The UEFA Women’s Champions League has officially started. Just as the football world returned to normal right after the World Cup ended, it was no different for the women in Europe.
The secured Teams
9 teams have already secured their places. They are:
- FC Barcelona (Spain – Title Holder / Spanish Champion)
- BK Häcken (Sweden – UEFA Women's Europa Cup Champion)
- Manchester City (England – English Champion)
- Arsenal (England – English Runner-up)
- OL Lyonnes (France – French Champion)
- Paris FC (France – French Runner-up)
- Bayern Munich (Germany – German Champion)
- AS Roma (Italy – Italian Champion)
- SL Benfica (Portugal – Portuguese Champion)
The structure of the competition follows the same format used in the men’s competition: the League Phase will feature a total of 18 teams, while the remaining 9 spots will be contested by 63 other teams across 3 rounds.
In the League Phase, the top four teams will advance directly to the quarter-finals, while the teams finishing 5th through 12th will qualify for the knock-out phase play-offs. The remaining six teams will be eliminated.
First Round
The first round will feature 19 teams competing in 5 mini-tournaments. For these mini-tournaments, the 19 teams were grouped into 4 groups of 4 teams and one group of 3. The matches follow a single-leg knockout structure consisting of semi-finals and a final. Losing teams play a placement match (to fulfill fixtures/ranking), while the winners advance to the final. The winner of each final moves on to the next round, and the remaining teams drop down to play in the UEFA Women’s Europa Cup.
These matches took place yesterday (July 22), and the finals will be held on Saturday, July 25. See the table below for the matches and results.
UEFA Women's Champions League 2026/27 - First Qualifying Round
| Tournament 1 — Host: Sosnowiec (Poland) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage | Fixture | Score / Date | Notes |
| Semi-Final 1 | Czarni Sosnowiec 🇵🇱 vs WFC Nike Lusso 🇬🇪 | 7 – 1 | 22/07/2026 |
| Semi-Final 2 | FC Flora 🇪🇪 vs Mġarr United FC 🇲🇹 | 0 – 4 | 22/07/2026 |
| 3rd Place Match | WFC Nike Lusso 🇬🇪 vs FC Flora 🇪🇪 | To be played | 25/07/2026 |
| Final | Czarni Sosnowiec 🇵🇱 vs Mġarr United FC 🇲🇹 | To be played | 25/07/2026 (Winner advances to Round 2) |
| Tournament 2 — Host: Mitrovica (Kosovo) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage | Fixture | Score / Date | Notes |
| Semi-Final 1 | KFF Mitrovica 🇽🇰 vs WFC Zimbru Chișinău 🇲🇩 | 10 – 0 | 22/07/2026 |
| Semi-Final 2 | Glentoran W.F.C. 🇬🇧 vs FK Dinamo Rīga 🇱🇻 | 1 – 4 | 22/07/2026 |
| 3rd Place Match | WFC Zimbru Chișinău 🇲🇩 vs Glentoran W.F.C. 🇬🇧 | To be played | 25/07/2026 |
| Final | KFF Mitrovica 🇽🇰 vs FK Dinamo Rīga 🇱🇻 | To be played | 25/07/2026 (Winner advances to Round 2) |
| Tournament 3 — Host: Athlone (Ireland) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage | Fixture | Score / Date | Notes |
| Semi-Final 1 | Athlone Town 🇮🇪 vs ŽFK Skopje 2014 🇲🇰 | 4 – 0 | 22/07/2026 |
| Semi-Final 2 | FC Pyunik 🇦🇲 vs Wrexham A.F.C. Women 🏴 | 2 – 4 | 22/07/2026 |
| 3rd Place Match | ŽFK Skopje 2014 🇲🇰 vs FC Pyunik 🇦🇲 | To be played | 25/07/2026 |
| Final | Athlone Town 🇮🇪 vs Wrexham A.F.C. Women 🏴 | To be played | 25/07/2026 (Winner advances to Round 2) |
| Tournament 4 — Host: Thessaloniki (Greece) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage | Fixture | Score / Date | Notes |
