
<p>There is growing concern that the Women’s Champions League’s current format is holding it back from reaching its full potential.</p>



<p>Thus, UEFA and other influential parties are looking into the possibility of extending the tournament. The tournament structure changed for the 2021-22 season. UEFA added a Group Stage consisting of four groups of four teams each.</p>



<p>Additionally, UEFA consolidated media rights so the women’s tournament has a more consistent format with the men. Therefore, it is more marketable to spectators and sponsors. In the United States, <a href="https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100l4Joc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DAZN</a> has coverage of Women’s UEFA Champions League games.</p>



<h2>UEFA forced into Women’s Champions League expansion</h2>



<p>According to a recent article in <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0eac76da-53ab-11ee-abb5-ce4135341f1b?shareToken=94c1a8acb8ba8843cab0400a49f9504b" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>The Times</em></a>, the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/womens-champions-league-tv-schedule/">Women’s Champions League</a> can grow even more with expansion. One of two things needs to happen. More teams need to be able to qualify. Or, the co-efficient mechanism can adjust to provide more weight on the best women’s leagues. Nothing is out of consideration at this point.</p>



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<p>There are now two ways to enter the tournament: the champions road and the league path. Depending on England’s club co-efficient, a certain number of <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/womens-super-league-tv-schedule/">Women’s Super League (WSL)</a> teams will go directly into the Group Stage.</p>



<h5>Big teams eliminated very early</h5>



<p><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/chelsea-tv-schedule/">Chelsea</a>, being the WSL champion from the previous season, has been given a bye into the group stage for the current campaign. On Friday, the draw will be made for the second qualifying round, where WSL runner-up <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/manchester-united-tv-schedule/">Manchester United</a> will enter the tournament. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal</a>, who placed third in the WSL, had to join the competition at the Sep. 6 qualifying round.</p>



<p>They made it to the finals by beating the other team on penalties, but Paris FC ultimately prevailed. The same thing happened to <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/juventus-tv-schedule/">Juventus</a> in the penalty shootout.</p>



<p>The rise of the women’s game since 2021 has prompted discussions about the competition’s long-term viability. Because of the financial losses the clubs would incur, the demand to extend or reorganize the tournament has increased as a result of these teams’ early eliminations.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Just Pictures</em></p>


UEFA plans expansion to Women’s Champions League

There may be pressure on UEFA to alter the structure of the Women's Champions League with expansion as big teams exit early.


<p>Fans of women’s soccer looking to tune in to one of the top competitions in the world will have to fork over some cash next year. The <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/womens-champions-league-tv-schedule/">UEFA Women’s Champions League</a> will no longer be free to watch – at least not entirely.  </p>



<p>DAZN, the global rights holder for the tournament, have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/may/22/womens-champions-league-to-move-behind-dazn-paywall-next-season" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced that</a> most games will now only be accessible via their subscription service. That service starts at <a href="https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100l4Joc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$19.99 a month</a> in the US. Previously, all UWCL matches have been shown for free on the DAZN YouTube channel. <br><br>Nineteen games remain free on YouTube, including the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final. So it’s not all bad news for fans wanting to watch without needing another subscription.</p>



<h4>Growing the women’s game</h4>



<p>Women’s soccer continues to grow and improve in Europe, and worldwide. That improvement has led to increased interest and visibility. Apparently 14 million more viewers have watched this season compared to last on YouTube.</p>



<p>And crowds continue to turn out for big games in Europe. This year’s Women’s Champions League saw Arsenal fall in the semifinals to Wolfsburg in front of a record crowd. A total of 60,063 fans packed the Emirates Stadium, the biggest crowd ever in England for a women’s club game. Barcelona drew over 91,000 fans in last year’s tournament, also against Wolfsburg, setting the overall women’s soccer attendance record. </p>



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<p>Now the aim is to transform the broadcasting for the tournament into something that drives more tangible revenue into the sport. But after giving something away for free, it’s often hard to convert people into paying customers. It will be interesting to see if enough fans will be willing to pay a (relatively high) subscription fee to watch the competition.</p>



<p>This season’s competition is wrapping up very soon. Wolfsburg faces FC Barcelona in Champions League final on June 3rd in Eindhoven. </p>



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<p><em>Photo: Imago</em></p>


The UEFA Women's Champions League is shifting to a pay-to-watch model for most games starting with the 23/24 season.

