Women's Champions League round 1 draw

The UEFA Women's Champions League round 1 draw has been made in Nyon, beginning the 2023/24 season.

Round 1 is one of two rounds before the 16-team group stage, which begins in November. It is split into two paths: the champions path and the league path. In both paths, round 1 will consist of two stages, each of one-off knockout matches played in single-venue mini-tournaments: semi-finals on 6 September and finals/third-place play-offs on 9 September.

The winners of each final (11 in champions path, four in league path) will progress to round 2, which will decide the 12 teams joining holders Barcelona, Lyon, Bayern and Chelsea in the group stage.

Round 1 draw

Champions path:

• 41 teams are entering at this stage: the champions of the associations ranked eighth and below.
• They have been drawn into 11 single-venue knockout mini-tournaments: eight with four teams and three with three teams.
• The winners of the 11 finals will progress to round 2, into which three teams have direct entry. Seven group stage places will be on offer in round 2.

Group 1:

Semi-finals
FerencvárosI TC (HUN) vs F.C. Qiryat Gat (ISR)
AS FC Universitatea Olimpia Cluj (ROU) vs Spartak Myjava (SVK)

Group 2:

Semi-finals
FC Vorskla (UKR) vs FC Flora Tallinn (EST)
SFK 2000 Sarajevo (BIH) vs ŽNK Osijek (CRO)

Group 3:

Semi-finals
NŠ Mura (SVN) vs FC Samegrelo (GEO)
Apollon Ladies FC (CYP) vs ZFK Ljuboten (MKD)

Group 4:

Semi-finals
HB Køge (DEN) vs KuPS Kuopio (FIN)
ŽFK Spartak Subotica (SRB) vs KÍ Klaksvík (FRO)

Group 5:

Semi-finals
RSC Anderlecht (BEL) vs GKS Katowice (POL)
SK Brann (NOR) vs Lokomotiv Stara Zagora (BUL)

Group 6:

Semi-finals
WFC BIIK-Shymkent (KAZ) vs SFK Rīga (LVA)
SL Benfica (POR) vs Cliftonville Ladies (NIR)

Group 7:

Semi-finals
Valur (ISL) vs Ankara Büyükşehir Belediyesi Fomget SK (TUR)
KFF Vllaznia (ALB) vs FC KFF EP-Hajvalia (KOS)

Group 8:

Semi-finals
FC Gintra (LTU) vs Cardiff City FC (WAL)
Glasgow City FC (SCO) vs Shelbourne FC (IRL)

Group 9:

Semi-final
A.C. PAOK (GRE) vs Racing FC Union Luxembourg (LUX)

Final
SKN St. Pölten Frauen (AUT) vs PAOK / Racing FC Union Luxembourg

Group 10:

Semi-final
FC Dinamo-BSUPC (BLR) vs CSF Agarista Anenii Noi (MDA)

Final
AFC Ajax (NED) vs Dinamo-BSUPC / Agarista Anenii Noi

Group 11:

Semi-final
FK Breznica (MNE) vs Birkirkara FC (MLT)

Final
FC Zürich (SUI) vs Breznica / Birkirkara

Enter in round 2:

Slavia Praha (CZE)
Rosengård (SWE)
Roma (ITA)

The Champions Path groupsUEFA

League path:

• Sixteen teams enter at this stage: the runners-up from the associations ranked seventh to 16th and the third-placed teams from the associations ranked first to sixth.
• They have been drawn into four knockout mini-tournaments of four teams each.
• The winners of the four finals will progress to round 2, into which six teams have direct entry. Five group stage places will be on offer in round 2.