| Semi-Final 1 | FC PAOK Thessaloniki 🇬🇷 vs Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem 🇮🇱 | 3 – 1 | 22/07/2026 |
| Semi-Final 2 | Neftçi PFK 🇦🇿 vs ŽFK Budućnost Podgorica 🇲🇪 | 0 – 0 (4–3 p) | 22/07/2026 |
| 3rd Place Match | Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem 🇮🇱 vs ŽFK Budućnost Podgorica 🇲🇪 | To be played | 25/07/2026 |
| Final | FC PAOK Thessaloniki 🇬🇷 vs Neftçi PFK 🇦🇿 | To be played | 25/07/2026 (Winner advances to Round 2) |
| Tournament 5 — Host: Varna (Bulgaria) [3-Team Tournament] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage | Fixture | Score / Date | Notes |
| Semi-Final | Klaksvíkar Ítróttarfelag 🇫🇴 vs FC Grand Hotel Varna 🇧🇬 | 0 – 3 | 22/07/2026 |
| — | Bye to Final: Gintra Universitetas 🇱🇹 | — | Direct entry to group final |
| Final | Gintra Universitetas 🇱🇹 vs FC Grand Hotel Varna 🇧🇬 | To be played | 25/07/2026 (Winner advances to Round 2) |
Second Round
The Second Round will be larger, featuring 44 teams divided into 2 paths (determined based on UEFA Rankings):
- Champions Path (28 teams): 23 teams entering directly at this stage + 5 qualifiers from Round 1.
- League Path (16 teams): 16 runners-up or 3rd-placed teams from top-tier leagues.
The format will still consist of mini-tournaments—11 in total (7 in the Champions Path and 4 in the League Path). Only the 11 winners will qualify for Round 3.
The Second Round matches will take place on August 4–5 (semi-finals) and August 7–8 (finals).
Third Round
In the Third Round, 18 teams will compete, divided into the same two paths:
- Champions Path (8 teams): 1 direct entrant + 7 teams from Round 2.
- League Path (10 teams): 6 direct entrants + 4 teams from Round 2.
In the Champions Path, the team awarded the direct spot at this stage was AC Sparta Prague. Their direct access was granted due to the re-allocation of spots, as FC Barcelona were both the reigning champions and the Spanish league champions. The spot in the Champions Path for Round 3 was allocated to the domestic champion with the highest individual UEFA coefficient among the clubs originally set to enter in Round 2.
The other 6 direct entrants in the League Path are:
- Chelsea (3rd place in the English league – Women's Super League)
- Paris Saint-Germain (3rd place in the French league – Première Ligue)
- Real Madrid (2nd place in the Spanish league – Liga F)
- Real Sociedad (3rd place in the Spanish league – Liga F)
- VfL Wolfsburg (2nd place in the German league – Frauen-Bundesliga)
- Inter Milan (2nd place in the Italian league – Serie A Femminile)
At this stage, the mini-tournament format is dropped in favor of the traditional two-legged knockout ties (Home and Away). The 9 winning teams from these ties (4 from the Champions Path and 5 from the League Path) will join the 9 previously qualified teams.
Draws and Key Dates
- Round 3 Draw: August 11, 2026
- Round 3 Matches: August 26 (1st leg) and September 2, 2026 (2nd leg)
- League Phase Draw: September 4, 2026, in Nyon, Switzerland (once all 18 teams are confirmed)
- Play-off Draw: December 18, 2026
Key Calendar Dates:
- League Phase Start (Matchday 1): September 22–23, 2026
- League Phase End (Matchday 6): December 16, 2026
- Knockout Phase Play-offs: February 3–4 (1st leg) and February 10–11, 2027 (2nd leg)
- Quarter-finals: March 23–24 and March 31–April 1, 2027
- Semi-finals: May 1–2 and May 8–9, 2027
- Grand Final: May 28, 29, or 30, 2027, at the Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw, Poland