What is the new Women’s Champions League format?
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The third qualifying round of the UEFA Women’s Champions League gets underway on Thursday, as 18 teams battle it out for the final nine spots in the new-look league phase. So, what is the new format? How does it differ from the men’s competition? And when is the draw for the league phase? Also, what’s this new competition called the UEFA Women’s Europa Cup?
Let’s start with the basics. Under the old format, 16 teams competed in four groups of four teams, with the top two going through to the quarterfinals — and then onto the semifinals and the final.
This season sees the Women’s Champions League take on a similar format to the revamped men’s competition (which has 36 teams) — with all 18 teams in one big league table. That means two extra teams will be in the competition proper.
Nine teams qualified automatically from the top seven nations:
Titleholders: Arsenal
France: OL Lyonnes, Paris Saint-Germain
Germany: bayern Munich, VFL Wolfsburg
Spain: Barcelona
England: Chelsea, Manchester City
The remaining nine spots will be filled by the winners of the third qualifying round matches.
The league phase will see teams play each other home and away, with the top eight progressing to the knockout stages.
When is the draw for the league phase?
The draw for the league phase will take place on Monday, October 9th at 12:00 CET in Nyon, Switzerland.
What is the UEFA women’s Europa Cup?
The UEFA Women’s europa Cup is a new competition for the 2024-25 season, sitting below the Women’s Champions League in the European club football pyramid. It will feature 32 teams,providing more opportunities for clubs to compete at a European level.
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Understanding the W Champions League Draw: A Complete Guide
The draw for the inaugural W Champions League season is a bit complex, but understanding the process is key to following the competition. Here’s a breakdown of how it works, covering both the qualifying phase and the league phase.
how the Qualifying Phase Works
The qualifying phase involves 12 teams split into three groups of four. each group plays a round-robin tournament, with the winners of each group advancing to the league phase.
If teams finish level on points, here’s how ties are broken:
- Goal difference
- Goals scored
- Head-to-head record
- UEFA club coefficient
If the tie still isn’t broken after these criteria, a penalty shootout will decide the winner.
The draw for the qualifying phase will be:
Teams will be seeded based on their UEFA club coefficient. The draw will create two ties:
- 1 vs.4
- 2 vs. 3
Then, another draw will create two more ties:
- 5 or 6 vs. 7 or 8 (two ties)
- 9 or 10 vs. 7 or 8 (two ties)
The draw will place the four ties which have been created into a position in the bracket, in either the silver or blue half.
Then the paired teams in positions 1 & 2, and 3 & 4, will be drawn into one of two possible positions, again to create fixtures.
For the quarterfinals, the draw will be:
The winners of a tie involving 7, 8, 9 and 10 will play 1 or 2 (two ties)
The winners of a tie involving 5, 6, 11 and 12 will play 3 or 4 (two ties)
The whole bracket is now set.
The teams that finish in positions 1-4 will be at home in the second leg of the quarterfinals.
The semifinal ties are already set by the bracket draw. In principle, the teams ranked 1 and 2 will play the semifinal second leg at home. Though, if 1 and/or 2 are knocked out in the quarterfinals, the home right will pass to the team that has eliminated them.For instance, if Arsenal (first) are knocked out by Paris FC (ninth), it’s Paris FC who will have home advantage in the final four.
So, it isn’t based on league placing — and that means it’s impractical for the teams that finish in third and fourth to get a home semifinal second leg, as they cannot claim it off first or second.
OK, so how does the league phase draw work?
The league phase draw will take place on Sept. 19.
Rather than placing teams into groups, the draw now creates the fixtures. There will be three pots each containing six teams — ranked by UEFA club coefficient. Each club will play six games, with two opponents drawn from each of the three pots. One match from each pot will be at home, and the other away.
That’s 18 teams and 18 unique fixture lists to be drawn.
There are two main principles in the league phase:
- No club can play another team from their own league. (For example, Arsenal cannot play Chelsea.)
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