UEFA Women's Europa Cup: A fresh opportunity for clubs

A second UEFA women's club competition was announced in December 2023 and launched in 2025/26 as the UEFA Women's Europa Cup.

It was introduced to give more teams the chance to test themselves against continental opposition, providing further incentive for investment at domestic level. The name was carefully chosen to resonate with fans – thanks to the men's UEFA Europa League, 'Europa' is already known as a term associated with the second tier in European club football, while 'Cup' emphasised the new tournament’s purely knockout format.

The initial format was a two-legged knockout competition throughout, with two qualifying rounds leading to a 16-team bracket in the competition proper. In all 43 clubs from 28 associations were involved in the first season, 12 entering directly and 31 transferring from UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying, with Häcken the inaugural winners, beating Swedish compatriots Hammarby 4-2 on aggregate in the final played in Stockholm and Gothenburg.