Procedure of 2000 Men's European Championship, draw of qualification groups(30 Nov. 1998)
The draw will take place in Zagreb/CRO on 1st December 1998.
Entries: 37 teams
Qualified for final tournament: SWE (defending champion), CRO (organizer)
Qualified for play-off round: ESP, GER, RUS, YUG, HUN, FRA, DEN, NOR, MKD
These further participants will be drawn into the qualification groups. Nations (26): AUT, BEL, BLR, BIH, BUL, CYP, CZE, EST, FIN, GEO, GRE, ISL, ISR, ITA, LAT, LTU, LUX, NED, POL, POR, ROM, SLO, SUI, SVK, TUR, UKR
Groups: Total of 7 groups (5 groups of 4 teams, 2 groups of 3 teams)
Qualified for play-off round: Winner of all 7 groupsand the 4 best 2nd placed teams of those 5 groups with 4 teams
Draw:
6 Teams in pot 1: CZE, ISL, POL, POR, ROM, SLO
6 Teams in pot 2: BLR, ITA, LTU, SUI, SVK, TUR
6 Teams in pot 3: AUT, BEL, FIN, GRE, ISR, UKR
8 Teams in pot 4: BIH, BUL, CYP, EST, GEO, LAT, LUX, NED
Playing dates qualification: Round 1 and 2: May 12 - 16, 1999, Round 3 and 4: May 19 – 23, 1999, Round 5 and 6: May 26 – 30, 1999