European women’s football is set for a major shake-up next season with the Champions League undergoing a reformat and the introduction of a new competition, the Europa Cup.
The changes mark a significant evolution for women’s football and reflect the structure seen in the men’s European competitions, which have also undergone a revamp since the start of the current campaign. He UEFA Women’s Champions Leaguewhich began as the UEFA Women’s Cup in the 2001/02 season, will adopt a new format that aims to expand its competitiveness, while the Europa Cup provides an additional platform for clubs from across the continent to test themselves on the big stage .
90 minutes takes a closer look at the revamped format of each competition, the key changes fans should be aware of and the crucial dates they should mark on their calendars for the 2025/26 season.
Starting next season, the Champions League will have expanded access and an 18-team league stage that will replace the group stage format. Teams will no longer play three opponents twice, but will instead face six different teams in a league, playing half of their games at home and half away.
The six opponents will be determined by a draw, with each team seeded into three different qualifying pots based on their latest club coefficient ranking. Each team will play two opponents from each pot, playing one home and one away match.
The results of these matches will determine qualification in the league phase and it is expected that this new format will increase competitiveness until the end of the round, instead of the groups being decided with many games to play, as is currently the case. The top four teams of the 18 will automatically qualify for the quarter-finals, while those ranked fifth to 12th will compete in a two-leg knockout playoff to reserve their place in the last eight.
Those who automatically qualify for the quarterfinals will be seeded and will play the second leg at home. From that moment on, the competition will follow the existing format until the final.
Regarding classification, the winners of the previous season are automatically classified, as well as the national champions of the six highest-ranked national federations. The runners-up from associations one and two will also proceed directly to the league stage, with the remaining places determined according to the qualification route.
In 2025/26, the champions and runners-up of France and Germany will automatically qualify for the league stage, along with the champions of Spain, England, Portugal and Italy.
Qualifying
League phase
Elimination rounds
13 teams will participate directly in the newly formed European Cup, these being the third-placed teams in the national league of associations 8-13 and the runners-up of federations 18-24. The European Cup will also offer a second chance to clubs eliminated in the third qualifying round, as well as to the runners-up and third-placed teams from the second qualifying round of the Champions League.
There will be no league stage or group stage in the European Cup, as it will be a direct knockout that will take place in parallel to the Champions League. Six rounds will be played in total, starting with the first and second qualifying rounds and concluding with a two-legged final at the end of the season.
The winners of this competition will automatically qualify for the third qualifying round of next season’s Women’s Champions League champions path, meaning they will only have one round to negotiate a place in the league stage of the main tournament .
