The Women's Champions League is on its way: a main round in the form of a qualifying group phase for the quarter-finals will be introduced from 2021-2022, UEFA announced on Wednesday, trying to strengthen the interest of the event on the model of his male counterpart.
A system similar to the men's competition
The executive committee of the European confederation validated on Wednesday afternoon the principle of a group stage at 16 with four hens of four teams fighting in return matches, a system similar to that practiced in men since the lucrative Reform of the Champion Clubs' Cup became the Champions League in 1992. "We hope that the Women's Champions League can take off more," Giorgio Marchetti, Deputy Secretary General of UEFA, said in a press conference. "It's probably the right time to go, to do for the ladies what was done a long time ago for men, we hope for a better competition."
Objective: to strengthen the sporting interest
Launched in 2001 as the UEFA Women's Cup, the Women's Champions League currently features a format with a preliminary round in the form of pools, followed by a main draw starting from the round of 16, including posters. are often too unbalanced and of low sporting interest. In this scheme, seeded players enter the running only in sixteenths, with 2 qualified clubs for the largest nations.
The 2020 final on May 24 in Vienna
This knockout format does not favor the show as the big teams easily cross weak opponents until they reach the quarter-finals. And the sixteenths and eighths with protected draws, the first posters usually do not happen before the final 8. Olympique Lyonnais, four-time champion of the Women's Champions League, must challenge Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals at the end of March, while Paris SG will challenge Arsenal. The final of the 2020 edition is scheduled for May 24 in Vienna, Austria.