2021/22 Women’s Champions League: dates, access list, full guide

The new-look UEFA Women's Champions League launches in 2021/22, including a home-and-away group stage for the first time.

• Contenders confirmed: all the 72 entries
• New format: how it will work
• Broadcast deal: DAZN & YouTube
• Financial distribution explained
• Access list 
• 2021/22 regulations

The road to Turin

Round 1 draw
13:00 CET, 2 July

Round 1 (one-venue mini-tournaments)
Semi-finals: 17/18 August
Final/third-place play-off: 20/21 August

Round 2 draw
22 August

Round 2
First leg: 31 August/1 September
Second leg: 8/9 September

Group stage draw
13 September

Group stage
Matchday 1: 5/6 October
Matchday 2: 13/14 October
Matchday 3: 9/10 November
Matchday 4: 17/18 November
Matchday 5: 8/9 December
Matchday 6: 15/16 December

Quarter-final & semi-final draw
20 December

Quarter-finals
First leg: 22/23 March
Second leg: 30/31 March

Semi-finals
First leg: 22/24 April
Second leg: 30 April

Final (Juventus Stadium, Turin)
21 May

How does the competition work?

• The centrepiece is a new 16-team group stage, which will involve four groups of four playing each other home and away between October and December. The top two from each group progress to the knockout phase from March, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals played over two legs, and a one-off final (in Turin in 2022).
• Four teams will qualify directly for the group stage with the other 12 spots decided by two routes: champions path (7 qualifiers) and league path (5 qualifiers).
• Both paths will have the same format. Round 1 will be played as four-team knockout mini-tournaments with the final winners progressing. Round 2 will be played as two-legged knockout ties. If there were more than 50 associations entering, the champions path would have a two-legged preliminary round. There will not be one in 2021/22.

How many teams does each association enter?

• The access list is determined by the UEFA Women's Association Club Coefficients at the end of the 2019/20 season
• The six highest-ranked associations have three entries: in 2021/22 France, Germany, Spain, England, Sweden, Czech Republic
• The next ten highest-ranked associations have two entries: in 2021/22 Denmark, Netherlands, Italy, Kazakhstan, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Scotland, Russia, Belarus
• Every other association is entitled to one entry

Who enters when?

• The title holders and the champions of the three highest-ranked associations (in 2021/22 France, Germany and Spain) will enter in the group stage
• As for this season Barcelona are both title holders and champions of Spain, the champions of the fourth-ranked association (England) also enter in the group stage.
• The champions of the remaining associations will go into the champions path. The champions of of associations ranked 4 to 6 (for 2021/22 England, Sweden, Czech Republic) will enter in Round 2, with the rest entering in Round 1.
• As for 2021/22 the champions of England will now enter in the group stage, the champions of the seventh-ranked association (Denmark) will also enter in Round 2.
• The runners-up of the six highest-ranked associations (for 2021/22 France, Germany, Spain, England, Sweden, Czech Republic) will enter in Round 2 of the league path
• The third-placed teams of those six associations, and the runners-up of the next ten highest-ranked associations (for 2021/22 Denmark, Netherlands, Italy, Kazakhstan, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Scotland, Russia, Belarus) will enter in Round 1 of the league path