The 1988 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which spanned two years (1986–88), had 30 entrants.

The Republic of Ireland competed for the first time.

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 third-place playoff.

The allocation of teams into qualifying groups was based on that of UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying tournament with several changes, reflecting the absence of some nations: All times are local (UTC+1) See 1988 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads