UEFA sounded the death knell for international friendlies on Thursday by revealing plans for a Nations League to kick off in September 2018 as part of a complex shake-up of the sport.

The new competition will feature all 54 European nations in four divisions -- A, B, C and D with a system of promotion and relegation for the top four teams and bottom four in each league.

The four divisions will themselves be divided into four sub-groups of three or four teams with matches played on a home and away basis between September and November 2018.

The four group winners of League A will play in a knockout format (semi-finals and final) in June 2019 -- the Final Four -- to become the overall champions.

"This format is going to increase interest in games between European nations," said UEFA secretary general Gianni Infantino.

The new format could also boost a country's chances of making the finals of the long-established European championships.

UEFA said that the winners and runners-up in each of the 10 Euro 2020 qualifying groups will make the finals.

But the four remaining Euro 2020 places will be allocated to the winners of play-off matches which will take place in March 2020.

Based on results in the Nations League, 16 teams will take part in these play-offs.

Infantino added that a similar system could be used for World Cup qualifiers but that option could only be decided by world governing body, FIFA.

Meanwhile, the traditional qualifying system for the Euro 2020 finals will take place between March and November 2019 over six match days.

Euro 2020 will be played in 13 countries across Europe with the semi-finals and final at Wembley in London.