2020/21 Women's Champions League: new format, match calendar

The 2021 UEFA Women's Champions League final will be played in May at Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, and the season's dates have been confirmed.

On 16 September, the UEFA Executive Committee decided to postpone and amend the format due to the current COVID-19 situation across Europe, in order to further mitigate risks by granting UEFA, clubs and national associations more time to adapt to the evolving situation and thoroughly prepare matches, travels as well as the implementation of the UEFA Return to Play Protocol.

The main change is the previous qualifying round mini-tournaments will be replaced by two single-legged knockout rounds. Details of entries and draw dates will be confirmed.

• UEFA Women's Champions League association coefficient rankings
• Five substitutions allowed in all games from bench of 12 players

Dates: road to Gothenburg

First qualifying round draw: 12:00 CET, 22 October, Nyon
First qualifying round: 3/4 November 2020
Second qualifying round draw: 12:00 CET, 6 November, Nyon
Second qualifying round: 18/19 November 2020
Round of 32 draw: 12:00 CET, 24 November, Nyon
Round of 32: 9/10 & 15/16 December 2020
Round of 16 draw: 16 February 2021
Round of 16: 3/4 & 10/11 March 2021
Quarter-final & Semi-final draw: 12 March 2021
Quarter-finals: 23/24 March & 31 March/1 April 2021
Semi-finals: 24/25 April & 1/2 May 2021
Final: 16 May 2021 (Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg)

Entries

In all 62 clubs from 50 associations have entered. The 12 highest-ranking nations in the UEFA Women's Champions League association coefficient rankings at the end of 2018/19 have two entries: France, Germany, England, Sweden, Spain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Norway and Kazakhstan (the first time for the Netherlands and Kazakhstan). All other entrant associations have one representative.

Holders Lyon and the remaining champions from the 12 top-ranked nations will have byes to the last 32 along with the runners-up from the ten top-ranked nations. The other 40 entrants will begin in the first qualifying round.

Final venue: Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg

A short distance from the Ullevi stadium, which staged several UEFA and European Cup Winners' Cup finals, Gamla Ullevi opened in 2009 – replacing another arena of the same name. It was the venue for four games at UEFA Women's EURO 2013, including the opening match and a semi-final, as well as four 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship fixtures. Gamla Ullevi is the regular home of the Sweden women's national team as well as clubs GAIS, IFK Göteborg and Örgryte.

It will be the first time that a UEFA Women's Champions League final has been played in Sweden, but that nation was the venue on four occasions when the old UEFA Women's Cup was decided over two legs. Umeå's Gammliavallen held the first leg in 2003, 2007 and 2008 when that club reached the final, while in 2004 they hosted FFC Frankfurt at the Råsunda Stadium in Stockholm – whose Olympic Stadium also staged Djurgården v Turbine Potsdam a year later. The final will form part of celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of Gothenburg's founding.