August 03, (THEWILL) – UEFA has announced a significant overhaul of the Women’s Champions League, set to take effect from the 2025/2026 season. The new structure, approved by the UEFA Executive Committee in December 2023, will feature a single league of 18 teams, replacing the current group stage format. This change aligns the women’s competition more closely with the revamped men’s tournament, which begins next season.
The reformed competition will see teams play six different opponents in a league stage, rather than facing three teams twice. Clubs will be divided into three seeding pots based on their coefficient rankings, with each team playing two opponents from each pot. Points will be awarded in the standard manner: three for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss.
Following the league stage, the top four teams will advance directly to the quarter-finals. Teams finishing fifth to 12th will compete in two-legged playoff matches to determine the remaining quarter-finalists. Those ranked 13th or below will be eliminated from the competition. The quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final will maintain their traditional knockout format.
In addition to the Champions League changes, UEFA is introducing a second European women’s club competition. This new tournament will provide opportunities for more teams to participate in European football and offer a second chance for some clubs eliminated from the Champions League.
The Women’s Champions League, which began in 2001 as the UEFA Women’s Cup before being renamed in 2009/2010, has seen French club Lyon dominate with eight titles. These changes aim to increase competitiveness and broaden participation in European women’s club football from 2025 onwards.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
