New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) The UEFA Executive Committee has approved the ‘UEFA Women’s Europa Cup’ as the name for the newly created second women’s club competition. The competition will kick off in the 2025/26 season as part of an exciting new era for women’s football in Europe.
Announced a year ago, the tournament will launch in the 2025/26 season, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of European women’s football. The UEFA Women’s Europa Cup will give more teams the chance to test themselves against continental opposition, providing further incentive for investment at the domestic level.
“The name for our second women’s club competition was carefully chosen to resonate with fans – thanks to the men’s UEFA Europa League, ‘Europa’ is already known as a term associated with the second tier in European club football, while ‘Cup’ emphasises the new tournament’s purely knockout format.
“These changes to UEFA women’s club competitions are based on extensive consultation and collaboration with the European Club Association (ECA), national associations, leagues and competing clubs, as well as the analysis and recommendations of the UEFA Women’s Football Committee,” read the statement posted by UEFA.
The tournament will take place over six rounds – two qualifying rounds, the Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and a two-legged final.
The 13 teams, the third-placed teams in the domestic league from associations ranked 8-13 and the runners-up of associations ranked 18-24 – will be entered directly into the Women’s Europa Cup.
Additionally, clubs eliminated in the Women’s Champions League third qualifying round, along with runners-up and third-placed teams from the second qualifying round, will enter the tournament via a ‘feeding’ system.
Winners of the Women’s Europa Cup will automatically qualify for the third qualifying round of the champion’s path of the following season’s Women’s Champions League.
–IANS
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