UEFA have confirmed the access list and the dates for the new format tournament. Dates: First qualifying round (one-venue mini-tournaments) Semi-finals: 18 August Final/third-place play-off: 21 August Second qualifying round First leg: 31 August/1 September Second leg: 8/9 September Group stage Matchday 1: 5/6 October Matchday 2: 13/14 October Matchday 3: 9/10 November Matchday 4: 17/18 November Matchday 5: 8/9 December Matchday 6: 15/16 December Quarter-finals First leg: 22/23 March Second leg: 30/31 March Semi-finals First leg: 23/24 April Second leg: 30 April/1 May Final (Juventus Stadium, Turin) Sunday 22 May Entries The six highest-ranked associations will have three entries: France, Germany, Spain, England, Sweden, Czech Republic The next ten highest-ranked associations will have two entries: Denmark, Netherlands, Italy, Kazakhstan, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Scotland, Russia, Belarus Every other association is entitled to one entry Format Four teams will qualify directly for the group stage with the other 12 spots decided by two routes: champions path (7 qualifiers) and league path (5 qualifiers). Both paths will have the same format. Round 1 will be played as four-team knockout mini-tournaments with the final winners progressing. Round 2 will be played as two-legged knockout ties.
The wikipedia page on those tournaments are really top quality. We have a few teams already qualified: Sweden: Koppabergs/Goteborg ( champions), Kristianstad and Rosengard. Kazakhstan : Biik- Kazygurt and Okzheptes who have just been eliminated in the qualifying round 1 this season Iceland: Valur Reykjavik and Breidablik Finland: Aland United Belarus: Dinamo- BGU and FC Minsk Lituania: Gintra Universitetas Estonia: Flora Latvia: Rigas FC A reminder also that the Tokyo Olympics will be played 21 Jul to 6 Aug. That's 12 days before Round 1. You would expect a few players from the Olympics to get rested or go straight into their club pre-season after the Olympics and hope for no injury in the lead up to the Euros
Round 1 entries in the League path ( where all the fun will happen) FRA 3, GER 3, SPA 3, ENG 3, Kristianstad, CZE 3, DEN 2, NED 2, ITA 2, Okzheptes, Rosenborg, Valur, SUI 2, SCO 2, Lokomotiv Moscow, FC Minsk Round 2 entries in the League path FRA 2, GER 2, SPA 2, ENG 2, Rosengard, CZE 2 and all the Round 1 winners. No doubt UEFA will make sure teams from the same country cannot play each other before the group stage. The top 4 countries might well win their Round 1 group. And we could end up with a PSG v Man United tie or Wolfsburg v Real Madrid for example.
Based on this assumption and with League tables as of today, the League path would see the following 10 teams fighting for the 5 spots in the group stage. teams in bold are the four teams that would come through Round 1 1 Lyon 135.700 2 Wolfsburg 106.090 3 Man City 88.110 4 Slavia Praha 60.540 5 Rosengard 54.365 ------------------------------- Arsenal 36.110 Bordeaux 29.700 Hoffenheim 24.090 Real Madrid 20.130 Levante 20.130
And with the men Superleague being created, we could end up with the 12 teams (AC Milan, Arsenal , Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter, Juventus, Liverpool, Man City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham) also ejected from the WCL next season. There is a lot of uncertainty for sure a good number of those teams will qualify for next season. Liverpool and Tottenham will not qualify for the WCL 2021/22 for sure.
Let's hope this things get stopped. Men's football has already been ruined, let women's football alone, please.
New financial distribution model for the 2021-25 cycle in UEFA Women’s Champions League Total rewards = 24 million euro (4 times greater than current figure) min. 400k euro to each club participating in group stage 1.4m euro for the winners 5.6m euro in solidarity payment for domestic leagues ⚽ 𝟭𝟭 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 why the new @UWCL format will revolutionise the women's game in Europe.👊 𝗕𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿, 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿!#UWCL pic.twitter.com/woGuqGGTad— UEFA (@UEFA) April 27, 2021
Also VAR from the quarter-finals. It means no game at Borehamwood or at the Camp des Loges because they can't put VAR there, those are shitty stadiums.
Normally I would say "Wow, amazing, VAR from the quarters. The women are getting respect!" But after this EPL season I'm not sure I'd wish it on anyone and wonder if that's a good or bad thing. VAR just seems to pass questionable decisions up off the field to a guy in a booth who is often more inept and it just obfuscates and makes things more hidden. Can't remember who it was but the other day I heard someone saying players will score and there will be no celebrating while everyone waits for a VAR check and then there will be mad celebrations. In Europe you are incredibly lucky to be spoiled for small venues (what we call SSS soccer-specific stadiums here in North America). Compared to what I'm used to here, Borehamwood is a bit of a dream. Fantastic pitch, for a viewer you can basically stand beside a goalpost, small and intimate on the team bench side, good chippy, easy walk from the train. I bought an old Borehamwood jersey for a pound and a half there a couple years ago from the small shack at the end that was the team store.
