UEFA is an association of associations and continually discusses and reviews both club and national team competitions with its members.
So the rejuvenation of national team football – and the UEFA Nations League – stems from the desire of UEFA, and especially the UEFA President, to improve the quality and standing of national team football. There is also the desire from the associations for more sporting meaning in national team football, with associations, coaches, players and supporters increasingly of the opinion that friendly matches are not providing adequate competition for national teams.
Extensive consultation and discussions started as far back as the 2011 UEFA Strategy Meeting in Cyprus and continued at a series of Top Executive Programme (TEP) meetings over the past three years: namely the UEFA general secretaries' meeting in Stockholm in 2013, the UEFA Strategy Meeting in Dubrovnik in 2014, several meetings of the UEFA National Team Competitions Committee and, most recently, a series of follow-up regional TEP meetings across Europe.