The UEFA Women’s Champions League will follow a new format this season. (Photo by Kristian Skeie – UEFA)
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The 2025/26 season marks a new beginning for the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL). Just as its men’s counterpart did last year, the UWCL has now ditched the old group stage format for a new league phase. In the process, it has expanded from 16 to 18 teams in the competition proper, while the qualifying rounds have also added new dimensions with the creation of the UEFA Women’s Europa Cup.
Here is all one needs to know ahead of kick-off for the UWCL proper:
Contestants
The 18 spots for the UWCL this season were divided in half, with one chunk going to direct entrants from the top leagues, while the other nine were up for grabs at the end of the qualifying rounds.
Defending champions Arsenal were joined by English champions Chelsea, French top two OL Lyonnes and Paris Saint-Germain, German frontrunners Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg, Barcelona, Italian champions Juventus, and Portuguese title-holders Benfica as the nine teams who got a ticket straight to the league phase.
The qualifiers were further divided into four from the domestic champions path, while five others joined from the league path. Norwegian champions Vålerenga, Belgian side OH Leuven, Austria’s SKN St. Pölten and FC Twente of the Netherlands came through the former, while Atlético Madrid, Paris FC, Manchester United, Real Madrid and AS Roma emerged from the tougher route.
New Format
This season onwards, teams will no longer be divided into groups but rather face off in one big league phase. For the purpose of the draw, the 18 teams are separated into three pots of six based on their UEFA club coefficient rankings. Each team is drawn against two opponents from each pot–facing one at home and the other away–for six league phase fixtures.
All sides are ranked in one table through the league phase. The top four at the end of it earn a direct quarterfinal spot, while teams placed from 5th to 12th enter the knockout phase play-offs. There, they face an opponent home and away in the standard two-legged format, with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals. The standard knockout format remains in place for the last three rounds, so the final will continue to be held at a predetermined venue. This term, it will be hosted at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, Norway.
League Phase Draw
Given the nature of the UEFA club coefficients which are calculated on the basis of continental performance, not all teams in each pot were of equal strength. For instance, St. Pölten were placed in Pot 2 since they have regularly featured in the UWCL in recent years, but they are not nearly as formidable an opposition as the likes of Real Madrid or Juventus. So, the league phase draw saw some teams get relatively straightforward tests, while others will have to face many tough battles.
The English sides should be the most confident among the Pot 1 teams, while the German pair have a pretty tough run on the cards.
In Pot 2, Real Madrid will face some serious tests, while St. Pölten have been handed a huge uphill battle.
Manchester United and Atlético Madrid, arguably the two strongest teams in Pot 3, have both been given pretty tough fixture lists, so they will need to bring their A game to make sure of advancing to the knockouts.
The UWCL league phase will kick off in early October and run till the end of the year, while the knockouts will start next February and build up to the final in late May.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/neelshelat/2025/09/19/stage-set-for-new-look-uefa-womens-champions-league/