DAZN ending many free Women's Champions League streams - World Soccer Talk

DAZN ending many free Women's Champions League streams


<p>Throughout most of women’s soccer history, and through today, many teams are not professional. Players earned less money, had worse facilities, and it was harder to grow their division without huge financial backing. England, the Netherlands and France are all examples of leagues that professionalized early. Consequently, these three countries are bearing national team success. They also have teams that regularly dominate in continental competition.</p>



<p>On the other hand, Spain did not professionalize early. Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and the Barcelona women’s team struggled abroad. </p>



<p>Barcelona had modest success before they professionalized as a women’s team. The club built a foundation and identity in its women’s brand. It took until 2015 for FC Barcelona to officially professionalize the women’s team, FCB Femení. The result was two Primera Divisions and four Copa de la Reinas in the six seasons since professionalizing. More impressively, the foundation created one of the most dominant teams in both Spain and Europe. </p>



<h5>Landing the big names</h5>



<p>They began signing some big names like Lieke Martens and Élise Bussaglia. The club continued to challenge for league titles. But, Atletico Madrid had Barcelona beat, winning three-straight top-flight titles. </p>



<p>Still, Barcelona was a way off from truly challenging in the Women’s Champions League. It reached the semifinals in the 2016/17 season. Yet, Barcelona was no match for a powerful PSG outfit. Two years later, in the 2018/19 campaign, Barcelona got to its first Women’s Champions League Final. Again, a French side was too powerful, as Lyon defeated Barcelona, 4-1. Two seasons after that, the major signings for the Barcelona’s women’s side ran rampant.</p>



<p>The 2020-21 UEFA Champions League was a great time for Barcelona. It defeated Manchester City after breezing through easier competition. In the semifinal, Barcelona got revenge on PSG, narrowly defeating the Parisians 3-2 on aggregate. It set up a Final against Chelsea, another one of the consistent performers in the Women’s Champions League. Moreover, Chelsea was in the middle of a stretch of six Women’s Super League titles in an eight-year stretch.</p>



<p>From the start, Barca dominated Chelsea. First came a Melanie Leupolz own-goal, and from then on, Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmatí and Caroline Graham Hansen contributed. Inside 36 minutes, Barcelona had a four-goal lead. It was a comprehensive takedown of a powerhouse. Significantly, it was a turning point in Barcelona’s history.</p>



<p>Putellas, arguably the greatest to do it in women’s football, led an exciting core of stars. It includes Jennifer Hermoso, Lieke Martens, Sandra Panos and Asisat Oshoala.</p>



<h2>Barcelona women’s team borders on perfection</h2>



<p>With its star players, elite coach and good resources at its feet, you would expect Barcelona to win, win and win some more. And that’s exactly what they have done in recent years. In the past three years, Barcelona has picked up three Liga F titles, three Copa de la Reina titles, three Supercopa de Espanas, and a Women’s Champions League title. They have built an indestructible and perhaps unmatchable dynasty that may not be knocked off until Putellas and Oshoala leave or retire.</p>



<p>The immortal 2021/22 season was a marker in Barcelona’s success. It rolled its way to a perfect Liga F season. In total, Barcelona scored 156 goals and only gave up 11. The first loss of the season came on the road at Wolfsburg in the Women’s Champions League semifinal. Of course, Barcelona still advanced, 5-3 on aggregate. The club’s painful 3-1 loss against Lyon in the Women’s Champions League was a cruel ending to a nearly perfect campaign.</p>



