What you need to know about the Women’s Champions League

It started on Tuesday Women’s Champions League into the group phase. Tomorrow, Wednesday, rises SKN St. Pölten into the action in Sweden. Until Finale at José Alvalade Stadium In Lisbon at the end of May there is hope for a further increase in viewer interest.

Highlights from an Austrian perspective are not only offered by the SKN, but also the duels of several ÖFB stars at Bayern (Katharina Naschenweng, Sarah Zadrazil) against Arsenal (Manuela Zinsberger, Laura Wienroither) on Wednesday evening.

Since when has the Women’s Champions League existed and who are the previous winners?

In 2001 the UEFA Women’s Cup launched, the forerunner of the Women’s Champions Leaguewhich has been around for 15 years now. The first season of the WCL won Turbine Potsdam, Lyon is a record winner and managed it a total of eight times FC Barcelona three times, VfL Wolfsburg twice, Frankfurt once.

The English teams are surprisingly unsuccessful in the Champions League. It’s been 17 years since England won the previous competition, the UEFA Women’s Cup. Arsenal 2007. The record goalscorer is the Norwegian Ada Hegerberg with 64 goals.

How much money is there to win in the Champions League?

By advancing to the group stage, the 16 clubs are each guaranteed 400,000 euros this year. In addition, there are 50,000 euros per win and 17,000 euros for a draw. You get 20,000 euros for winning the group, 160,000 euros for making it to the quarter-finals, 180,000 euros for making it to the semi-finals. 200,000 for both finalists, 150,000 extra for the winners.

Aren’t the payments in the Champions League making the gap in women’s football even greater?

According to UEFA, the current mode, which has been in effect since 2021, aims to further develop women’s football in Europe. This also includes a solidarity payment to non-participating clubs. These funds should flow into the promotion of women’s football. The reason: There are still big differences in levels in women’s football. The non-participating clubs should not lose connection.

In addition, the remaining amounts in the event of a draw (16,000 per draw) will ultimately be distributed among the participating clubs with the 25 longest travel distances in the 1st and 2nd rounds.

What will change next season?

The new format is based on that of the men’s Champions League. From 2025/26 there will be one Ligasystem played with 18 teams instead of the previous 16. Instead of six group games against three opponents, we play against six different teams. Places 1 to 4 qualify directly for the quarter-finals, while places 5 to 12 fight for promotion in a play-off (return leg). The teams in places 13 to 18 are eliminated.

Where can the games be seen on TV in Austria?

All games are free on the streaming platform DAZN and theirs YouTubechannel shown live.