UEFA Women's Champions League: Which nine teams are confirmed in the league phase?

Nine of the eventual 18 contenders for the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Women's Champions League enter directly, with the remaining teams decided by the third qualifying round concluding on 2 September.

We introduce the nine clubs assured of their places in the 4 September league phase draw. The 18 contenders will be split into three seeding pots and each seeding pot will provide two opponents for the competing teams.

• Holders Barcelona are joined by 2024/25 champions Arsenal and last season's runners-up OL Lyonnes.
• Bayern, Man City and Paris FC (as Juvisy) have reached the semi-finals in the past, while Benfica, Häcken and Roma have previously been quarter-finalists.
• Barcelona, Bayern and OL keep up their record of reaching the league phase/group stage in all six seasons since the competition was reformatted in 2021/22 – something Chelsea and Real Madrid could emulate if they qualify.

Teams listed in order of coefficient ranking

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.

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.

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 final.

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)

• 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)

• Finished 16th in the league phase last year but 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.

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.

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