1976 UEFA European Under-23 Championship

The 1976 UEFA European Under-23 Championship, which spanned two years (1974–76) had 23 entrants. Soviet Union U-23 won the competition.

The 23 national teams were divided into eight groups (seven groups of 3 + one group of 2). The group winners played off against each other on a two-legged home-and-away basis until the winner was decided. There was no finals tournament or 3rd-place playoff.

Draw
The allocation of teams into qualifying groups was based on that of UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying tournament with several changes, reflecting the absence of some nations:
 * Group 1 did not include Cyprus
 * Group 2 did not include Wales
 * Group 3 did not include Northern Ireland
 * Group 4 did not include Spain
 * Group 5 did not include Poland (moved to Group 8)
 * Group 6 did not include Republic of Ireland and Switzerland
 * Group 7 did not include Iceland
 * Group 8 did not include West Germany and Malta, but included Poland (moved from Group 5)