Umeå and Duisburg learn fate

Two-time European title winners Umeå IK face a trip to Cyprus after the UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying round draw was made in Nyon.

The seven groups will be played as one-venue mini-tournaments from 5 to 10 August. Umeå, who won the former UEFA Women's Cup twice before the present tournament was launched last season, will be in a pool hosted by Apollon Limassol LFC and also containing WFC SFK 2000 Sarajevo and ASA Tel-Aviv. Like Umeå, 2008/09 UEFA Women's Cup winners FCR 2001 Duisburg reached the semi-finals last season and in the qualifying round take on Glasgow City FC, ŠK Slovan Bratislava and Northern Irish hosts Crusaders Newtownabbey Strikers WFC.

Two more former European semi-finalists were in the draw. Brøndby IF will stage a group against FC NSA Sofia, Moldova's FC Roma Calfa and Gazi Üniversitesi SK of Turkey, while CF Bardolino Verona play hosts ŽNK Krka of Slovenia, Welsh side Swansea City Ladies AFC and Georgia's FC Baia Zugdidi. A close race is expected in Group 4, where Icelandic hosts Breidablik face, among others, France's FCF Juvisy Essonne in the only pool containing two sides entering as national runners-up.

The group winners and two runners-up with the best record against the sides first and third in their pool will join the teams given byes to the knockout phase, including holders 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam, in the draw for the rounds of 32 and 16 on 19 August. The competition will continue as a two-legged knockout until the one-off final held in London on Thursday 26 May, two days before the men's UEFA Champions League decider at Wembley.

Making the draw, UEFA head of national team competitions Mikael Salzer said: "Today's draw officially kicks off another season in the women's club competitions. It marks the second year of the new UEFA Women's Champions League. When we look back, we can say that the first season was a great success. The final in Madrid was very tight, and the penalty shoot-out was watched by 6.2 million TV viewers in Germany."