Women's Champions League round 1 draw: Arsenal-Rangers, Ajax, Frankfurt, Benfica

The UEFA Women's Champions League round 1 draw has been made in Nyon beginning the 2024/25 season, with the likes of Arsenal (who face Rangers), Ajax, Frankfurt, Benfica, Paris FC and Atlético involved.

Round 1 is one of two rounds before the 16-team group stage, which starts in October. 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 with semi-finals on 4 September and finals/third-place play-offs on 7 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

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 are drawn into four knockout mini-tournaments of four clubs each.
• The winners of the four finals will progress to round 2, into which six teams have direct entry (Paris Saint-Germain, Wolfsburg, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Juventus and Häcken). Five group stage places will be on offer in round 2.

Group 1 (hosts: Brøndby IF)

Semi-finals
Brøndby IF (DEN) vs ACF Fiorentina (ITA)
AFC Ajax (NED) vs FC Kolos Kovalivka (UKR)

Group 2 (hosts: Linköping FC)

Semi-finals
AC Sparta Praha (CZE) vs Linköping FC (SWE)
Paris FC (FRA) vs First Vienna FC 1894 (AUT)

Group 3 (hosts: Arsenal Women FC)

Semi-finals
Arsenal Women FC (ENG) vs Rangers LFC (SCO)
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP) vs Rosenborg BK (NOR)

Group 4 (hosts: Breidablik)

Semi-finals
FC Minsk (BLR) vs Breidablik (ISL)
Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) vs Sporting CP (POR)

Enter in round 2

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
VfL Wolfsburg (GER)
Real Madrid CF (ESP)
Manchester City Women (ENG)
Juventus (ITA)
BK Häcken FF (SWE)

Champions path:

• A total of 43 teams are entering at this stage: the champions of the associations ranked eighth and below.
• They are drawn into 11 single-venue knockout mini-tournaments: ten with four teams and one with three teams.
• The winners of the 11 finals will progress to round 2, into which three teams have direct entry (Slavia Praha, Roma and Hammarby). Seven group stage places will be on offer in round 2.

UEFA

Group 1 (hosts: SFK 2000 Sarajevo)

Semi-finals
SFK 2000 Sarajevo (BIH) vs KÍ Klaksvík (FRO)
SL Benfica (POR) vs FC Nordsjælland (DEN)

Group 2 (hosts: WFC Lanchkhuti)

Semi-finals
KFF Vllaznia (ALB) vs WFC Lanchkhuti (GEO)
SKN St. Pölten (AUT) vs Neftçi PFC (AZE)

Group 3 (hosts: FC Gintra)

Semi-finals
KuPS Kuopio (FIN) vs Celtic FC Women (SCO)
FC Gintra (LTU) vs Agarista CSF Anenii Noi 2020 (MDA)

Group 4 (hosts: Birkirkara FC)

Semi-finals
FK Breznica (MNE) vs Birkirkara FC (MLT)
RSC Anderlecht (BEL) vs ŽFK Crvena zvezda (SRB)

Group 5 (hosts: FC Twente)

Semi-finals
FC Twente (NED) vs Cardiff City FC Women (WAL)
Valur (ISL) vs ŽFK Ljuboten (MKD)

Group 6 (hosts: Apollon Ladies FC)

Semi-finals
Apollon Ladies FC (CYP) vs Pyunik Women (ARM)
ŽNK Mura (SVN) vs Glentoran Women (NIR)

Group 7 (hosts: Pogoń Szczecin)

Semi-finals
A.C. PAOK (GRE) vs F.C. Qiryat Gat (ISR)
Servette FC Chênois Féminin (SUI) vs Pogoń Szczecin (POL)

Group 8 (hosts: Racing FC Union Luxembourg)

Semi-finals
WFC BIIK-Shymkent (KAZ) vs FC NSA Sofia (BUL)
Racing FC Union Luxembourg (LUX) vs Galatasaray A.Ş. (TUR)

Group 9 (hosts: ŽNK Osijek)

Semi-finals
ŽNK Osijek (CRO) vs Spartak Myjava (SVK)
FC Dinamo-BSUPC (BLR) vs Peamount United (IRL)

Group 10 (hosts: Ferencvárosi TC)

Semi-finals
Ferencvárosi TC (HUN) vs Tallinna FC Flora (EST)
FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR) vs RFS Women (LVA)

Group 11 (hosts: FCV Farul Constanta)

Semi-final
KFF Mitrovica (KOS) vs FCV Farul Constanta (ROU)

Final
Vålerenga Fotball (NOR) vs Mitrovica / Farul Constanta

Enter in round 2:

Slavia Praha (CZE)
AS Roma (ITA)
Hammarby IF (SWE)

Club facts

• Opponents KÍ Klaksvík and Sarajevo are both entering for a joint-record 22nd season (including the pre-2009 UEFA Women's Cup), and are meeting for the first time. Sarajevo extend their outright record to 22 straight appearances. Brøndby, Gintra and Sparta Praha make their 21st entries.

• Eintracht Frankfurt won four titles under their previous guise of 1. FFC Frankfurt.

• Arsenal, who lost to Paris FC in round 1 last year, the first time in 16 entries that they had not reached the quarter-finals, were winners in 2006/07.

• Ajax and Benfica both went from round 1 to the quarter-finals last season.

• Atlético, Breidablik, Linköping, Sparta and Valur are also past quarter-finalists while Brøndby, Paris FC (in their previous guise of Juvisy) and Rosenborg (when known as Trondheims-Ørn) have reached the semis.

