UEFA: New season starts here Monday, 14 June 2004 The draw for next season's UEFA Women's Cup will take place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland, at 13.00CET on Tuesday. www.uefa.com
The draw has taken place for the first and second qualifying rounds: www.uefa.com The first round consists of nine groups, each with four teams in. The winner of each group will progress to join the seeded teams in four second-round groups also consisting of four teams each. In turn the top two clubs from the second round groups will qualify for the quarter-finals. The seeded teams are: Umeå IK (Sweden) Djurgårdens/Älvsjö (Sweden) 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam (Germany) Trondheims-Ørn (Norway) Brøndby IF (Denmark) Arsenal Ladies FC (England) FC Foroni Verona (Italy)
Seems like they didn't use seeding to determine the first round groups. In group A4 you'll find the dutch, finnish and icelandic champions, all european top 10 nations, while e.g. group A3 is Hungary, Belorussia, Estonia and Moldavia which is mostly bottom 10. That said I think it's a good idea to start using rankings and seeding in this competition. I would like to see it getting even closer to the Champions Leagus format in allowing more than one representative from the highest ranking countries. Can't see any harm in having both Turbine Potsdam and FFC Frankfurt in the competition. My personal prediction for the second round (already seeded clubs in bold): Group B1 Umeå IK (SWE) Rapide Wezemaal (BEL) Malmin Palloseura (FIN) Hungarian champions Group B2 Djurgårdens/Älvsjö (SWE) Arsenal Ladies FC (ENG) Frauen FC Zuchwil (SUI) Athletic Club (ESP) Group B3 Turbine Potsdam (GER) Foroni Verona (ITA) Montpellier (FRA) Metallist Kharkov (UKR) Group B4 Trondheims-Ørn (NOR) Brøndby IF (DEN) Czech champions FC Energy Voronezh (RUS) Though I guess DennisM, who seems to know just about everything there is to know about these things, would be able to point out some glaring omissions
They obviously made three regional groups. Whether or not they seeded within these groups, I don't know (rumour knows they did). Yes, and a 3rd Swedish team, and a 2nd from Norway. At the end of the day, it's a financial question. Maybe it's a solution to cut the budget for semi-final and final?! The teams playing there get live TV coverage and extra sponsorship money. Then you have the money on hand to play more "mini-tournaments", what you have to do when allowing more teams. Group B4 Trondheims-Ørn (NOR) Brøndby IF (DEN) Slavia Praha (Czech champions) FC Energy Voronezh (RUS) That's the only tough group, since Voronezh are kind-off all-russian selection, and they acquired US defender Benson and German U19-NT player Sabrina Rastetter.
First qualifying round: Group A1 Slavia Praha (Czech Republic) Alma KTZH (Kazakhstan) FK MŠK Žiar nad Hronom (Slovakia) * FC LP Super Sport Sofia (Bulgaria) Group A2 FC Energy Voronezh (Russia) Gömrükçü Baku (Azerbaijan) FC Scionjat (F.Y.R. Macedonia) Gintra-Universitetas (Lithuania) * Group A3 FC Bobruichanka (Belarus) * Viktória FC (Hungary) FC Codru Anenii Noi (Moldova) Pärnu Football Club (Estonia) Group A4 Ter Leede (Netherlands) Malmin Palloseura (Finland) FR Reykjavik (Iceland) ŽNK Krka Novo Mesto (Slovenia) * Group A5 Masinac-Classic (Serbia and Montenegro) Hibernian LFC (Scotland) KFC Rapide Wezemaal (Belgium) * ŽNK Maksimir (Croatia) Group A6 Metallist Kharkov (Ukraine) AZS Wroclaw (Poland) * KÍ Klaksvík (Faroe Islands) Cardiff City LFC (Wales) Group A7 Athletic Club (Spain) CFF Clujana (Romania) * Newtownabbey Strikers WFC (Northern Ireland) Maccabi Holon FC (Israel) Group A8 Frauen FC Zuchwil (Switzerland) A.E. Aegina (Greece) SFK 2000 Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) * Ledra (Cyprus) Group A9 Montpellier (France) * S. União 1° Dezembro (Portugal) UCD Women's Football Club (Ireland) SV Neulengbach (Austria) * hosts of the mini-tournaments
