No fewer than 13 newly independent nations competed for the first time – due mainly to the fall of
Socialist rule in
Europe in the early 1990s.
Russia, who competed in
1994 were joined by nine further former
Soviet Union states:
Armenia,
Azerbaijan,
Belarus,
Estonia,
Georgia,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Moldova and
Ukraine. The exclusion (for political reasons) of the team from
Serbia and Montenegro, then known as the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia continued.
Croatia,
Slovenia and the
Republic of Macedonia were three former states of
Yugoslavia who did compete though.
Czechoslovakia became two separate nations – teams from the
Czech Republic and
Slovakia complete the list of new entrants. The 44 national teams were divided into eight groups (four groups of 5 + four groups of 6). The group winners played off against each other on a two-legged home-and-away basis to determine the final four, one of whom would host the last four matches. The top five nations qualify for the
Atlanta '96 Olympics. == Qualification ==