• Linköping knocked out Sparta in the old round of 16 in 2010/11 and 2017/18.

• Further clubs in the draw who were in the group stage last season, along with Ajax and Benfica, are Frankfurt, Paris FC and St. Pölten. Meanwhile, Arsenal, Breidablik, Servette and Vllaznia have previously reached the post-2021/22 group stage.

• Birkirkara beat Breznica 1-0 in last season's round 1 semi-finals.

• BIIK defeated NSA 4-0 in the 2012/13 qualifying round and 5-0 in the 2005/06 first qualifying round.

• Vålerenga beat potential Group 11 final opponents Mitrovica 5-0 in the round 1 semis last season.

• Debutants: Crvena zvezda, Farul Constanta, First Vienna, Galatasaray, Kolos Kovalivka, Neftçi, Nordsjælland, Pogoń Szczecin, Pyunik.

• Neftçi are the first entrants from Azerbaijan since 2007/08.

• RFS previously entered as SFK Rīga.

Season calendar

Round 1 (one-venue mini-tournaments)
Semi-finals: 4 September
Finals/third-place play-offs: 7 September

Round 2 draw
9 September, Nyon

Round 2
First leg: 18/19 September
Second leg: 25/26 September

Group stage draw
27 September, Nyon

Group stage
Matchday 1: 8/9 October
Matchday 2: 16/17 October
Matchday 3: 12/13 November
Matchday 4: 20/21 November
Matchday 5: 11/12 December
Matchday 6: 17/18 December

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

Quarter-finals
First leg: 18/19 March
Second leg: 26/27 March

Semi-finals
First leg: 19/20 April
Second leg: 26/27 April

Final (Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon)
23, 24 or 25 May tbc

How the draw worked

• 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 sides were divided into two pots: seeded (22 teams) and unseeded (21 teams).
• The 22 seeded clubs in Pot 1 were drawn into home team positions for 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.
• For the three-team Group 11, the ball drawn was provisionally allocated to the semi-final tie. 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 11, 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 21 unseeded clubs in Pot 2 were drawn into away team positions for 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 were complete.
• Completing the draw with the three-team Group 11, the next ball drawn was allocated to the semi-final tie.
• In the league path, the teams were divided into two pots: seeded and unseeded.
• The eight seeded clubs in Pot 1 were drawn into home team positions for 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 clubs in Pot 2 were drawn into away team positions for 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: Armenia/Azerbaijan, Kosovo/Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo/Serbia, Ukraine/Belarus.
• The following draw condition applied: If a prohibited clash occurs or could occur, the team drawn was 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 were drawn and assigned to the groups.

Seeding pots

Champions path:

Pot 1: seeded
SL Benfica (POR) coefficient 36.800
SKN St. Pölten (AUT) 32.250
WFC BIIK-Shymkent (KAZ) 21.450
FC Twente (NED) 18.400
KFF Vllaznia (ALB) 16.800
Vålerenga Fotball (NOR) 15.300
FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR) 14.800
Apollon Ladies FC (CYP) 14.400
RSC Anderlecht (BEL) 14.400
Valur (ISL) 13.050
SFK 2000 Sarajevo (BIH) 12.000
Ferencvárosi TC (HUN) 11.400
Servette FC Chênois Féminin (SUI) 11.350
ŽNK Mura (SVN) 10.800
FC Gintra (LTU) 10.200
FC Dinamo-BSUPC (BLR) 9.100
A.C. PAOK (GRE) 8.400
FK Breznica (MNE) 8.400
Racing FC Union Luxembourg (LUX) 7.200
KFF Mitrovica (KOS) 7.100
KuPS Kuopio (FIN) 7.000
ŽNK Osijek (CRO) 6.700

Pot 2: unseeded
Birkirkara FC (MLT) 6.600
RFS Women (LVA) 6.600
Tallinna FC Flora (EST) 6.600
F.C. Qiryat Gat (ISR) 6.400
Celtic FC Women (SCO) 6.400
Agarista CSF Anenii Noi 2020 (MDA) 5.400
WFC Lanchkhuti (GEO) 5.400
FC NSA Sofia (BUL) 5.300
KÍ Klaksvík (FRO) 4.800
FC Nordsjælland (DEN) 4.350
Spartak Myjava (SVK) 4.300
Peamount United (IRL) 4.100
Glentoran Women (NIR) 3.600
ŽFK Ljuboten (MKD) 2.800
ŽFK Crvena zvezda (SRB) 2.800
Cardiff City FC Women (WAL) 2.200
Pogoń Szczecin (POL) 1.800
FCV Farul Constanta (ROU) 1.500
Galatasaray A.Ş. (TUR) 1.500
Pyunik Women (ARM) 0.600
Neftçi PFC (AZE) 0.000

League path:

Pot 1: Seeded
Arsenal Women FC (ENG) 57.999
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP) 34.633
Paris FC (FRA) 26.666
AC Sparta Praha (CZE) 26.466
Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) 24.799
AFC Ajax (NED) 23.400
Brøndby IF (DEN) 22.350
FC Minsk (BLR) 21.100

Pot 2: Unseeded
Breidablik (ISL) 18.050
ACF Fiorentina (ITA) 16.800
Rosenborg BK (NOR) 9.300
Sporting CP (POR) 6.800
Linköping FC (SWE) 6.499
Rangers LFC (SCO) 6.400
First Vienna FC 1894 (AUT) 4.250
FC Kolos Kovalivka (UKR) 3.800