First day of the first round: Group A1 Slavia Praha (CZE) - FK MŠK Žiar nad Hronom (SVK) 4-0 Alma KTZH (KAZ) - FC LP Super Sport Sofia (BUL) 5-1 Group A2 FC Energy Voronezh (RUS) - FC Scionjat (MKD) 13-0 Gömrükçü Baku (AZE) - Gintra-Universitetas (LIT) 3-0 Group A3 FC Bobruichanka (BLR) - FC Codru Anenii Noi (MOL) 2-0 Viktória FC (HUN) - Pärnu Football Club (EST) 4-0 Group A4 Ter Leede (NED) - KR Reykjavik (ISL) 0-1 Malmin Palloseura (FIN) - ŽNK Krka Novo Mesto (SLO) 1-2 Group A5 Hibernian LFC (SCO) - ŽNK Maksimir (CRO) 5-0 Masinac-Classic (SCG) - KFC Rapide Wezemaal (BEL) 4-1 Group A6 Metallist Kharkov (UKR) - KÍ Klaksvík (FAR) 2-1 AZS Wroclaw (POL) - Cardiff City LFC (WAL) 2-1 Group A7 Athletic Bilbao (ESP) - Newtownabbey Strikers WFC (NIR) 10-3 CFF Clujana (ROM) - Maccabi Holon FC (ISR) 0-0 Group A9 S. União 1° Dezembro (POR) - SV Neulengbach (AUT) 1-3 Montpellier (FRA) - UCD Women's Football Club (IRL) 5-0
Group A1 Slavia Praha (CZE) - FC LP Super Sport Sofia (BUL) 3-0 FK MŠK Žiar nad Hronom (SVK) - Alma KTZH (KAZ) 0-4 Group A2 FC Scionjat (MKD) - Gömrükçü Baku (AZE) 1-13 FC Energy Voronezh (RUS) - Gintra-Universitetas (LIT) 11-0 Group A3 FC Codru Anenii Noi (MOL) - Viktória FC (HUN) 1-1 FC Bobruichanka (BLR) - Pärnu Football Club (EST) 2-1 Group A4 KR Reykjavik (ISL) - Malmin Palloseura (FIN) 3-1 Ter Leede (NED) - ŽNK Krka Novo Mesto (SLO) 2-0 Group A5 Masinac-Classic (SCG) - ŽNK Maksimir Zagreb (CRO) 2-0 KFC Rapide Wezemaal (BEL) - Hibernian LFC (SCO) 2-3 Group A6 Metallist Kharkov (UKR) - Cardiff City LFC (WAL) 8-1 KÍ Klaksvík (FAR) - AZS Wroclaw (POL) 1-5 Group A7 Athletic Bilbao (ESP) - Maccabi Holon FC (ISR) 1-1 Newtownabbey Strikers WFC (NIR) - CFF Clujana (ROM) 0-3 Group A8 Frauen FC Zuchwil (SUI) - Ledra (CYP) 13-1 SFK 2000 Sarajevo (BHZ) - AE Aegina (GRE) 0-2 Group A9 UCD Women's Football Club (IRL) - S. União 1° Dezembro (POR) 1-1 Montpellier (FRA) - SV Neulengbach (AUT) 7-0
Standings Code: [B]Group A1[/B] Alma KTZH (KAZ) 2 2 0 0 9-1 6 Slavia Praha (CZE) 2 2 0 0 7-0 6 FC LP Super Sport Sofia (BUL) 2 0 0 2 1-8 0 FK MŠK Žiar nad Hronom (SVK) 2 0 0 2 0-8 0 [B]Group A2[/B] FC Energy Voronezh (RUS) 2 2 0 0 24- 0 6 Gömrükçü Baku (AZE) 2 2 0 0 16- 1 6 Gintra Universitetas (LIT) 2 0 0 2 0-14 0 KFF Sciponjat (MKD) 2 0 0 2 1-26 0 [B]Group A3[/B] FC Bobruichanka (BLR) 2 2 0 0 4-1 6 WHC Viktoria FC (HUN) 2 1 1 0 5-1 4 FC Codru Anenii Noi (MOL) 2 0 1 1 1-3 1 Pärnu FC (EST) 2 0 0 2 1-6 0 [B]Group A4[/B] KR Reykjavik (ISL) 2 2 0 0 4-1 6 Ter Leede (NED) 2 1 0 1 2-1 3 ŽNK Krka Novo Mesto (SLO) 2 1 0 1 2-3 3 Malmin Palloseura (FIN) 2 0 0 2 2-5 0 [B]Group A5[/B] Hibernian LFC (SCO) 2 2 0 0 8-2 6 Mašinac-Classic (SCG) 2 2 0 0 6-1 6 KFC Rapide Wezemaal (BEL) 2 0 0 2 3-7 0 ŽNK Maksimir (CRO) 2 0 0 2 0-7 0 [B]Group A6[/B] Metallist Kharkov (UKR) 2 2 0 0 10- 2 6 AZS Wroclaw (POL) 2 2 0 0 7- 2 6 KÍ Klaksvik (FAR) 2 0 0 2 2- 7 0 Cardiff City LFC (WAL) 2 0 0 2 2-10 0 [B]Group A7[/B] Athletic Bilbao (ESP) 2 1 1 0 11- 4 4 CFF Clujana (ROM) 2 1 1 0 3- 0 4 Maccabi Holon FC (ISR) 2 0 2 0 1- 1 2 Newtownabbey Strikers WFC (NIR) 2 0 0 2 3-13 0 [B]Group A8[/B] Frauen FC Zuchwil (SUI) 2 2 0 0 17- 1 6 AE Aegina (GRE) 2 2 0 0 9- 0 6 SFK 2000 Sarajevo (BHZ) 2 0 0 2 0- 6 0 Ledra (CYP) 2 0 0 2 1-20 0 [B]Group A9[/B] Montpellier (FRA) 2 2 0 0 12-0 6 SV Neulengbach (AUT) 2 1 0 1 3-8 3 S. União 1º Dezembro (POR) 2 0 1 1 2-4 1 Univ. College Dublin WFC (IRL) 2 0 1 1 1-6 1 Montpellier through to the second round.
