The fifteen teams were divided into three pools of four teams and one pool of three. The four pool winners took part in play-offs to determine the two nations advancing to the . The nations finishing last in their pools took part in play-offs, with the two losing nations relegated to Group II in 2009.
The seven teams were divided into one pool of three teams and one of four teams. The winner of each pool played the runner-up of the other pool to determine which two nations would be promoted to Group I in 2009. The nations finishing third in their pools took part in play-offs with the losing nation relegated to Group II in 2009, along with the nation finishing fourth in the pool of four teams.