The new formats for the Europa Cup and UEFA Women's Champions League are explained.

Next season will see a significant upheaval in women's European football as the Champions League is being restructured and a new tournament called the Europa Cup is introduced.

The modifications represent a major shift for the women's game and mirror the format of the men's European tournaments, which were also redesigned at the beginning of the current season. The Europa Cup gives clubs all over the continent another chance to compete on the biggest stage, while the UEFA Women's Champions League, which was first known as the UEFA Women's Cup in the 2001–02 season, will take on a new format that intends to increase its competitiveness.

The updated format of each competition, the important changes fans should be aware of, and the dates that fans should put on their calendars for the 2025–2026 season are all examined in further detail in 90min.

Format of the Women's Champions League

The Champions League's group stage structure will be replaced by an 18-team league phase starting in the upcoming season, along with increased entrance. Instead of playing three opponents twice, teams will now play six different teams in a league, with half of the games being played at home and the other half away.

Each team will be placed in three distinct seeding pots according to their most recent club coefficient ranking, and the six opponents will be decided by a draw. Every team will be selected to play one home and one away match against two opponents from each pot.

Instead of groups being set with many games remaining, as is presently the case, it is believed that this new format would boost the competition right up until the end of the round. The results of these matches will determine the ranking in the league phase. The teams ranked fifth through twelve will play a two-leg knockout play-off to secure their spot in the last eight, while the top four teams from the 18 will automatically advance to the quarterfinals.

Seeded teams will play the second leg at home if they automatically advance to the quarterfinals. The competition will thereafter proceed according to the current structure until the final.

The domestic champions of the six highest-ranked national associations, as well as the winners of the previous season, automatically qualify. Associations one and two's runners-up will also advance straight to the league stage, with the qualifying procedure deciding the remaining spots.

Along with the winners of Spain, England, Portugal, and Italy, the winners and runners-up of France and Germany will automatically advance to the league stage in 2025–2026.

Important dates for the Women's Champions League

Draw for the first and second qualifying rounds on June 16

The first qualifying round (one-venue mini-tournaments) takes place from July 30 to August 2.
The second qualifying round (one-venue mini-tournaments) is scheduled for August 27–30.
Draw for the third qualifying round on September 1st
11 September: First leg of the third qualifying round

18 September: League phase, second leg, third qualifying round, knockout stages

Format for the Europa Cup

Thirteen teams—the third-place teams in the domestic league from associations ranked 8–13 and the runners-up of associations ranked 18–24—will directly compete in the recently established Europa Cup. The runners-up and third-place teams from the second qualifying round of the Champions League, as well as those ousted in the third qualifying round, will also have another opportunity in the Europa Cup.

The Europa Cup, which will take place concurrently with the Champions League, will be a direct knockout competition without a league phase or group round. The first and second qualifying rounds will be followed by a two-leg final at the end of the season, for a total of six rounds.

The winners of this competition will have only one round to contend for a spot in the league stage of the main event, as they will automatically advance to the third qualifying round of the champions path of the Women's Champions League the following season.

Important dates for the Europa Cup
Rounds of qualifying knockouts

Comments

From Nadir to New Heights: How Maldini and Leonardo Plan to Reform Italian Football.

Italian football sits at a crossroads. Once the standard-bearer of tactical sophistication and defensive mastery, it has in recent years appeared trapped between past glories and an uncertain future — characterized by uneven youth development, financial imbalances, and a reluctance to fully embrace the technological revolution reshaping elite sport. Enter Paolo Maldini and Leonardo: figures whose reputations combine footballing heritage with contemporary administrative savvy. Their presence in key leadership roles signals more than nostalgia; it points to a potential blueprint for how Italian clubs — and by extension the national game — can use technology, smart analytics, and organizational reform to climb back to sustainable excellence. At the heart of any credible reform plan is a clear diagnosis: Italy’s footballing infrastructure retains immense strengths — strong coaching traditions, passionate fanbases, and competitive domestic leagues — but suffers from systemic weaknesses that...

How VAR Became the Villain of FIFA World Cup 2026: A Deep Dive into Referee Errors.

For years, VAR was sold to football fans as the final cure for injustice. It would reduce human error, protect the integrity of the game, and make sure that the biggest stage in world football would no longer be decided by blind spots, missed calls, or a referee’s bad angle. In theory, it sounded like progress. In practice, at FIFA World Cup 2026, VAR became something far more dangerous than a neutral tool. It became a character in the drama, a disruptor that seemed to carry its own personality, and for many fans, it turned into the villain of the tournament. That transformation did not happen because technology itself is evil. It happened because football has always been a game of emotion, interpretation, and rhythm, while VAR has often been applied in a way that feels cold, inconsistent, and disconnected from the spirit of the sport. The World Cup is not a laboratory. It is a pressure cooker. Every decision is magnified, every delay feels longer, and every correction is judged not ju...

Manchester United's 2026 Midfield Revolution: How Santos and Tielemans Will Redefine the Team.

Manchester United’s 2026 midfield rebuild feels less like a routine squad adjustment and more like a statement of direction. If the club truly intends to move from inconsistency to control, then pairing a dynamic ball-winner like Santos with a polished operator like Tielemans could reshape the team’s identity in a way United have badly needed for years. The bigger question is not whether they are talented enough, but whether their arrival can finally give United a midfield that feels modern, balanced, and reliable. For too long, United’s midfield has lived in an uncomfortable middle ground. At times it has been too open, too easy to run through, and too dependent on individual moments rather than collective command. At other times it has been too cautious, slowing the game down without creating enough threat. The best teams do not merely fill midfield slots; they build a central engine that determines how the entire side behaves. That is exactly why the Santos-Tielemans combination mat...

Didier Deschamps Departs: A Look Back at His Legendary 14-Year Reign with France.

Didier Deschamps walking away from the France job after 14 years feels less like a simple coaching change and more like the closing of a chapter in football history. His reign did not just bring trophies; it rewired the identity of Les Bleus, dragged the national team out of chaos, and turned France into the sport’s most reliable tournament machine. Looking back on his era means retracing a journey from crisis management to dynasty building, from the scars of past meltdowns to a culture defined by discipline, unity, and ruthless consistency. When Deschamps took charge in 2012, France were not the serene giant we now take for granted. The memory of the 2010 World Cup fiasco still hung in the air – the player revolt, the fractured dressing room, the sense that the blue shirt had become a magnet for ego clashes rather than collective ambition. There was talent, but it was scattered and unfocused. Deschamps arrived as a former captain who had already lifted the World Cup and the European C...

Will Expanding the World Cup to 64 Teams Dilute Football's Integrity?

The idea of a 64-team World Cup sounds, on paper, like a celebration of football’s global reach. More nations would get the chance to experience the tournament, more fans would see their flag on the biggest stage, and more stories from outside the traditional power centers would enter the world’s football conversation. But beneath that sense of inclusion lies a serious question: can the World Cup grow without losing the competitive sharpness, sporting balance, and emotional intensity that made it the most powerful tournament in football? In many ways, expanding to 64 teams could widen the event’s footprint while narrowing its meaning. The World Cup has always been more than a tournament. It is a global ritual built on tension, scarcity, and the feeling that every match matters. Part of its magic comes from the fact that qualification is hard, entry is precious, and the final tournament feels exclusive enough to carry real weight. When the field expands too much, the event risks changin...

Dribble Diaries

Search This Blog