Sporting learn first hurdle on road to the Champions League | OneFootball

The draw held this Thursday in Nyon, Switzerland, determined that the Sporting women’s team - already preparing for the upcoming season - will face Ukraine’s SeaSters in the second qualifying round of the Women’s Champions League, while newcomers Torreense will take on Italy’s Juventus.

Both teams, who finished second and third in the last edition of the women’s league, have been placed in groups in the League Path, which brings together the runners-up and third-placed teams from Europe’s main leagues. As for the Lionesses’ opponent, SeaSters finished the last Ukrainian league season in second place, just one year after winning the second division.

Sporting, who last season failed to reach the league phase and were relegated to the Europa Cup, are required to win their respective mini-tournament - contested by four teams, with two semi-finals, a final and a third-place match - to secure a place in the third qualifying round.

The mini-tournaments in the second qualifying round will be played between 5 and 8 August, guaranteeing the winners a place in the final access stage, from which nine teams will advance to the league phase, which will be played over two legs. In Sporting’s case, Group Four includes Sporting, SeaSters, Young Boys and St. Polten.

The league phase will be contested by 18 teams, nine coming through qualification - four of them via the champions path and another five via the league path - as well as another nine that will enter directly, including Benfica, the current national champions.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.