[2] A total of 16 teams played in the tournament, with players born on or after 1 January 2007 eligible to participate.

Germany were the title holders, having beaten France in a penalty shootout in the 2023 final, but were not able to defend their title after failing to qualify for the final tournament.

For the UEFA European Under-17 Championship final tournaments of 2023 and 2024, Hungary and Cyprus were selected as hosts respectively.

[2] All 55 UEFA nations entered the competition, and with the hosts Cyprus qualifying automatically, the other 54 teams competed in the qualifying competition, which consisted of two rounds: Qualifying round, which took place in autumn 2023, and Elite round, which took place in spring 2024, to determine the remaining 15 spots in the final tournament.

In the knockout stage, a penalty shoot-out was used to decide the winner if necessary (no extra time was played).