A third-place finish in last season’s FA Women’s Super League ensured Gareth Taylor’s side qualified for Europe’s elite Club cup competition once again.
This will be the second season of the new format, which consists of a home and away group stage, and the two-time semi-finalists will enter at Round One.
You can find out everything you need to know about the tournament, including all the key dates and our potential opponents, below...
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Format
The tournament welcomes a total of 71 teams from 49 different associations this season with 58 Clubs set to be involved in the Round One draw.
Round One will be played as four-team knockout mini-tournaments with the Final winners progressing. Round Two will be two-legged knock-out ties, which will determine qualification for the group stage.
The group stage features 16 teams split into four groups of four teams, who will play each other home and away between October and December.
The group winners and runners-up will progress to the knock-out stages, which begin in March and are played over two legs en route to a one-off Final.
UwCL qualification
Four teams, including last year’s winners Olympique Lyonnais plus the Champions of England, France and Germany, automatically enter at the group stage.
As Lyon are both title holders and champions of France, the champions of the fourth-ranked association (Spain) also enter in the group stage, meaning Barcelona join Lyon, Wolfsburg and Chelsea.
The Champions of the remaining associations will go into the Champions path. The Champions of associations ranked 5 to 7 (Sweden, Czech Republic and Denmark) will enter in Round Two, alongside the runners-up of the six highest-ranked associations (France, Germany, England, Spain, Sweden and Czech Republic) in the League path.
The third-placed teams of those six associations (including City) and the runners-up of the next ten highest-ranked associations (Denmark, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Italy, Iceland, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, Belarus and Austria) will enter in Round One of the League path.
Confirmed participants
The list of participants is determined by the UEFA Women’s Association Club Coefficients at the end of the 2020/21 season.
The six highest-ranked associations (including England) have three entries, while the next ten highest-ranked associations have two entries and every other association is entitled to one entry.
Group stage:
Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)
Wolfsburg (DEU)
Chelsea (ENG)
Barcelona (ESP)
Round Two:
Rosengard (SWE) - Champions path
Slavia Prague (CZE) - Champions path
HB Koge (DNK) - Champions path
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) - League path
Bayern Munich (DEU) - League path
Arsenal (ENG) - League path
Sparta Prague (CZE) - League path
BK Hacken (SWE) - League path
Real Sociedad (ESP) - League path
Round One - Champions path:
Juventus (ITA)
BIIK-Shymkent (KAZ)
St. Pölten (AUT)
Zürich (SUI)
Gintra (LTU)
Spartak Subotica (SRB)
Vllaznia (ALB)
Twente (NED)
Benfica (POR)
Apollon LFC (CYP)
Anderlecht (BEL)
SFK 2000 Sarajevo (BIH)
Universitatea Olimpia Cluj (ROU)
Vorskla-Kharkiv-2 (UKR)
Valur (ISL)
Ferencváros (HUN)
PAOK (GRE)
Pomurje Beltinci (SVN)
Breznica Pljevlja (MNE)
Dinamo-BSUPC (BLR)
Flora Tallinn (EST
Brann (NOR)
Rangers (SCO)
Lanchkhuti (GEO)
Split (CRO)
Racing FC Union Luxembourg (LUX)
KÍ Klaksvík (FRO)
Shelbourne (IRL)
Birkirkara (MLT)
Swansea City (WAL)
Qiryat Gat (ISR)
ALG Spor (TUR)
SFK Rīga (LVA)
Agarista CSF Anenii Noi 2020 (MDA)
Glentoran (NIR)
UKS SMS Łódź (POL)
KuPS Kuopio (FIN)
Hayasa (ARM)
Lokomotiv Stara Zagora (BUL)
Hajvalia (KOS)
Spartak Myjava (SVK)
Ljuboten (MKD)
Round One - League path
Manchester City (ENG)
Glasgow City (SCO)
Fortuna Hjørring (DEN)
Real Madrid (ESP)
FC Minsk (BLR)
Ajax (NED)
Breidablik (ISL)
Paris FC (FRA)
Eintracht Frankfurt (GER)
Servette FCCF (SUI)
Kristianstad (SWE)
Slovácko (CZE)
Sturm Graz (AUT)
Rosenborg (NOR)
Roma (ITA)
Tomiris-Turan (KAZ)
Who can City face?
With City entering the tournament through the League path as a seeded team, we will face unseeded opponents in: Eintracht Frankfurt (DEU), Servette (CHE), Kristianstads (SWE), Sturm Graz (AUT), Slovacko (CZE), Rosenborg (NOR), Roma (ITA) or Tomiris-Turan (KAZ).
Key dates
Round One draw: 13:00 CET, 24 June, Nyon
Round One (one-venue mini-tournaments)
Semi-finals: 18 August
Final/third-place play-off: 21 August
Round Two draw: 13:00 CET, 1 September, Nyon
First leg: 20/21 September
Second leg: 28/29 September
Group stage draw: 13:00 CET, 3 October, Nyon
Group stage matches:
Matchday One: 19/20 October
Matchday Two: 26/27 October
Matchday Three: 23/24 November
Matchday Four: 7/8 December
Matchday Five: 15/16 December
Matchday Six: 21/22 December
Quarter-final and semi-final draw: 13:00 CET, 20 January, Nyon
Quarter-final first leg: 21/22 March
Quarter-final second leg: 29/30 March
Semi-final first leg: 22/23 April
Semi-final second leg: 29/30 April
Final
3/4 June 2033 (TBC) at PSV Stadion, Eindhoven
City’s UWCL history
City reached the semi-finals of the tournament in our two first European campaigns, edged out at the hands of eventual competition winners Olympique Lyonnais on both occasions.
Since then, we have never managed to match that feat, falling at the first hurdle in 2018/19 and 2021/22, and the second in 2019/20. A quarter-final showing in 2020/21 was our best attempt.
How to follow City’s UWCL journey
You can follow City’s Women’s Champions League journey online at mancity.com and via our official app, as well as our social media platforms, including our dedicated matchday Twitter account: @ManCityWomen.
