Players born after 1 January 1989 were eligible to participate in this competition.

The top three teams in each group qualified for the 2009 U-20 World Cup.

The first qualifying stage divided the remaining 52 UEFA nations (minus the hosts, the Czech Republic) into 13 groups of four teams.

Matches in the elite qualifying stage were played from 1 March 2008 to 31 May 2008, when the top team from each group advanced to the final tournament.

The following teams qualified for the tournament: The groups were drawn on 1 June 2008 in Prague by the first vice-chairman of the UEFA Youth and Amateur Football Committee, Jim Boyce, and senior Czech internationals Petr Čech and Martin Fenin.