UEFA Women's Champions League: Meet the league phase contenders

In all 18 teams will take part in the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Women's Champions League with the fixture list set by the draw at 12:00 CET on Friday 4 September. 

Nine clubs, including holders Barcelona, entered directly. The remaining teams were decided by the third qualifying round that concluded on Wednesday 2 September.

We introduce the 18 contenders. In Friday's draw, each club will be drawn to face a pair of teams from all three pots, one home and one away from each. Clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.

• Holders Barcelona are joined by 2024/25 champions Arsenal and last season's runners-up OL Lyonnes, the record eight-time winners.
• Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are former runners-up, Bayern, Man City and Paris FC (as Juvisy) have reached the semi-finals in the past, while Benfica, Häcken, Juventus, Real Madrid and Roma have previously been quarter-finalists.
• OH Leuven reached the knockout play-offs on debut last season while both HB Køge and Servette return after taking part in the inaugural group stage of 2021/22.
• Barcelona, Bayern, Chelsea, OL and Real Madrid keep up their record of reaching the league phase/group stage in all six seasons since the competition was reformatted in 2021/22. Madrid have done so via qualifying in all six seasons.
• Austria Wien and Inter (who knocked out two-time winners Wolfsburg in qualifying) are in the league phase/group stage for the first time.

Teams listed in order of coefficient ranking

Pot 1

Barcelona (Spain, holders)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 1
How they qualified: Holders, Spanish champions
Last season: Winners
2025/26 league phase: 1st
Domestic honours: 11 x League champions, 12 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Winners (2020/21, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2025/26)

• Last season Barcelona became the first club to reach the final for a sixth year running, beating OL Lyonnes 4-0 in Oslo to claim their fourth title. They face their first European season without the departed Alexia Putellas, who played at least once in the previous 14 campaigns since the team's 2012/13 debut.

OL Lyonnes (France)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 2
How they qualified: French champions
Last season: Runners-up
2025/26 league phase: 2nd
Domestic honours: 19 x League champions, 11 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Winners (2010/11, 2011/12, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2021/22)

• The eight-time champions reached their 12th final last season, competition appearance record-holder Wendie Renard having played in every one. They lost the Oslo showpiece to Barcelona – the former club of OL coach Jonatan Giráldez.

Chelsea (ENG)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 3
How they qualified: English third place; 6-2agg vs Real Sociedad (5-2 h, 1-0 a)
Last season: Quarter-finals
2025/26 league phase: 3rd
Domestic honours: 8 x League champions, 6 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Runners-up (2020/21)

• Last season, Chelsea's perfect winning record in six quarter-finals was spoiled by Arsenal and their six-year reign as English champions also ended. Nevertheless, the Blues have now kept up their run of reaching the league phase/group stage in all six seasons of the format after coming through qualifying for the first time.

Bayern München (Germany)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 4
How they qualified: German champions
Last season: Semi-finals
2025/26 league phase: 4th
Domestic honours: 7 x League champions, 3 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Semi-finals (2018/19, 2020/21, 2025/26)

• Bayern fell in the semi-finals for the third time last season, losing to eventual champions Barcelona after finishing fourth in the league phase table. They completed their second straight domestic double last season, having never done so before 2024/25.

Arsenal (England)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 5
How they qualified: English runners-up
Last season: Semi-finals
2025/26 league phase: 5th
Domestic honours: 15 x League champions, 14 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Winners (2006/07, 2024/25)

• The 2024/25 champions saw their title defence end at the semi-final stage last season, beaten by OL Lyonnes who they had eliminated at the same stage a year earlier. That was their ninth semi-final, behind only OL.

Paris Saint-Germain (France)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 7
How they qualified: French third place; 6-2agg vs Eintracht Frankfurt (1-1 a, 5-1aet h)
Last season: League phase
2025/26 league phase: 17th
Domestic honours: 1 x League champions, 4 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Runners-up (2014/15, 2016/17)

• PSG reached at least the quarter-finals nine times in ten seasons between 2014/15 and 2023/24. In the second leg of their qualifier against Frankfurt, they ended a run of 11 European matches without a win, hitting four unanswered goals in extra time.

Pot 2

Real Madrid (Spain)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 8
How they qualified: Spanish runners-up; 4-1agg vs Ajax (2-0 a, 2-1 h)
Last season: Quarter-finals
2025/26 league phase: 7th
Domestic honours: Best league finish – 2nd place x 5
Previous European best: Quarter-finals (2021/22, 2024/25, 2025/26)

• Real Madrid have kept up their unique record of coming through qualifying in all six seasons of the league phase/group stage format. In the last two seasons they have lost in the quarter-finals to the eventual champions – Arsenal in 2024/25 and then Barcelona last term.

Juventus (Italy)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 9
How they qualified: Italian third place; 2-1 h vs Torreense, 3-1aet h vs Hammarby, 4-1agg vs St. Pölten (3-0 a, 1-1 h)
Last season: Knockout round play-offs
2025/26 league phase: 8th
Domestic honours: 6 x League champions, 4 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Quarter-finals (2021/22)

• Juventus are through to the league phase/group stage for the fifth time, having last season got to the knockout play-offs, losing to Wolfsburg.