Group 1:

Semi-finals
FC Twente (NED) vs SK Sturm Graz (AUT)
Levante UD (ESP) vs Stjarnan (ISL)

Group 2:

Semi-finals
Juventus (ITA) vs WFC Okzhetpes (KAZ)
Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) vs 1. FC Slovácko (CZE)

Group 3:

Semi-finals
Paris FC (FRA) vs FC Kryvbas (UKR)
Arsenal WFC (ENG) vs Linköping FC (SWE)

Group 4:

Semi-finals
Brøndby IF (DEN) vs Celtic FC (SCO)
FC Minsk (BLR) vs Vålerenga Football (NOR)

Enter in round 2:

Wolfsburg (GER)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Sparta Praha (CZE)
Häcken (SWE)
Manchester United (ENG)

Club facts

• KÍ Klaksvík and Sarajevo are entering for a record 21st time (including the pre-2009 UEFA Women's Cup). Sarajevo extend their outright record to 21 straight appearances. Brøndby, after missing out last season, make a 20th entry.
• Eintracht Frankfurt won four titles under their previous guise of 1. FFC Frankfurt.
• Arsenal, semi-finalists last season, were winners in 2006/07.
• Brøndby and Paris FC (as Juvisy), have previously reached the semi-finals while Glasgow City, Juventus, Linköping and Valur have been in the last eight.
• Benfica and Juventus, like Arsenal, have played in both group stages since the round was introduced in 2021/22. Hoping to return after appearing in last season's group stage are St. Pölten, Vllaznia and Zürich. HB Køge were involved in the first group stage of 2020/21 but missed out a year ago.
• Debuts: Ankara BB Fomget, Cliftonville, GieKSa Katowice, Kryvbas.
• Samegrelo previously entered as FC Nike. Mura previously entered as Pomurje.

Season calendar

Round 1 (one-venue mini-tournaments)
Semi-finals: 6 September
Finals/third-place play-offs: 9 September

Round 2 draw
15 September, Nyon

Round 2
First leg: 10/11 October
Second leg: 18/19 October

Group stage draw
20 October, Nyon

Group stage
Matchday 1: 14/15 November
Matchday 2: 22/23 November
Matchday 3: 13/14 December
Matchday 4: 20/21 December
Matchday 5: 24/25 January
Matchday 6: 30/31 January

Quarter-final & semi-final draw
6 February, Nyon

Quarter-finals
First leg: 19/20 March
Second leg: 27/28 March

Semi-finals
First leg: 20/21 April
Second leg: 27/28 April

Final (San Mamés, Bilbao)
25 May

Draw procedure

• Clubs were seeded for round 1 in accordance with the club coefficient rankings established at the beginning of the season.
• In the champions path, the teams were divided into two pots: seeded and unseeded.
• The 22 seeded teams in Pot 1 were drawn into home team positions of the semi-finals of the groups in numerical order, starting with Group 1 and completing the draw with Group 11, as follows:

- The first ball drawn allocated to semi-final 1 in Group 1
- The second ball drawn allocated to semi-final 2 in Group 1
- The third ball drawn allocated to semi-final 1 in Group 2
- The fourth ball drawn allocated to semi-final 2 in Group 2

• The same process applied for all four-team groups.
• Continuing the draw with the three-team groups, the ball drawn was provisionally allocated to the semi-final tie of Group 9. The next ball was then drawn and its position determined by the coefficients of both teams drawn.
• If the coefficient of the ball drawn was higher than the team provisionally allocated to the semi-final tie of Group 9, the second ball drawn was allocated to the final and the team that had been provisionally allocated was confirmed in the semi-final. If the coefficient of the ball drawn was lower than the team provisionally allocated to the semi-final, the second team drawn was allocated to the semi-final and the team that had been provisionally allocated was confirmed in the semi-final.
• The same process applied to all three-team groups.
• The 19 unseeded teams in Pot 2 were drawn into away team positions of the groups in numerical order, starting with Group 1 and completing the draw with Group 11, as follows:

- The first ball drawn allocated to semi-final 1 in Group 1
- The second ball drawn allocated to semi-final 2 in Group 1
- The third ball drawn allocated to semi-final 1 in Group 2
- The fourth ball drawn allocated to semi-final 2 in Group 2

