2025–26 UEFA Women's Europa Cup

2025–26 UEFA Women's Europa Cup
Tournament details
Dates10 September 2025 – 2 or 3 May 2026
Teams43

The 2025–26 UEFA Women's Europa Cup will be the inaugural season of the UEFA Women's Europa Cup, Europe's secondary women's club football tournament organised by UEFA. The competition will feature a straight knockout format, with every round, up to and including the final, played as a two-legged home-and-away tie.[1]

Association team allocation

The association ranking based on the UEFA women's country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[1]

  • Associations 8–13 and 18–24 (excluding Russia) each have one team qualify directly.
  • 31 teams eliminated from the 2025–26 Women's Champions League will be transferred to the Europa Cup.

An association must have an eleven-a-side women's domestic league to enter a team. As of 2019–20, 52 of the 55 UEFA member associations organize a women's domestic league, with the exceptions being Andorra (1 club in Spain), Liechtenstein (3 clubs in Switzerland) and San Marino (1 club in Italy).

Association ranking

For the 2025–26 UEFA Women's Europa Cup, the associations are allocated places according to their 2024 UEFA women's Association coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2019–20 to 2023–24.[2][3]

Apart from the allocation based on the association coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Europa Cup, as noted below:

  • (UCL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Women's Champions League
Association ranking for 2025–26 UEFA Women's Europa Cup
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
1  France 78.333 0
2  Germany 68.999
3  Spain 68.166
4  England 59.999
5  Portugal 34.000
6  Italy 34.000
7  Sweden 24.999
8  Czech Republic 22.332 1
9  Netherlands 22.000
10  Denmark 21.750
11  Norway 21.500
12  Austria 21.250
13  Ukraine 19.000
14  Belarus 18.000 0
15  Iceland 17.750
16  Scotland 17.000
17  Kazakhstan 14.750
18  Switzerland 14.250 1
19  Serbia 14.000
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
20  Albania 14.000 1
21  Cyprus 12.000
22  Belgium 12.000
23  Russia 10.250 0 [Note RUS]
24  Finland 10.000 1
25  Bosnia and Herzegovina 10.000 0
26  Hungary 9.500
27  Romania 9.000
28  Slovenia 9.000
29  Poland 9.000
30  Croatia 8.500
31  Lithuania 8.500
32  Republic of Ireland 8.000
33  Kosovo 8.000
34  Turkey 7.500
35  Greece 7.000
36  Israel 7.000
37  Georgia 7.000
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
38  Montenegro 7.000 0
39  Slovakia 6.500
40  Bulgaria 6.500
41  Luxembourg 6.000
42  Wales 6.000
43  Estonia 5.500
44  Northern Ireland 5.500
45  Latvia 5.500
46  Malta 5.500
47  Moldova 4.500
48  North Macedonia 4.000
49  Faroe Islands 4.000
50  Armenia 3.000
NR  Azerbaijan —
 Gibraltar — DNE
 Andorra — NL
 Liechtenstein —
 San Marino —

Distribution

Access list for 2025–26 UEFA Women's Europa Cup[4]
Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from the previous round Teams entering from the Champions League
First round
(22 teams)
  • 6 runners-up from associations 18–24 (except Russia)
  • 5 third-placed teams from associations 9–13
  • 7 third-placed teams from the second round champions path mini-tournaments
  • 4 third-placed teams from the second round league path mini-tournaments
Second round
(32 teams)
  • 1 third-placed teams from association 8
  • 11 winners from the first round
  • 4 losers from the third round champions path
  • 5 losers from the third round league path
  • 7 runners-up from the second round champions path mini-tournaments
  • 4 runners-up from the second round league path mini-tournaments
Round of 16
(16 teams)
  • 16 winners from the second round

Teams

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:

  • 2nd, 3rd: League position of the previous season
  • CL: Transferred from the Women's Champions League
    • CH/LP Q3: Transferred from the third qualifying round (Champions/League Path)
    • CH/LP Q2: Transferred from the second qualifying round mini-tournaments (Champions/League Path)
      • RU: Runner-up of the mini-tournament
      • TP: Third place of the mini-tournament
Qualified teams for 2025–26 UEFA Women's Europa Cup
Entry round Teams
Second qualifying round Slovácko (3rd) (CL CH Q3) (CL CH Q3) (CL CH Q3)
(CL CH Q3) (CL LP Q3) (CL LP Q3) (CL LP Q3)
(CL LP Q3) (CL LP Q3) (CL CH Q2 RU) (CL CH Q2 RU)
(CL CH Q2 RU) (CL CH Q2 RU) (CL CH Q2 RU) (CL CH Q2 RU)
(CL CH Q2 RU) (CL LP Q2 RU) (CL LP Q2 RU) (CL LP Q2 RU)
(CL LP Q2 RU)
First qualifying round Ajax (3rd) Køge (3rd) Rosenborg (3rd) Sturm Graz (3rd)
Kolos Kovalivka (3rd) Grasshopper (2nd) Spartak Subotica (2nd) Partizani (2nd)
Aris Limassol (2nd) Anderlecht (2nd) KuPS (2nd) (CL CH Q2 TP)
(CL CH Q2 TP) (CL CH Q2 TP) (CL CH Q2 TP) (CL CH Q2 TP)
(CL CH Q2 TP) (CL CH Q2 TP) (CL LP Q2 TP) (CL LP Q2 TP)
(CL LP Q2 TP) (CL LP Q2 TP)