Exactly as you say: VAR only works when you've got sound people reviewing the video and making the calls--and some of them do not have sound judgment. Arsenal men lost a goal the other day on an offside ruling that was a joke. The player was onside by any rational standard--no part of his body was beyond the line--but apparently the VAR official detected a stray strand of hair or something and negated the goal. That said, it does help if the ref has made an obviously bad call.
The qualifiers to the group stage will be massive. With 400k Euros in the pot, that's a big percentage of the annual budget of most clubs. Just getting there will save the season economically.
https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/abo...new-women-s-champions-league-financial-model/ Found a couple other interesting things in it: ...for the first time, making ‘solidarity’ payments to all top division clubs of UEFA national associations entering teams into the Women’s Champions League. These payments must be reinvested for development purposes. Welfare: the regulations will now safeguard the welfare of pregnant players and those that become mothers. From the start of the 2021/22 season, participating clubs will have the flexibility to alter their squad lists at any time during the season in order to temporarily replace players, either because they are pregnant, or because they leave for or return from maternity leave. Player development: The development of talented youth players is now central to competition regulations. The introduction of a B-List will allow clubs to supplement squad lists by including young players who meet specific criteria. Furthermore, from the 2022/23 season, UEFA plans to introduce a ‘locally trained player’ rule to nurture the growth of European homegrown talent.
The champions path could throw a few surprises, the League path will likely see the big teams go through especially if there is seeding and team cannot play teams from same countries.
UEFA have published the rules. We know what happens if the title holders qualify via its league. In theory you could have 4 teams from the same nation but not this year as all semi finalist will finish winner or runner up in their league. If TH already qualified for group stage ie FRA GER SPA champ ENG champ goes to group stage and Danish champ goes to round 2 If TH qualified for Round 2 as champion ie ENG champ its place in R2 is taken by Danish champ If TH qualified for Round 1 via the League path, nothing happens. I found nothing in the rules If the TH qualify via Round 1 in the champions path article 3.0.6 applies but honestly I did not understand it!
Update on direct qualification for the Group stage: TH: Barcelona or Chelsea FRA: PSG or Lyon GER: Bayern or Wolfsburg SPA: Barcelona 99% ( they need 5 points in 9 games) If Chelsea win the 2020/21 tournament, they go to the Group stage as title holders. a) they also win the FAWSL, the Danish champion take their place on Qualifying Round 2. b) if they finish runner-up in the FA WSL. the Danish runner-up take their place in the qualifying round 2 If Barca win the 2020/21 tournament, they go to the Group stage as title holders and number 1 side regardless of ranking. a) they don't win the Spanish league, Real Madrid or Levante also enter at Group stage- not gonna happen b) they win the Liga, the English champion Chelsea or Manchester City enter at group stage and the Danish champions take their place in qualifying round 2. Basically one of the Danish team is going to be promoted to qualifying round 2
The two of four teams qualifying directly for the Group stage are known: Barcelona and Chelsea. PSG/Lyon and Bayern Wolfsburg for the other two places. And looking at the coefficient the runner-ups in the French and German Leagues could end up playing Arsenal in qualifying Round 2 as the Gunners coefficient is quite low with only one participation in the last five years.
Group stage update: TH: Barcelona FRA: PSG or Lyon GER: Bayern or Wolfsburg SPA: Barcelona ENG: Chelsea
I am thinking UEFA is trying to make the women champions league look like the men champions league with the same teams participating in both competitions. If we look at big men's name that will be there: Barcelona, Lyon, PSG, Bayern, Juventus, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Bordeaux, AC Milan. Traditional women team only are disappearing from the competition.
It has begun some time ago. Big money comming from men's UCL wins are also (in some percentage) the fuel for club women's section developement. Bayern men's won UCL last season and their women section was left with more money to hire the bigger guns: Glas, Ilestedt, Asseyi, Zadrazil ...and Kumagai. Yes traditional women teams will disappear (from the top level) as they can't compete in terms of $$$ with juggernauts. Only NWSL is left... with couple clubs from WE League (ie. INAC Kobe) but as J.League clubs are getting more intrested in creating their own women's section it will quickly come to pass in Japan as well.
I don't necessarily UEFA is *trying* to make the women's competition look like the men's.... It's just a function of different men's clubs actually deciding to take notice and invest. That is, I don't see how the format changes have encouraged existing men's clubs to invest more than before, or moreso than independent clubs. It's not like in C'BOL where men's clubs are now required to field women's sides if they want to remain eligible for their own competition.
More places for big countries and more games for the 'big" teams was more or less a requirement by the ECA.
I guess, but at the same time, a slow expansion of the UWCL had already been underway, on top of how many fans an existing (independent) teams were already asking for the competition to be adapted to be more like the men's competition. The expansion and the group stage benefit all clubs, and even if the ECA specifically was asking for it, I don't think it wasn't eventually going to happen anyway or definitely favors "big" clubs.