UWCL DRAW: Chelsea face Spanish test in third qualifying round | OneFootball

Chelsea will face Spanish club Real Sociedad in this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League’s third qualifying round.

The draw for the third qualifying round of this season’s competition took place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland this morning.

In total, 18 clubs entered the third qualifying round draw. The draw was split into two paths; the Champions Path (made up of eight teams) and the League Path (made up of 10 teams). Chelsea went into the draw as one of the five seeded sides in the League Path.

The draw determined that Chelsea will face Spanish Liga F Moeve side Real Sociedad in the third qualifying round. The tie will be played out in the traditional knockout format over two legs. The first leg will be staged in England on 26 August 2026 while the second leg will provisionally take place in Spain on 2 September 2026. Kick-off times will be finalised and publicised within the next 36 hours.

The winners of the third qualifying round ties will advance to the 18-team League Phase which was initially launched by UEFA last season.

Barclays Women’s Super League champions Manchester City and runners-up Arsenal will go straight into the League Phase. The League Phase draw is set to be conducted by UEFA on 27 August 2026.