Record revenue distribution for UEFA women’s club competitions

The 2025/26 season marks the start of a new five-year cycle for women’s club football in Europe.

There will be an exciting transformation of club competitions as the UEFA Women's Champions League adopts an 18-team league phase alongside the introduction of the brand-new UEFA Women's Europa Cup – a two-legged knockout competition which opens the doors of European football to more teams than ever before.

A new financial distribution model will support this evolution, with centralised media and sponsorship rights enhancing the visibility of the competition, in turn attracting more revenues and rewarding participating clubs in accordance with their performance and contribution to the generation of revenue, while also ensuring consistent solidarity across the women's football ecosystem.

How much is projected to be available for distribution each season?

The revenue from media and sponsorship is projected to vary over the next five years, with a substantial increase from season three onwards. Based on this increase in revenue forecast, a distribution model, consisting of two parts and a slight variation of shares across the beneficiaries, has been developed.

Part 1 includes the first two seasons (2025/26 and 2026/27), when it is projected that €37.7m per season will be available for distribution, and Part 2 covers the last three seasons (2027/28, 2028/29 and 2029/30), when it is projected that €46.7m per season will be available for distribution.

How much will participating clubs in the UEFA Women's Champions League receive?

The funds will be allocated between four groups of beneficiaries – clubs participating in the league phase onwards in the UEFA Women's Champions League, clubs which participated in qualifying for the UEFA Women's Champions League, clubs participating in the new UEFA Women's Europa Cup, and all non-participating clubs in Europe's top divisions (i.e. divisions that have club representation in the UEFA Women's Champions League).

From 2025 to 2027, clubs participating from the league phase onwards will benefit from a total of €18.2m. This will increase to €24.1m from 2027 to 2030.

The distributions assigned to league phase clubs will be allocated on a 50-50 basis: 50% will be made up of starting fees and the remaining 50% will comprise performance-based bonuses. The starting fees will be shared equally between all 18 clubs in the league phase, with each participant receiving €505,000 from 2025–2027 and €670,000 from 2027–2030.

Performance bonuses in the league phase will be paid per win and per draw, in addition to a league ranking bonus. There will also be staggered knockout phase bonuses, meaning the eventual champions could earn up to €1.995m in the first two seasons, and €2.8m from 2027/28 onwards – significant increases of 41% and 99% on the maximum €1.41m in the current format.

The proposed performance bonuses are summarised in the table below:

How much will the other beneficiaries receive?

All beneficiaries will receive an increased figure compared to the previous 2021-25 cycle. Teams eliminated in the UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying rounds will benefit from an increased pot of €7.7m from 2025–2027 and €9.1m from 2027–2030, receiving a fixed amount for each round they reach, and a performance bonus based on their final positions in the respective qualifying mini-tournaments.

The total distributions allocated to the UEFA Women's Europa Cup amount to €5.6m from 2025–2027 and will increase to €6.2m from 2027–2030. Participating clubs will earn a fixed amount for each round reached.

Non-participating clubs will benefit from a share of €6.2m from 2025–2027 and €7.3m from 2027–2030, with distributions determined by the same model as for the 2021–25 cycle.

Where does the projected distribution amount come from?

The vast increase in revenue available for distribution is largely due to the full centralisation of media and sponsorship rights, a huge new step as of the league phase onwards this season, aiming to bring more visibility and value to the competition. As a result, revenue is set to increase 122% compared to previous cycles.

The total available for distribution has been calculated from projected revenue from media and sponsorship contracts, UEFA Women's Champions League final matchday revenue, cross-financing from UEFA men's club competitions and additional UEFA investment. Projected running costs for the two women's club competitions have been deducted to establish the overall figures.

How was the new financial distribution model devised?

A specific UEFA women’s club competitions working group was set up to review the financial distribution system and advise on the post-2025 distribution model.

The group, chaired by UEFA vice-president Laura McAllister, consisted of members of the UEFA Women’s Football Committee, as well as representatives of the European Club Association (ECA), clubs and leagues.