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<p>Barca wowed <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/quadruple-chasing-barca-face-wolfsburg-at-sold-out-camp-nou-20220421-CMS-380955.html">record audiences</a> with tempo and optimistic football that sought to win through its impressive offense. Although it’s easy to win when you can outspend your opponents. That is what Barcelona did when it bought former Manchester City midfielder Keira Walsh. Regardless of spending, the team thoroughly outplayed each opponent.</p>



<h5>How Barcelona gets it done</h5>



<p>The club mainly relies on its wingers to either beat their defenders and suck in the defense toward them to create chances, or to overload the flanks to create space for the starting striker, which is one of Oshoala or Brazilian Geyse. Barca can boast phenomenal dribblers in Graham Hansen, who has eight goals and five assists in 14 total games. Then, teenager Salma Paralluelo notched eleven goals and four assists in 21 total games. Finally, Ana-Maria Crnogorčević picked up nine goals and seven assists in 31 total games.</p>



<p>Compare the Barcelona women’s system to the City system. Jack Grealish, Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez feed balls to either Erling Haaland or Julian Alvarez. Manager Jonatan Giráldez has also made use of Barcelona’s solid midfield duo of Putellas and Bonmatí. Their emphasis around the midfield and wings lets them dominate possession, get shots off and score goals at ease.</p>



<p>They are not as utterly dominant as they were in years past. They lost Hermoso to Pachuca, Martens to PSG and Leila Ouahabi to Manchester City. Past stars like Kheira Hamraoui, Vicky Losada and more have all left. Yet, the team keeps adding more stars.</p>



<p>Geyse tied with Oshoala for the Golden Boot last season. Her arrival at Barcelona coincided with the arrivals of both Lucy Bronze and Walsh from Manchester City. Putellas suffered from an ACL injury for the past nine months. She is slated to return ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg against Chelsea on Thursday. With PSG and Lyon both out of the competition, Barcelona is well in the hunt for its second UWCL title.</p>



<h5>League and cup double loading</h5>



<p>Barcelona is the overwhelming favorite to pick up the Liga F title. With 24 wins in 24 games, they have scored 101 goals while conceding just five. There are just six games remaining in the domestic schedule, and second-place Real Madrid is 13 points adrift.</p>



<p>Barcelona will <a href="https://theathletic.com/4120592/2023/01/24/barcelona-women-copa-de-la-reina/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">not defend their Copa de la Reina title</a> for the fourth-straight time. Barcelona walloped Osasuna, 9-0, but Osasuna advances. Geyse had a red card in her last Copa de la Reina match with Madrid CFF. Despite changing clubs, the suspension carried over. She played, and that disqualified Barcelona.</p>



<p>Barcelona is on the verge of advancing to the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final again. After defeating Chelsea in the first leg of the semifinals, 1-0, Barcelona just needs to see off the Blues to reach a fourth final in five years.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Sports Press Photo</em></p>


The Barcelona Women's team is historically dominant. On the verge of a fourth trip to the Champions League Final in five years, here is how.

Unrivaled dominance of the Barcelona women's team - World Soccer Talk

Unrivaled dominance of the Barcelona women's team

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<h5>Group A</h5>



<p>Group A of the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/womens-champions-league-tv-schedule/?adlt=strict&amp;toWww=1&amp;redig=8C82580776CB429984BA32396DAE9676">Women’s Champions League</a> features three dangerous sides in Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Madrid. The group produced some very interesting matches and included some very exciting story lines.</p>



<p><strong>Chelsea</strong>, with thirteen points in five matches, are wreaking havoc on both the Women’s Super League and the Champions League. They are first in the table with 27 points in 10 games. </p>



<p>Chelsea lead the Super League in goals scored, which seems like an easy task with human highlight reel Sam Kerr leading the Blues’ attack. They have not lost a game in the Champions League, only drawing with Real away from home.</p>



<p><strong>PSG</strong>, with ten points, has not been much worse than their London-based counterparts. They lead Division 1 Feminine, one point ahead of reigning European champions Lyon. In the Champions League, they have looked strong. Yet, they did lose 1-0 to Chelsea and drew with Real.</p>



