Wednesday draw for fresh competition

The first draw in the history of the new UEFA Women's Champions League is made at 11.15CET on Wednesday at UEFA Headquarters in Nyon, with 28 qualifying round entrants discovering their fate. To follow the draw live click here then click on the 'Draw' banner.

Entrants
Replacing the UEFA Women's Cup, which was first contested in 2001/02, the new competition features for the first time the eight runners-up from the top-ranked nations, all of whom will be involved in the qualifying round. The 28 teams have been split into four seeding categories based on their coefficients, with all seven groups containing one team from each section.

Ambitious contenders
The top tier of seeds include seven of the eight teams entering as runners-up and among that number are former semi-finalists Brøndby IF and Montpellier Hérault SC plus ambitious debutants ii and Linköpings FC. Seven teams have also been designated as mini-tournament hosts and will also be kept apart while being placed in groups according to their seeding: Brøndby, Linköpings, ŽNK KRKA from Slovenia, Lithuanian champions Gintra Universitetas, Croatian side WFC Osijek, ZFK Tikvesanka of FYR Macedonia and Cypriot club Apollon Limassol.

Former winners
All the mini-tournaments will be played between 30 July and 4 August, with the seven group winners joining the 25 sides entering in the Round of 32, the list including the last UEFA Women's Cup winners FCR 2001 Duisburg and fellow former European champions Umeå IK, 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam and Arsenal LFC. From this stage, the competition will consist of two-legged knockout ties, with the draw for the Round of 32 and Round of 16 made at 12.00CET on 14 August.

Showpiece final
In another innovation, the final will be played as a one-off match two days before the men's UEFA Champions League final in the same city, with the 2009/10 decider scheduled for Thursday 20 May in Madrid. For a full season calendar and explanation of the format click here.