Concern over the absence of some of the game’s biggest and most marketable names from the group stage of the Women’s Champions League did not take long to prompt change.
This season’s group stage was barely taking shape before UEFA announced the competition would, from 2025-26, follow the men’s event in adopting a modified form of the Swiss system. This will feature18 clubs, each playing six teams once, with the top four qualifying automatically to an eight-team knockout stage and the clubs 5th-12th playing-off for the other four places.
A second European competition will also be created, incorporating clubs knocked out of the Champions League qualifying rounds with non-champions of some mid-ranking leagues.
There will be more clashes between big teams in the early stages, a safety net for big clubs knocked out, and more opportunities for clubs from mid-ranking associations
These were both, which highlighted the absence of Arsenal, Manchester United, Juventus and last season’s finalists Wolfsburg (all knocked out in the qualifiers) from this season’s group stage. Under the new format, this high-grade quartet would get a second chance in the new competition. The leading leagues, however, would still be restricted to a maximum of three clubs in Europe – a blow for a number of ambitious clubs in England’s WSL, Spain’s Liga F and similar competitions.
