Imagine the groans in the boardrooms of broadcaster DAZN, sponsors and UEFA itself when four of the biggest names in the Women’s Champions League were knocked out before the competition even began.
Arsenal, Manchester United, Juventus and last season’s finalists Wolfsburg all failed to negotiate the treacherous qualifiers of the league pathway, leading to a group stage line-up that will have frustrated many – but also posed some existential questions for the sport.
Growth is the aim, but whose growth, and how? Does Europe want breadth, a steady pan-continental rise in standards, or depth within silos of excellence? That might lift the whole sport – but could also lead to an ersatz super league, detached from the wider game except to suck in its brightest and best.
“We want the best teams
