How will the 2025/26 Women’s Champions League work? | OneFootball

There are more games, more competitiveness and more attention on the UEFA Women’s Champions League as Europe’s top club competition takes on a new format for 2025/26. What new challenges does that bring for FC Bayern Women and the other teams? Here’s all you need to know ahead of Friday’s draw…

New format

The Women’s Champions League has been expanded by two teams to 18 for the 2025/26 edition. The former group stage has now been replaced by one league phase in which every point counts towards progress. The teams are split into three pots according to their UEFA coefficient and will be drawn against two teams from each, meaning six opponents, of which three will be faced at home and three away. All nine fixtures on the final matchday will be played simultaneously as everything goes down to the wire.

The top four in the table will qualify automatically for the quarter-finals. The teams in places five to eight will contest a play-off against a team ranked nine to 12. The higher positioned teams in the table will get to play the second leg at home. The four play-off winners will then advance to quarter-finals to play one of the top four teams, who will also play the second leg at home, in the usual knockout format. At the same time, the draw will be made for the semi-finals. The final in May will be at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo.

After the new league phase and play-off round, the Women's Champions League continues in its usual knockout format.

Bayern’s possible opponents

Pot 1 1.  Barcelona 2.  OL Lyonnes 3.  Chelsea 4.  FC Bayern 5.  Wolfsburg (not a possible opponent) 6.  Arsenal

Pot 2 1.  Paris Saint-Germain 2.  Juventus 3.  Real Madrid 4.  Benfica 5.  Roma 6.  St. Pölten

Pot 3 1.  Twente 2.  Paris FC 3.  Manchester United 4.  Vålerenga 5.  Atlético Madrid 6.  Leuven

2025/26 UEFA Women’s Champions League 2026/26 key dates

FC Bayern Women reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season before losing to Lyon.

FC Bayern Women have kicked off the Bundesliga season with two wins:

Oberdorf bags brace as FCB Women down Leipzig