UEFA Announce Big Plans for Women’s Competitions

UEFA have new plans for their existing Women’s Champions League, as well as for a second competition.

Per a statement published on UEFA’s website on Monday, 4 December, the football governing body announced that it will be introducing a new single-league format that will replace the league’s current group stage.

“The new format will launch from the beginning of the 2025/26 season, introducing … a more competitive and dynamic single-league stage in which every match counts and features 18 teams, two more than in the current group stage format,” the statement reads.

This, they said, will allow “top teams” to “go head-to-head more often and earlier, with all teams experiencing more competitive matches and a wide variety of opponents.”

In addition to this new format, UEFA are launching a secondary European competition for women’s clubs “in a straight knockout format” with no group stage. It will also commence from the 2025/26 season onwards.

“The new format for the UEFA Women’s Champions League will reinforce the competition’s position at the pinnacle of club football,” commented Nadine Kessler, UEFA’s managing director of women’s football.

This, said Kessler, “combined with the introduction of the new second competition, will further incentivise growth domestically, and help us to build a strong and open European football pyramid that everyone can be proud of.”

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