It was hosted for the first time in Slovenia, following a decision of the UEFA Executive Committee on 26 January 2015.

In their second appearance in the competition's final after 2010, Portugal defeated seven-time winners and defending champions Spain 3–2, after extra-time, to win their first European title.

[3] A total of 48 UEFA nations entered the competition (including Germany and Kosovo which entered for the first time), and with the hosts Slovenia qualifying automatically, the other 47 teams competed in the qualifying competition to determine the remaining 11 spots in the final tournament.

Hosts Slovenia were assigned to position A1 in the draw, and the remaining teams were seeded according to their coefficient ranking, except that title holders Spain were automatically placed into Pot 1.

In the third place match, the extra time is skipped and the decision goes directly to kicks from the penalty mark (Regulations Articles 20.02 and 20.03).