• The same process applied until all four-team groups are complete.
• Continuing the draw with the three-team groups, the next ball drawn was allocated to the semi-final tie of Group 9, then the next ball to Group 10, and the last ball drawn finally allocated to the semi-final tie of Group 11.
• In the league path, the teams were divided into two pots: seeded and unseeded.
• The eight seeded teams in Pot 1 were drawn into home team positions of the semi-finals of the groups in numerical order, starting with Group 1 and completing the draw with Group 4, by the same method as the champions path.
• The eight unseeded teams in Pot 2 were drawn into away team positions of the semi-finals of the groups in numerical order, starting with Group 1 and completing the draw with Group 4, by the same method as the champions path.
• Based on the UEFA Executive Committee decisions valid at the time of the draw, clubs from the following nations could not be drawn into the same group: Kosovo / Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo / Serbia, Ukraine / Belarus.
• The following draw condition applied: If a prohibited clash occured or could occur, the team drawn would be placed in the same position of the first available group in numerical order. Should prohibited clashes have been possible when drawing the last groups, the teams would be drawn and assigned to the groups.

Seeding pots

Champions path:

Pot 1: seeded
SKN St. Pölten Frauen (AUT) coefficient 30.050
Glasgow City FC (SCO) 29.100
WFC BIIK-Shymkent (KAZ) 25.700
SL Benfica (POR) 22.800
FC Zürich (SUI) 22.250
AFC Ajax (NED) 18.400
KFF Vllaznia (ALB) 16.800
ŽFK Spartak Subotica (SRB) 16.800
RSC Anderlecht (BEL) 14.400
SFK 2000 Sarajevo (BIH) 13.800
HB Køge (DEN) 12.150
FC Vorskla (UKR) 12.000
Apollon Ladies FC (CYP) 11.800
FC Gintra (LTU) 11.400
Valur (ISL) 10.200
FerencvárosI TC (HUN) 9.900
AS FC Universitatea Olimpia Cluj (ROU) 9.600
NŠ Mura (SVN) 9.000
FC Dinamo-BSUPC (BLR) 7.200
FK Breznica (MNE) 7.200
SK Brann (NOR) 7.100
A.C. PAOK (GRE) 6.400

Pot 2: unseeded
ŽNK Osijek (CRO) 6.100
FC Flora Tallinn (EST) 5.600
Racing FC Union Luxembourg (LUX) 5.400
KuPS Kuopio (FIN) 5.200
Birkirkara FC (MLT) 4.800
F.C. Qiryat Gat (ISR) 4.600
SFK Rīga (LVA) 4.200
CSF Agarista Anenii Noi (MDA) 3.600
KÍ Klaksvík (FRO) 3.600
Shelbourne FC (IRL) 3.500
Spartak Myjava (SVK) 3.300
FC KFF EP-Hajvalia (KOS) 2.900
Lokomotiv Stara Zagora (BUL) 2.800
FC Samegrelo (GEO) 2.000
GKS Katowice (POL) 1.900
ZFK Ljuboten (MKD) 1.600
Ankara Büyükşehir Belediyesi Fomget SK (TUR) 1.500
Cardiff City FC (WAL) 1.100
Cliftonville Ladies (NIR) 0.900

League path:

Pot 1: seeded
Arsenal Women FC (ENG) 56.366
Juventus (ITA) 43.000
Brøndby IF (DEN) 29.650
FC Minsk (BLR) 22.200
Paris FC (FRA) 18.166
Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) 17.333
Levante UD (ESP) 17.233
FC Twente (NED) 15.400

Pot 2: unseeded
Linköping FC (SWE) 13.399
Vålerenga Football (NOR) 12.100
1. FC Slovácko (CZE) 7.233
SK Sturm Graz (AUT) 6.550
WFC Okzhetpes (KAZ) 5.700
Celtic FC (SCO) 5.100
FC Kryvbas (UKR) 4.000
Stjarnan (ISL) 3.700