The 2022/2023 season of the Women's Champions League kicked off today, June 24, with the draw for the first round, where Ukraine's representative — Kharkiv's "Zhitlobud-2" (playing under the name "Vorskla-Kharkiv-2") participated.

Prior to the draw procedure, our club qualified for a seeded status according to its ranking.

In summary, it was determined that on August 18, Kharkiv's team will play against Georgia's "Lanchkuti" in the semifinal of the mini-tournament group 3 of the Champions League Path. In case of success, they will face the winner of the pair "BIIK-Shymkent" (Kazakhstan) — "Split" (Croatia) on August 21 for a place in the second stage.

Format

Group Stage

Sixteen teams will be divided into four groups, where they will play each other home and away from October to December. The winners of the top two spots in each group will qualify for the 1/4 finals. This stage will begin in March 2023. Quarter-finals and semi-finals will consist of two matches each, while the final will be a single match held in Eindhoven.

Qualification

Four teams will receive direct qualification to the group stage, while the winners of the remaining twelve qualifying spots will be determined through the Champions League Path (7 places) and the Association Representatives Path (5 places).

Qualification in both paths will follow the same format. In the first round, teams will compete in mini-tournaments, with the winners advancing further.

In the second round, teams will be paired off and play each other home and away.

Number of Teams

The list of participants is based on the UEFA women's club ranking associations at the end of the 2020/2021 season. Ukraine holds 22nd place in it.

Top-6 ranked associations — France, Germany, England, Spain, Sweden, Czech Republic — will enter three teams each.

The next ten associations — Denmark, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Italy, Iceland, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, Belarus, Austria — will send two teams each.

Other associations will be represented by one participant. Ukraine's representative in the Champions League is «Vorskla-Kharkiv-2», which finished first in the autumn part of the Ukrainian championship under the name "Zhitlobud-2".

Start of the Tournament

The current trophy holder, «Lyon», and champions from three associations (Germany, England, Spain) will immediately qualify for the group stage.

Champions from other associations will enter the Champions League qualification path. The champions of associations ranked 5th to 7th in the ranking (Sweden, Czech Republic, Denmark) will start with the second round, while others will begin with the first round.

The runners-up of the six strongest associations (France, Germany, England, Spain, Sweden, Czech Republic) will start with the second round of the Association Representatives Path.

Third-place finishers in these six associations and second-place winners from the next ten associations (Denmark, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Italy, Iceland, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, Belarus, Austria) will enter the first round of the Association Representatives Path.

Schedule for Women's Champions League 2022/2023

First Round (mini-tournaments)

Semi-finals: August 18.

Final, third-place match: August 21.

Second Round

Draw — September 1 (14.00).

First matches: September 20/21.

Return matches: September 28/29.

Group Stage

Draw — October 3 (14.00).

Round 1: October 19/20.

Round 2: October 26/27.

Round 3: November 23/24.

Round 4: December 7/8.

Round 5: December 15/16.

Round 6: December 21/22.

Quarter-finals

Draw — January 20, 2023 (14.00).

First matches: March 21/22, 2023.

Return matches: March 29/30, 2023.

Semi-finals

Draw — January 20, 2023 (14.00).

First matches: April 22/23, 2023.

Return matches: April 29/30, 2023.

Final (PSV Stadium, Eindhoven)

June 3/4, 2023.