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2002 UEFA European Under-19 Championship

The 2002 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the first edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, after the previous Under-18 competition was renamed. The tournament was held in Norway, between 21 July and 28 July 2002. The top three teams from each group qualified for the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship. Players born on or after 1 January 1983 were eligible to participate in this competition.

The final tournament took place in seven venues located in seven cities — Bærum, Drammen, Hønefoss, Kongsvinger, Lillestrøm, Moss and Oslo. The winners were Spain, who beat Germany to secure their fourth title, and the top scorer was Fernando Torres, with four goals. This edition is also notable for Nelly Viennot becoming the first female official who participated in an UEFA-organised men's football event, after acting as assistant referee at Norway's 1–5 defeat of Slovakia on 21 July 2002.

Qualification

The qualification format consisted of two rounds. In the preliminary round, which took place between August and November 2001, 50 national teams were drawn into 14 groups (six groups of three teams and eight groups of four teams) contested as round-robin mini-tournaments hosted by one of the group teams. The group winners then progressed to the intermediary round, where they were paired and played two-legged ties between March and May 2002. The winners secured qualification for the final tournament, joining Norway who qualified automatically as hosts.