- Draw delivers blockbuster ties involving clubs from France, Germany, England and Spain
- This edition is last of current format before introduction of League Phase and a second women’s club competition
European women's club football is reaching new heights, and the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) quarter-final draw has once again showcased the competition’s unstoppable rise. With the continent’s top clubs set to battle for glory, the stage is set for another thrilling chapter in the evolution of the women’s game.
The last eight will feature some blockbuster ties as a final at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon on 24 May awaits.
This season marks the last chapter of the current UWCL format—a groundbreaking step forward in its own right—before an exciting new era begins for Europe’s premier club competitions.
The 2021-25 cycle delivered a format of four groups of four teams playing each other home and away – with the top two per group qualifying for the quarter-finals – together with two qualifying rounds. That has seen matches staged in Europe's most prestigious stadiums, significantly boosting visibility and seeing clubs break attendance records.
Centralised media and commercial rights also increased the competition's value more than four-fold and paved the way for a pioneering financial distribution model, developed through close collaboration between UEFA and with ECA, and brought the first ever cross subsidy from the men’s club competitions and in turn, a solidarity mechanism.
Looking ahead, the 2025/26 season will mark the start of a new five-year cycle and there will be another exciting transformation as the UWCL adopts an 18-team league phase alongside the introduction of the brand-new UEFA Women's Europa Cup – a two-legged knockout competition which will prove to be a vital development tool for clubs and leagues in Europe.
Led by ECA Vice Chair Martina Pavlova, representatives from ECA and its clubs joined a UEFA Women’s Club Competitions working group—alongside members of the UEFA Women’s Football Committee—to review the financial distribution system for this new era of women’s competitions, and to shape the post-2025 commercial model.
The new financial distribution model will support this evolution, with centralised media and sponsorship rights enhancing the visibility of the competition, in turn attracting more revenues and rewarding participating clubs , while also ensuring solidarity across the women's football ecosystem.
In the new format from 2025/26 onwards, funds will be allocated between four groups –
- From 2025 to 2027, clubs in the league phase of the UWCL will benefit from a total pot of €18.2m, increasing to €24.1m from 2027 to 2030.
- Teams eliminated in qualifying will benefit from an increased pot of €7.7m from 2025–2027 and €9.1m from 2027–2030.
- Europa Cup allocations amount to €5.6m from 2025–2027, increasing to €6.2m from 2027–2030.
- Non-participating clubs will benefit from a share of €6.2m from 2025–2027 and €7.3m from 2027–2030.
Claire Bloomfield, Head of Women’s Football at ECA, hailed the impact of the evolving UWCL format, emphasising its growing competitiveness and commercial success:
“This season’s edition of the UWCL has been a tremendous competition so far, testament to the hard work of the clubs to deliver the best possible football on and off the pitch. Following close collaboration between ECA and UEFA, next season, European women’s club football will enhance even further with the introduction of a new league format and the launch of the Europa Cup, creating more opportunities for clubs to compete on the European stage. ECA remains at the forefront of this transformation and delivering on our promise to elevate the competition landscape for the benefit of our member clubs.”
UEFA Champions League quarter-final and semi-final draw in full:
Real Madrid vs Arsenal
Manchester City vs Chelsea
Wolfsburg vs Barcelona
Bayern Munich vs Lyon
Semi-Final Draw:
Wolfsburg or Barcelona vs Manchester City or Chelsea
Real Madrid vs Arsenal vs Bayern Munich or Lyon