<p><strong>Real Madrid</strong>, already mathematically eliminated from the group stage with their five points, has not been bad.  Yet their offense cost them crucial games. They have only scored four goals in five total matches and have lost some very winnable games. They have performed well in Liga F, getting 28 points in just eleven matches.</p>



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<p>The fourth team in the group, Albanian side <strong>Vllaznia</strong>, has a solid argument to be the worst team in the group stage. They are the only team to not score so far in the Champions League, and they have given up a whopping 23 goals in their time  at the group stage. Vllaznia are undefeated in the Albanian Women’s National Championship, but that success has not transferred over on the continental stage.</p>



<h5>Group B</h5>



<p>A dangerous Wolfsburg side looking to avenge their semi-final exit in last year’s Champions League looks better than ever. They lead Group B with eleven points, followed by Roma with ten, St. Polten with four, and Slavia Prague with two.</p>



<p><strong>Wolfsburg</strong> lead Frauen-Bundesliga, with 30 points in 10 games. They have good wins like their 2-1 victory over Bayern and a 5-0 win over Frankfurt. They are dominant in Germany, but shaky in Europe. Although they lead their group, they have drawn with bottom-dwellers Slavia Prague and with their fierce Italian rivals Roma.</p>



<p><strong>Roma</strong> is also doing pretty well. They lead Serie A, with Juve trailing by three points. Yet they have yet to unleash their dominant side in the group stage. At times, they have conceded lots of goals, but they have also shown some of their offensive firepowers. Roma has already secured automatic qualification, but they could be in for an early exit with their recent form.</p>



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<p>Austrian champions <strong>St. Poiten</strong> launched a serious campaign this season, but no one really expected them to do well. St. Poiten’s only win came from a stoppage-time winner against Slavia Prague, and they drew the Czech side again. <strong>Slavia Prague</strong> themselves had two draws; one from St. Poiten, and the other, surprisingly, from title contenders Wolfsburg. </p>



<p>Wolfsburg and Roma have already qualified for the quarter-finals. A win against St. Poiten in December 22 would give the Germans first place. Roma faces a Slavia Prague side searching for its first Champions League win in 2022.</p>



<h5>Group C</h5>



<p>Unlike the other three groups, Group C is wide open. With Arsenal, reigning champions Lyon, and Juventus all vying for two spots in the Champions League, the final matchday will be crucial to each team’s season.</p>



<p><strong>Arsenal </strong>WFC, who landed just one point away from winning the Women’s Super League last season, have lost just once in this season’s edition. They look really strong this season, leading the league in goals allowed(5). Yet they’ve met their match in the Champions League. They recently lost a match that could have given them an automatic bid to the knockout round, and Arsenal has not exuded the sheer dominance you need to make a serious run into the finals. Some of the better games of their season were their 5-1 win over Lyon and 4-0 win over their hated rivals Spurs. </p>



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<p>Similar to the Gunners, <strong>Lyon </strong>is uncharacteristically weak this season. The reigning European champions fell hard in their opening game in the Champions League and have struggled to find their footing. They have lost a game and drawn a game in France’s Division 1 Feminine, coming in at second place at the halfway point of the season.</p>



<p><strong>Juventus </strong>has not had its best season in 2022. Suffering two draws and a loss in the highly competitive Group C, they are also lacking in Italy. In Serie A, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danieleproch/2021/02/16/womens-serie-a-to-kick-off-italys-first-ever-professional-sports-league-for-female-athletes-in-2022/?adlt=strict&amp;toWww=1&amp;redig=21A9E84315A54A7B9079818390B31F71&amp;sh=552843773b35" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">which just turned professional six months ago</a>, Juventus has drawn three games and lost one.</p>



<p>Despite coming in first in the Swiss Women’s Super League last season, <strong>Zurich </strong>has flopped this season. They have only scored one goal in five Champions League games, and have failed to get a single point through day five. In Switzerland, the side has lost two games in eight games, putting them in second.</p>