Notes

  1. ^
    Russia (RUS): On 28 February 2022, Russian football clubs and national teams were suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions.[5] The tables reflect Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.[6]

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[7][8][9]

Schedule for 2025–26 UEFA Women's Europa Cup
Round Draw date First leg Second leg
First qualifying round 31 August 2025 10–11 September 2025 17–18 September 2025
Second qualifying round 19 September 2025 7–8 October 2025 15–16 October 2025
Round of 16 17 October 2025 11–12 November 2025 19–20 November 2025
Quarter-finals 11–12 February 2026 18–19 February 2026
Semi-finals 24–25 March 2026 1–2 April 2026
Final 25 or 26 April 2026 2 or 3 May 2026

Qualifying rounds

First qualifying round

The first qualifying round will consist of 22 teams who will be divided into two pots of 11 seeded teams and 11 unseeded teams according to the club coefficient rankings established at the start of the season. Clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against each other. A draw determines pairings and which team plays the first leg at home.[10] The draw will be held on 31 August 2025.[7]

First Qualifying Round
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Tie 110–11 Sep17–18 Sep
Tie 210–11 Sep17–18 Sep
Tie 310–11 Sep17–18 Sep
Tie 410–11 Sep17–18 Sep
Tie 510–11 Sep17–18 Sep
Tie 610–11 Sep17–18 Sep
Tie 710–11 Sep17–18 Sep
Tie 810–11 Sep17–18 Sep
Tie 910–11 Sep17–18 Sep
Tie 1010–11 Sep17–18 Sep
Tie 1110–11 Sep17–18 Sep

Second qualifying round

The second qualifying round will consist of 32 teams who will be divided into two pots of 16 seeded teams and 16 unseeded teams according to the club coefficient rankings established at the start of the season. Clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against each other. A draw determines pairings and which team plays the first leg at home.[10] The draw will be held on 19 September 2025.[7]

Second Qualifying Round
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Tie 17–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 27–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 37–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 47–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 57–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 67–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 77–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 87–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 97–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 107–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 117–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 127–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 137–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 147–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 157–8 Oct15–16 Oct
Tie 167–8 Oct15–16 Oct

Knockout phase

Location of teams of the 2025–26 UEFA Women's Europa Cup knockout phase

In the knockout phase, teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis. The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:

  • A draw between an equal number of seeded and unseeded clubs determines the round of 16 ties.
  • Seeding is based on club coefficient rankings at the start of the season.
  • If a club’s participation is undecided at the time of the draw, the club with the higher coefficient in the undecided tie is used.
  • The eight seeded clubs are paired into four pairs (1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6, 7 & 8).
  • The eight unseeded clubs (ranked 9 to 16) are drawn from one pot to face the seeded clubs.
  • A draw determines which club plays the first leg at home.
  • Quarter-final, semi-final, and final pairings follow a set bracket with a draw held to decide home advantage.
  • UEFA may modify draw conditions or assign positions based on relevant constraints and UEFA Executive Committee decisions.[10]

The draw will be held on 17 October 2025.[7]

Bracket

Round of 16

Round of 16
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Seed 1/2 or unseedTie 1Seed 1/2 or unseed11–12 Nov19–20 Nov
Seed 8/7 or unseedTie 2Seed 8/7 or unseed11–12 Nov19–20 Nov
Seed 5/6 or unseedTie 3Seed 5/6 or unseed11–12 Nov19–20 Nov
Seed 3/4 or unseedTie 4Seed 3/4 or unseed11–12 Nov19–20 Nov
Seed 2/1 or unseedTie 5Seed 2/1 or unseed11–12 Nov19–20 Nov
Seed 6/5 or unseedTie 6Seed 6/5 or unseed11–12 Nov19–20 Nov
Seed 6/5 or unseedTie 7Seed 6/5 or unseed11–12 Nov19–20 Nov
Seed 4/3 or unseedTie 8Seed 4/3 or unseed11–12 Nov19–20 Nov

Quarter-finals

Quarter-finals
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Winner R16 Tie 1/2Tie 1Winner R16 Tie 2/111–12 Feb18–19 Feb
Winner R16 Tie 3/4Tie 2Winner R16 Tie 4/311–12 Feb18–19 Feb
Winner R16 Tie 5/6Tie 3Winner R16 Tie 6/511–12 Feb18–19 Feb
Winner R16 Tie 7/8Tie 4Winner R16 Tie 8/711–12 Feb18–19 Feb

Semi-finals

Semi-finals
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Winner QF Tie 1/2Tie 1Winner QF Tie 2/124–25 Mar1–2 Apr
Winner QF Tie 3/4Tie 2Winner QF Tie 4/324–25 Mar1–2 Apr

Final

Final
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Winner SF Tie 1/2Winner SF Tie 2/125–26 Apr2–3 May

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "New UEFA women's club football system explained". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Women's association club coefficients 2023/24". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Women's football to enter new era with UEFA Women's Europa Cup". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Access List 2025/26* (Provisional)" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  5. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Fifa and Uefa suspend all Russian clubs and national teams". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  6. ^ "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs". UEFA.com (Press release). Nyon: Union of European Football Associations. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d "2025/26 Women's Champions League and new UEFA women's club competition: Dates, access list, full guide". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 June 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  8. ^ "UEFA women's match calendar: Match dates 2025/26" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  9. ^ "2025 European football calendar: Match and draw dates for all UEFA competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 31 December 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  10. ^ a b c "UEFA Documents". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.