate a patient from a flooded area to a safer place in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers evacuate people from a flooded area to a safer place in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
The streets are flooded after a heavy rain, in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
People wade through a flooded street after a heavy rain in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