<p>Zurich is only playing for pride going into the last matchday on December 21, as they are mathematically eliminated. They play Arsenal, who has already qualified for the knockout round. Juventus, who plays Lyon away from home, has to win to move on</p>



<h5>Group D</h5>



<p>Group D, consisting of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Benfica, and Rosengard, is already decided. Both Barca and Bayern have 12 points, while Benfica has six Rosengard has none. Barca and Bayern have automatically secured qualification to the quarter-finals going into matchday six.</p>



<p><strong>Barca</strong>, missing key players from last season like Jennifer Hermoso and Leila Ouahabi, is having a splendid start to the 2022-2023 season. They have won all twelve of their Liga F matches, giving them a large eight-point lead. They’ve also established their dominance with large wins over Benfica and Rosengard. Their only loss of the season came against a much-improved Bayern team, and their slip-up looks like an isolated incident so far.</p>



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<p><strong>Bayern </strong>has had a very good start to the season as well. They are second in the Frauen-Bundesliga, with just one game drawn and one game lost. They also advanced to the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal, making their mark with two big seven-goal wins against weaker teams.</p>



<p><strong>Rosengard </strong>ended its dominant domestic season with a league title, but it’s been lacking continentally. It has not won any games so far in the Champions League. <strong>Benfica</strong>, reigning champions of Portugal’s Liga BPI, have gone undefeated in their league so far, but also have not succeeded against the powerhouse of Group D.</p>



<p>Bayern plays Rosengard and Barca plays Benfica on December 21. Bayern will likely need a better result in their match than Barca due to the goal difference between them. </p>



<p>As it stands, Barca is set to go through as group winners; not shocking, considering their near-perfect season in the 2021-22 season.</p>



<p>Photo credit: IMAGO / Sports Press Photo</p>


Matchday six of the UEFA Women's Champions League figures to be very entertaining. Here's what you need to know.

Women's Champions League groups - what teams need to qualify - World Soccer Talk

Women's Champions League groups – what teams need to qualify

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<p>Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Lyon won the Women’s Champions League on Saturday after beating Barcelona 3-1 to be crowned queens of Europe for a record-extending eighth time.</p>
<p>First half goals from Amandine Henry, Ada Hegerberg and Catarina Macario were enough to take the title from pre-match holders Barca, who pulled one back through captain Alexia Putellas just before half-time.</p>
<p>Expectation was high among Barca fans, who descended in large numbers on the Allianz Stadium in Turin to watch a team who have been tipped to end Lyon’s dominance of the women’s game in Europe.</p>
<p>However they couldn’t come back from going three goals down in the first 33 minutes.</p>
<p>The damage was done in a whirlwind opening period in which Lyon showed their European pedigree and for large tracts steamrollered Barca.</p>
<p>Henry opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a beautiful strike which came out of nowhere, the France icon picking up the ball way out with nothing on before letting off a rocket which Sandra Panos could only grasp at in vain.</p>
<p>From there Lyon kicked into gear and Hegerberg had her 59th goal in 60 Champions League appearances in the 23rd minute when she calmly nodded in Selma Bacha’s cross from close range.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Ten minutes later Barca’s heads were spinning after a baffling defensive mix-up left Macario with a tap-in to make it three from almost on the goal line.</p>
<p>Barca looked dead and buried but Ballon d’Or holder Putellas dragged her team back into it four minutes before the break when she saved Caroline Graham Hansen’s miscued cross by lashing home a low first-time finish.</p>
<p>Patricia Guijarro thought she had cut the deficit to just one&nbsp;in the most spectacular way possible when she launched an audacious shot from just after the half-way line which crashed back out from the underside of the bar.</p>
<p>From there Barca were the better team but lacked the killer touch, with Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic volleying a great chance wide with seven minutes remaining highlighting a wastefulness which in the end cost them their European crown.</p><p></p>
