The 1976 UEFA European Under-23 Championship, which spanned two years (1974–76) had 23 entrants. Soviet Union U-23 won the competition.
The 23 national teams were divided into eight groups (seven groups of 3 + one group of 2). 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 3rd-place playoff.
Qualifying Stage
Draw
The allocation of teams into qualifying groups was based on that of UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying tournament with several changes, reflecting the absence of some nations: