Women’s Champions League To Introduce New Format That Doesn’t Suck

The UEFA Women’s Champions League is the premier continental club competition in the sport. But there are currently so many problems with the Women's Champions League format right now that even the most devout of fans struggle to follow anything more than the last couple rounds.

Fortunately, UEFA recognized its own shortfalls and hopes to address them with a revamped Women's Champions League format to take effect in the 2021-22 season (unfortunately it won’t start next season). 

Two of the biggest problems with the UWCL right now are visibility (something almost every women’s league struggles with) and compelling competition. 

In the current format, after a qualifying round teams play in a 32-team knockout tournament. The first rounds are full of ridiculous blowouts, as when Lyon crushed Ryazan 16-0 on aggregate earlier this year. Just four of the opening 16 two-legged series were decided by one goal or less this season. Usually the competition doesn’t really become worth watching until around the semifinals. 

But worse than the lack of competitive matches is the lack of consistent TV or streaming coverage.

Currently, UEFA only centrally markets the final for TV/streaming. In all prior rounds, the home team is responsible for any broadcasts. This makes it almost impossible for anyone but the most ardent of followers to watch more than a handful of matches throughout the season.

Both of these shortcomings are being addressed in the new Women’s Champions League format.

Starting in the 2021-22 season, the current Round of 32 knockout format is being abolished in favor of a 16-team group stage. After two rounds of qualifying, teams will be broken down into four groups of four, with the top two in each group advancing to the quarterfinals.

 New #UWCL format from 2021/22 

 16-team group stage
 Central marketing and TV rights

How the new format will workhttps://t.co/IotVK9jKyy pic.twitter.com/DsIvJIHYxh

— #UWCL (@UWCL) December 4, 2019

This will create more compelling matches, fewer blowouts and provide more opportunities to watch the best teams in Europe. Most importantly, UEFA will be doing everything it can to encourage fans to watch.

Under the new Women's Champions League format, UEFA will produce every game from the group stage on for TV or streaming broadcasts. Additionally, at least eight matches (two in qualifying Round 2, four in the group stage and both quarterfinal legs) will be scheduled to avoid other major soccer competitions (such as the men’s Champions League) to allow for a greater audience. 

#GameChanger@UWCL gets group stage and exposure!#TimeForAction #womensfootball https://t.co/HUya5oikFF

— Nadine Kessler (@NaddelKe) December 4, 2019

It’s hard to understate how big of a positive shift this is for women’s soccer. 

For years the sport has struggled to build a consistent following because the men in charge failed to give it the opportunity to thrive. Little to no TV coverage, too many blowouts and on the occasion you could find the match to watch, there was probably a men’s game going on at the same time that drew most of the attention. 

The new Women's Champions League format will also allow for more top teams to qualify. Previously, a maximum of two teams per country could qualify. Under the new format, as many as three will be able to qualify. This means the top leagues — France, Germany, England, etc. — will be better rewarded for having stronger competition, while lower leagues will have to improve to reach the meat of the tournament. The new format allows this while also ensuring at least 10 different countries are represented in the group stage by creating Champions and League paths of qualification. 

Below is the full Women's Champions League format, which will go into effect in 2021-22. 

Women's Champions League Format 2021-22

Round 1

• Champions Path: Champions from associations ranked 7 and below play mini tournaments with four teams each (semifinals, final). The 11 winners advance to Round 2.
• League Path: Third-placed teams from associations ranked 1-6 and runners-up from associations 7-16 play mini tournaments with four teams each. The four winners advance to Round 2.

Round 2

• Champions Path: The champions from associations ranked 4-6 plus the winners from Round 1 play in two-legged home-and-away series. The seven winners advance to Group Stage.
• League Path: Runners-up from associations ranked 1-6 and the Round 1 winners play in two-legged home-and-away series. The five winners advance to Group Stage.

Group Stage

• The 12 Champions and League Path winners are joined by the champions of the associations ranked 1-3 plus the defending champion to be drawn into four groups of four. All teams play each group member twice, home and away. The top two teams in each group (eight total) advance to the Knockout Phase.

Knockout Phase

• The quarterfinals and semifinals are played over two legs while the final is a one-off at a neutral site, scheduled to be played the weekend before the men’s Champions League final.