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

The 2024/25 UEFA Women's Champions League season kicks off with round 1, which features the likes of Arsenal (who face Rangers), Ajax, Frankfurt, Benfica, Paris FC and Atlético de Madrid.

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 Wednesday 4 September and finals/third-place play-offs on Saturday 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.

All times CET

Round 1 ties

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 compete in 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)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
Ajax vs Kolos Kovalivka (14:00)
Brøndby vs Fiorentina (18:00)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (12:00)
Final (16:00)

Group 2 (hosts: Linköping)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
Paris FC vs First Vienna (14:00)
Sparta Praha vs Linköping (19:00)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (13:00)
Final (18:00)

Group 3 (hosts: Arsenal)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
Atlético de Madrid vs Rosenborg (13:00)
Arsenal vs Rangers (20:30)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (13:00)
Final (20:30)

Group 4 (hosts: Breidablik)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Sporting CP (16:00)
FC Minsk vs Breidablik (21:00)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (14:00)
Final (19:00)

Enter in round 2

Paris Saint-Germain
Wolfsburg
Real Madrid
Manchester City
Juventus
Häcken

Champions path:

• A total of 43 teams are entering at this stage: the champions of the associations ranked eighth and below.
• They compete in 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)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
SFK 2000 Sarajevo vs KÍ Klaksvík (11:00)
Benfica vs Nordsjælland (17:00)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (11:00)
Final (17:00)

Group 2 (hosts: Lanchkhuti)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
Vllaznia vs Lanchkhuti (16:00)
St. Pölten vs Neftçi (16:00)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (15:00)
Final (18:00)

Group 3 (hosts: Gintra)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
KuPS Kuopio vs Celtic (11:00)
Gintra vs Anenii Noi (17:00)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (11:00)
Final (17:00)

Group 4 (hosts: Birkirkara)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
Anderlecht vs Crvena zvezda (17:45)
Breznica vs Birkirkara (21:15)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (17:45)
Final (21:15)

Group 5 (hosts: Twente)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
Valur vs Ljuboten (13:00)
Twente vs Cardiff City (19:00)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (12:00)
Final (18:00)

Group 6 (hosts: Apollon LFC)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
Mura vs Glentoran (16:00)
Apollon LFC vs Pyunik (20:30)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (16:00)
Final (20:30)

Group 7 (hosts: Pogoń Szczecin)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
PAOK vs Qiryat Gat (12:00)
Servette FCCF vs Pogoń Szczecin (20:00)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (12:00)
Final (20:00)

Group 8 (hosts: Racing Union)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
BIIK-Shymkent vs NSA Sofia (13:00)
Racing Union vs Galatasaray (19:00)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (13:00)
Final (19:00)

Group 9 (hosts: Osijek)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
Dinamo-BSUPC vs Peamount United (11:00)
Osijek vs Spartak Myjava (17:00)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (11:00)
Final (17:00)

Group 10 (hosts: Ferencváros)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-finals
Vorskla Poltava vs RFS (12:00)
Ferencváros vs Flora (16:30)

Saturday 7 September:

Third-place match (12:00)
Final (16:30)

Group 11 (hosts: Farul Constanța)

Wednesday 4 September:

Semi-final
Mitrovica vs Farul Constanța (17:00)

Saturday 7 September:

Final
Vålerenga vs Mitrovica / Farul Constanța (14:00)

Enter in round 2:

Slavia Praha
Roma
Hammarby

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 consecutive 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 Praha 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.

• Debutants: Crvena zvezda, Farul Constanța, First Vienna, Galatasaray, Kolos Kovalivka, Neftçi, Nordsjælland, Pogoń Szczecin and 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