Qualifying for the UEFA Women’s Champions League delivered historic firsts as six clubs advanced, including landmark wins for teams from Armenia and Northern Ireland.
While holders Arsenal remain two months away from entering the competition at the league phase, champions from Europe’s lower-ranked countries began their campaigns in Round 1 of qualifying.
ABB Fomget, Athlone Town, Lanchkhuti, Ljuboten, Racing Union Luxembourg and Spartak Myjava all progressed from their respective knockout mini‑tournaments. It was a historic round, producing first-ever wins in the competition for both an Armenian club and a team from Northern Ireland. North Macedonia’s Ljuboten also became the first club from their country to progress in any UEFA women’s competition.
Round 2, also played as knockout mini‑tournaments, will take place on 27 and 30 August. The qualifiers are split into two paths: the Champions path, for domestic league winners, and the League path, for teams finishing second and third in their national leagues.
In the Champions path, seven group winners will advance to join St Pölten in the third qualifying round. In the League path, four group winners will progress to join Real Madrid, Häcken, Paris FC, Atlético de Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt and Sporting CP in the third qualifying round.
Manchester United enter the tournament in the second round after finishing third in the WSL, while Arsenal’s second‑place finish sees them begin their defence in the third round.
A further 22 teams from these mini‑tournaments will move into the new UEFA Women’s Europa Cup, with 11 group runners‑up entering its second qualifying round and 11 third‑place finishers entering its first qualifying round.
Second round fixtures:
Champions path
Group 1 (Hosts: Mura)
Semi‑finals (27 August): Mura v Spartak Myjava, BIIK‑Shymkent v GKS Katowice
Group 2 (Hosts: Apollon LFC)
Semi‑finals (27 August): Apollon LFC v Young Boys, Fortuna Hjørring v Hibernian
Group 3 (Hosts: OH Leuven)
Semi‑finals (27 August): SFK 2000 Sarajevo v OH Leuven, Rosengård v Ljuboten
Group 4 (Hosts: Vllaznia)
Semi‑finals (27 August): Ferencvárosi v Racing Union Luxembourg, Vllaznia v Dinamo‑BSUPC
Group 5 (Hosts: Gintra)
Semi‑finals (27 August): Gintra v Farul Constanța, Vorskla Poltava v Lanchkhuti
Group 6 (Hosts: Twente)
Semi‑finals (27 August): Twente v Crvena Zvezda, Breidablik v Athlone Town
Group 7 (Hosts: HJK Helsinki)
Semi‑finals (27 August): Slavia Praha v ABB Fomget, Vålerenga v HJK Helsinki
Finals and third‑place matches in all groups will be played on 30 August.
League path
Group 1 (Hosts: Hammarby)
Semi‑finals (27 August): Hammarby v Metalist 1925 Kharkiv, Manchester United v PSV Eindhoven
Group 2 (Hosts: Sparta Praha)
Semi‑finals (27 August): Roma v Aktobe, Sparta Praha v Nordsjælland
Group 3 (Hosts: Inter)
Semi‑finals (27 August): Valur v Braga, Brann v Inter
Group 4 (Hosts: Austria Wien)
Semi‑final (27 August): Glasgow City v Austria Wien
Bye to final (30 August): FC Minsk
After the third and final qualifying round, four teams from the Champions path and five from the League path will progress to the league phase, joining the nine teams who have already qualified directly: Arsenal (holders), Barcelona, Lyon, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg, Paris Saint‑Germain, Juventus and Benfica.