Starting from the 2025/26 season, UEFA will introduce the Women’s Europa Cup, a second women’s football club competition designed to expand access to international football and provide additional opportunities for clubs eliminated early in the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL).
The tournament will follow a full knock-out format, with home-and-away ties culminating in a two-legged final.
Qualification Criteria
Teams will qualify for the Women’s Europa Cup through two routes:
- Direct Entry:
- Thirteen teams will qualify directly, comprising third-placed teams from domestic leagues ranked 8–13 (Czechia, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Austria, and Ukraine) and runners-up from leagues ranked 18–24 (Switzerland, Serbia, Albania, Cyprus, Belgium, Russia*, and Finland).
- Bosnia will replace Russia if the latter’s ban is extended.
- Via UWCL Eliminations:
- Eleven teams eliminated in the UWCL second qualifying round will enter the Europa Cup first qualifying round.
- An additional 20 teams eliminated from the UWCL second and third qualifying rounds will enter the Europa Cup second qualifying round.
Tournament Schedule
The competition’s timeline is as follows:
- First Qualifying Round
- Draw: 8 August (TBC), Nyon
- First leg: 10/11 September
- Second leg: 17/18 September
- Second Qualifying Round
- Draw: 19 September (TBC), Nyon
- First leg: 7/8 October
- Second leg: 15/16 October
- Round of 16
- Draw: 19 September (TBC), Nyon
- First leg: 11/12 November
- Second leg: 19/20 November
- Quarter-Finals
- Draw: 19 September (TBC), Nyon
- First leg: 11/12 February
- Second leg: 18/19 February
- Semi-Finals
- Draw: 19 September (TBC), Nyon
- First leg: 24/25 March
- Second leg: 1/2 April
- Final (Two Legs)
- Draw to decide order: 19 September (TBC), Nyon
- First leg: 25/26 April
- Second leg: 2/3 May
Key differences from the men’s format
Unlike the men’s Europa League, teams from top leagues like the Barclays WSL, Arkema PL, Liga F, and Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga do not receive direct entry to the Women’s Europa Cup. However, clubs from these leagues may participate if eliminated during the UWCL qualifying rounds.
This new competition reflects UEFA’s commitment to enhancing women’s football by offering more teams a chance to compete on the European stage while strengthening the development of the game across the continent.