Häcken (Sweden)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 10
How they qualified: Women's Europa Cup winners
Last season: Third qualifying round, Women's Europa Cup winners
2025/26 league phase: N/A
Domestic honours: 2 x League champions, 4 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Quarter-finals (2011/12, 2012/13, 2023/24)

• Häcken are entering direct into the league phase as holders Barcelona were already qualified through their domestic league. Häcken narrowly missed out on a league phase spot last season and went on to win the inaugural Women's Europa Cup, beating Swedish rivals Hammarby in the two-legged decider.

Roma (Italy)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 11
How they qualified: Italian champions
Last season: League phase
2025/26 league phase: 14th
Domestic honours: 3 x League champions, 3 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Quarter-finals (2022/23)

• Roma finished 14th in the inaugural league phase table last season to miss out on a knockout phase play-off spot, but domestically they completed their second double in three seasons.

Benfica (Portugal)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 12
How they qualified: Portuguese champions
Last season: League phase
2025/26 league phase: 16th
Domestic honours: 6 x League champions, 3 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Quarter-finals (2023/24)

• Benfica ended 16th in the league phase last year but they kept up their record of ending top in every domestic season they have played in since their 2018/19 foundation, securing their second Portuguese double.

Paris FC (France)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 14
How they qualified: French runners-up
Last season: Knockout phase play-offs
2025/26 league phase: 10th
Domestic honours: 6 x League champions, 2 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Semi-finals (2012/13, as Juvisy)

• Last season Paris FC finished ahead of Paris Saint-Germain to claim France's second direct league phase berth for 2026/27. They reached the inaugural knockout phase play-offs in 2025/26, exiting to Real Madrid.

Pot 3

Manchester City (England)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 19
How they qualified: English champions
Last season: Not in competition
2025/26 league phase: N/A
Domestic honours: 2 x League champions, 4 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Semi-finals (2016/17, 2017/18)

• The 2024/25 quarter-finalists are back in the competition after being absent last season, when they completed a first domestic double to end the six-year English league reign of Chelsea. Coach Andrée Jeglertz won the 2003/04 UEFA Women's Cup with Sweden's Umeå.

OH Leuven (Belgium)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 35
How they qualified: Belgian champions; 4-0 h vs TSC Bačka Topola, 1-1aet, 4-2pens h vs Fenerbahçe, 6-2agg vs Czarni Sosnowiec (4-1 a, 2-1 h)
Last season: Knockout round play-offs:
2025/26 league phase: 12th
Domestic honours: 2 x League champions
Previous Women's Champions League best: Knockout round play-offs (2025/26)

• In a 12-game campaign on their European debut last season, OHL became the first team from their nation to reach the league phase/group stage. They finished above the likes of Roma, Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain to make the knockout round play-offs, where they lost to holders Arsenal.

HB Køge (Denmark)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 45
How they qualified: Danish champions; 4-1 h vs Riga, 2-1 h vs Hearts, 2-1agg vs PSV (1-0 a, 1-1 h)
Last season: Women's Europa Cup second qualifying round
Domestic honours: 4 x League champions, 1 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Group stage (2021/22)

• HB Køge previously reached the old group stage in the inaugural season of 2021/22 and completed their first Danish domestic double in 2025/26.

Austria Wien (Austria)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 46
How they qualified: Austrian champions; 3-2 n vs Hajduk Split, 5-0 n vs Farul Constanța, 5-2agg vs Brann (1-2 a, 4-0 h)
Last season: Third qualifying round, Women's Europa Cup quarter-finals
Domestic honours: 13 x league champions, 12 x cup winners (including as Landhaus, who became Austria Wien in 2021)
Previous Women's Champions League best: Third qualifying round (2025/26)

• Last season, Austria Wien ended St. Pölten's run of ten consecutive Austrian titles, completing a domestic double to clinch the first major trophies under their current identity. They earned their league phase debut by overturning a first-leg deficit against 2023/24 quarter-finalists Brann with Modesta Uka's hat-trick in the home return.

Inter (Italy)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 49
How they qualified: Italian runners-up; 3-3agg, 5-4pens vs Wolfsburg (0-2 a, 3-1 aet h)
Last season: Second qualifying round third place, Women's Europa Cup round of 16
Domestic honours: Best league finish – 2nd place x 2
Previous Women's Champions League best: Second qualifying round third place (2025/26)

• Founded in 2018, Inter made their European debut last season, losing to Brann in their Women's Champions League second qualifying round semi-final. This time they have qualified for the league phase after defeating two-time champions Wolfsburg on penalties despite losing the first leg 2-0, and having to equalise again late in extra time.

Servette (Switzerland)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2025/26): 57
How they qualified: Swiss champions; 3-0 n vs Dinamo Minsk, 4-0 a vs Aktobe, 5-3agg vs Sparta Praha (2-3 a, 3-0 h)
Last season: Not in UEFA competition
Domestic honours: 3 x League champions, 2 x Cup winners
Previous Women's Champions League best: Group stage (2021/22)

• Servette reached the inaugural group stage in 2021/22 and also progressed to the old round of 32 the season before.

Cup winners refers only to main FA national cup in each country.