I'm mighty confused by the format of this competition, but I saw this Italian news article which may or may not be of interest: http://it.sports.yahoo.com/040723/8/2bc4.html It says that last season's Italian Cup-winners Torres Terra Sarda (based in Sassari, Sardinia) have been accepted into the competition. The article talks about hosting the "Group 3" qualifying round September 13-19, but it could just be that they are bidding for the rights to host. So haven't all the participants been identified already? Or is this just old news that's finally coming to the surface ...
What we are following now are 36 teams playing for 9 spots in the second round, where they will be joined by last season's champions and 6 seeded teams, the representatives from Sweden, Germany, Norway, Denmark, England and Italy. Information from UEFA indicated earlier that the italian team should be Foroni Verona (check here: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/WomenCup/news/Kind=1/newsId=192975.html), a team I've actually heard about before. But a sardinian one?? Cup winner? Not league champions? Has Verona for some reason been forced to withdraw??
Is the final nomination of the entry up to the Italian federation? Torres did defeat Verona 6-0 in the Coppa Italia final (and came in second in the league), so perhaps they were given the nod on that basis. No further explanation is given at the league's official site, besides a press release containing the same information as in the above article. www.divisionecalciofemminile.it
Yes, the national federation decides which team to enter: "UEFA member associations may enter either the winners or the runners-up of the domestic women's championship or the national women's cup competition" according to UEFA's regulations for the competition, which I just checked. Still, kinda late entry, after the draw has taken place.
I think Jenny Benson is playing for FC Energy Voronezh (RUS) but are any other notible names on any of these teams from the WUSA? Probally a lot of them so forgive me I am just trying to give myself a rooting interest when seeing text results The answer is probally lenghty so is there an official website you can [rovide so that stat crazy people like me can view the rosters? Crazy Larry Women's US National Team @ CORDOVA Inc. http://www.cordovainc.com/wusnt
Group A1 Alma KTZH (KAZ) - Slavia Praha (CZE) 2-1 FC LP Super Sport Sofia (BUL) - FK MŠK Žiar nad Hronom (SVK) 2-2 Group A2 Gömrükçü Baku (AZE) - FC Energy Voronezh (RUS) 0-3 Gintra-Universitetas (LIT) - FC Scionjat (MKD) 1-0 Group A4 ŽNK Krka Novo Mesto (SLO) - KR Reykjavik (ISL) 2-1 Malmin Palloseura (FIN) - Ter Leede (NED) 1-1 Group A5 Hibernian LFC (SCO) - Masinac-Classic (SCG) 1-4 ŽNK Maksimir Zagreb (CRO) - KFC Rapide Wezemaal (BEL) 0-2 Group A6 AZS Wroclaw (POL) - Metallist Kharkov (UKR) 2-0 Cardiff City LFC (WAL) - KÍ Klaksvík (FAR) 0-4 Group A7 CFF Clujana (ROM) - Athletic Bilbao (ESP) 0-5 Maccabi Holon FC (ISR) - Newtownabbey Strikers WFC (NIR) 2-2 Group A9 S. União 1° Dezembro (POR) - Montpellier (FRA) 0-1 SV Neulengbach (AUT) - UCD WFC (IRL) 4-2
Final standings Code: [B]Group A1 Alma KTZH (KAZ) 3 3 0 0 11-2 9[/B] Slavia Praha (CZE) 3 2 0 1 8-2 6 FC LP Super Sport Sofia (BUL) 3 0 1 2 3-10 1 FK MŠK Žiar nad Hronom (SVK) 3 0 1 2 2-10 1 [B]Group A2 FC Energy Voronezh (RUS) 3 3 0 0 27- 0 9[/B] Gömrükçü Baku (AZE) 3 2 0 1 16- 4 6 Gintra Universitetas (LIT) 3 1 0 2 1-14 3 KFF Sciponjat (MKD) 3 0 0 3 1-27 0 Code: [B]Group A4 ŽNK Krka Novo Mesto (SLO) 3 2 0 1 4-4 6[/B] KR Reykjavik (ISL) 3 2 0 1 5-3 6 Ter Leede (NED) 3 1 1 1 3-2 4 Malmin Palloseura (FIN) 3 0 1 2 3-6 1 [B]Group A5 Mašinac-Classic (SCG) 3 3 0 0 10-2 9[/B] Hibernian LFC (SCO) 3 2 0 1 9-6 6 KFC Rapide Wezemaal (BEL) 3 1 0 2 5-7 3 ŽNK Maksimir (CRO) 3 0 0 3 0-9 0 [B]Group A6 AZS Wroclaw (POL) 3 3 0 0 9- 2 9[/B] Metallist Kharkov (UKR) 3 2 0 1 10- 4 6 KÍ Klaksvik (FAR) 3 1 0 2 6- 7 3 Cardiff City LFC (WAL) 3 0 0 3 2-14 0 [B]Group A7 Athletic Bilbao (ESP) 3 2 1 0 16- 4 7[/B] CFF Clujana (ROM) 3 1 1 1 3- 5 4 Maccabi Holon FC (ISR) 3 0 3 0 3- 3 3 Newtownabbey Strikers WFC (NIR) 3 0 1 2 5-15 1 Code: [B]Group A9 Montpellier (FRA) 3 3 0 0 13- 0 9[/B] SV Neulengbach (AUT) 3 2 0 1 7-10 6 S. União 1º Dezembro (POR) 3 0 1 2 2- 5 1 Univ. College Dublin WFC (IRL) 3 0 1 2 3-10 1
Group A3 WHC Viktória FC (HUN) - FC Bobruichanka (BLR) 1-3 Pärnu JK (EST) - FC Codru Anenii Noi (MOL) 1-5 Group A8 AE Aegina (GRE) - Frauen FC Zuchwil (SUI) 1-0 Ledra (CYP) - SFK 2000 Sarajevo (BHZ) 0-5 Final standings Code: [B]Group A3 FC Bobruichanka (BLR) 3 3 0 0 7-2 9[/B] WHC Viktoria FC (HUN) 3 1 1 1 6-4 4 FC Codru Anenii Noi (MOL) 3 1 1 1 6-4 4 Pärnu JK (EST) 3 0 0 3 2-11 0 [B]Group A8 AE Aegina (GRE) 3 3 0 0 10- 0 9[/B] Frauen FC Zuchwil (SUI) 3 2 0 1 17- 2 6 SFK 2000 Sarajevo (BHZ) 3 1 0 2 5- 6 3 Ledra (CYP) 3 0 0 3 1-25 0
Second round (13/19 Sep 2004) Group B1 Umeå IK (SWE) ŽFK Mašinac-Classic (SCG) ŽNK Krka Novo Mesto (SLO) FC Bobruichanka (BLR) Group B2 Djurgården/Älvsjö (SWE) Arsenal (ENG) AE Aegina (GRE) Athletic Club Bilbao (ESP) Group B3 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam (GER) Torres Terra Sarda (ITA) Montpellier HSC (FRA) AZS Wroclaw (POL) Group B4 Trondheims-Ørn (NOR) Brøndby (DEN) Alma KTZH (KAZ) FC Energy Voronezh (RUS)
How odd that uefa.com is still reporting Foroni Verona as the Italian rep. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/WomenCup/news/Kind=1/newsId=209908.html Did you find other confirmation that it's Torres Terra, or are you just assuming they're mistaken?
It usually takes a while for news to appear on uefa.com, they have always been slow on updating. I don't know if the Italians had previously nominated Foroni Verona or if uefa.com just assumed that they would be nominated since they won the league. Anyway, the Italians have now nominated Torres Terra Sarda. I don't know the reasoning behind this decision. Maybe it's because Foroni Verona has withdrawn, I have heard rumours that they have problems with their economy. The Italians claim that UEFA have accepted this late nomination. I have no official confirmation from UEFA yet, but according to the rules UEFA can accept a nomination even after the deadline has passed:
The hosts of the second round mini-tournaments will be decided this week. This is how the decision is made:
Umeå f***ed up as usual. They still haven't gotten the deal with UEFA they wanted, which would have meant that no opponent could turn down playing on the artificial turf at Gammliavallen. They said after caving in to UEFA and Frankfurt back in April that they (Umeå, I mean) would not participate 2004/05 if the turf issue had not been settled ahead of time. They look very much like they are participating right now, so, what's up with that? Are they planning to pull out _now_ just before the second qualifying stage is decided? Or are they planning to play on as if nothing has ever happened until the first time an opponent uses her right to not play on artificial turf? Well well... We'll see what happens...