The current competition format consists of three stages: a qualifying round, an elite round and a final tournament. The first stage takes place in autumn of the previous year, while the elite round is played in spring. The winners of each elite round group join the host team in the final tournament, played in May. Until the
1997 tournament, players born on or after 1 August the year they turned 17 years were eligible to compete. Since the
1998 tournament, the date limit has been moved back to 1 January. In 2001/2002 the competition was renamed European Under-17 Championship, but the eligibility rules did not change. ==Results==