DRAWS FOR THE UEFA UNDER 17 CHAMPIONSHIP ELITE QUALIFYING ROUND

The draws for the Elite Qualifying Round of the UEFA Under 17 Championships were made at the UEFA Headquarters in Nyon.   Championship holders Russia have been matched with former winners Spain and Switzerland in Group 1 of the elite round. The 27 teams emerging from the preliminary qualifying round, joined top seeds Germany, in the pot for this Elite Round. The draws were conducted by Jim Boyce, UEFA Youth and Amateur Committee chairman, and 2012/13 Austria captain Michael Lercher, who received the Fair Play trophy for the 2013 championships. There are also two past winners in Group 3 in the shape of the Netherlands and France while 2013 runners-up Italy are in with 2010 champions England in Group 4, staged by the Czech Republic. Only the group winners will progress to join hosts Malta in the finals from 9 to 21 May 2014. All the Elite Round matches will be played between the 20th and 25th March 2014 Elite round drawGroup 1 (26-31 March): Spain, Switzerland, Russia* (holders), WalesGroup 2 (25-30 March): Poland, Turkey, Greece*, NorwayGroup 3 (20-25 March): Netherlands*, France, Austria, SwedenGroup 4 (26-31 March): England, Italy, Czech Republic*, AlbaniaGroup 5 (26-31 March): Germany, Serbia*, Georgia, Republic of IrelandGroup 6 (24-29 March): Romania, Scotland*, Belgium, Bosnia and HerzegovinaGroup 7 (26-31 March): Portugal*, Iceland, Latvia, Ukraine  * Teams marked with * will host the matches from the respective Group.