Reform of the Women’s Champions League: More excitement and more money

The dreary setting and the limited entertainment value could hardly be denied: in the Groupama Stadium, which was filled with only 3,700 spectators, the VfL Wolfsburg footballers suffered an inconsequential 0-1 defeat in the last Champions League group game at Olympique Lyon, which ended with the final whistle hardly anyone was interested anymore.

The record winner from France, like Germany’s most successful club internationally, had already qualified for the quarter-finals. VfL coach Tommy Stroot had made a number of changes and kindly praised one “adult” Perfomance, “which says a lot about our process over the last few months”.

Captain Alexandra Popp also wanted to play for the Wolves after her 350th competitive game don’t be angry: “We allowed extremely little. Overall, we are very satisfied.”

Top teams from England, France, Germany and Spain dominate

The leader admitted herself “a bit after the break” to have longed for. Helpful that in the last meeting of the year “the result is secondary” (Stroot) was. In international women’s football, the gap between the top teams from England, France, Germany and Spain and the rest is growing ever wider. Their direct duels are better training games at the end of the group phase.

Next example with German participation: When FC Arsenal and FC Bayern duel in Group C (Wednesday 9 p.m.), the group victory is at stake, but both have already booked the ticket for the round of the last eight. The same picture also exists in Group D, where Manchester City and FC Barcelona have already easily reached the knockout rounds before the clash (Wednesday 6.45 p.m.).

The Performance gap has become too big

This fact shows how big the performance gap has become: The four bottom teams Galatasaray Istanbul, Celtic FC, Valerenga IF and SKN St. Pölten from Austria got a point together before the last round of the game. In this respect, the introduction of a league phase with 18 instead of 16 teams next season comes at exactly the right time. Essentially, the need for reform was more acute than for men.

For women, too, the top clubs should meet earlier and more often. The teams compete against six different opponents in the league phase and play three home and away games each. The top four in the table go straight to the quarter-finals, eight teams play in the playoffs.

UEFA director Nadine Keßler sees a need for reform

“Despite the success of the Women’s Champions League in recent years, we are not remaining stuck in the status quo”said Nadine Keßler. The 36-year-old, who is now responsible for the development of women’s football as UEFA director, was the driving force behind the reform after playing for VfL Wolfsburg in the Champions League triumphs in London in 2013 (against Lyon) and in Lisbon in 2014 (against Tyresö FF) helped as a top performer on the pitch.

The 2014 world footballer sees the changes as inevitable in order to take the next step in sport and economics – this also includes a second European Cup competition, the UEFA Women’s Europa Cup.

Tender for media rights starts on January 3rd

“We want to build a broader competition pyramid and also give the national leagues new incentives because a total of 91 clubs are taking part. We have great expectations because the revenue also reflects professionalization.”Keßler explained to the Sportschau. “For the next five-year cycle, the media rights package is on the market through our agency Two Circles.”

UEFA announced the tender on Tuesday (December 17, 2024). Interested media companies can apply for three different packages from January 3rd to February 3rd, 2025. This affects rights in Europe as well as North and South America. “We are very optimistic that we will generate significantly more income. The Champions League is also the ultimate for women at club level. It just needs to be seen by the world now.”said Keßler.

Starting next season, 37.7 million euros will flow

Revenue is expected to vary over the five years. Uefa has already communicated the expected total revenue for the clubs’ better planning security: in the first two seasons (2025/26 and 2026/27) 37.7 million euros are expected to be distributed per season. From 2027/28 it should be 46.7 million euros for three seasons.

These are big steps for women’s football. Last year, Eintracht Frankfurt expressed clear criticism through board spokesman Axel Hellmann. Unlike men, the money is not suitable for increasing women’s budgets. “We also have to offer a professional framework and can’t take the bus to Barcelona. The effort we put in almost completely consumes UEFA’s payout. You don’t make any money in women’s football with the Champions League,” said the Frankfurt official when the Eintracht footballers failed in the group phase against the eventual defending champions FC Barcelona and Benfica Lisbon.

German clubs can calculate with around one million euros

The revenue situation is now also improving for the German representatives, even if of course the big Reibach doesn’t beckon. From 2025 to 2027, participants in the league phase will receive a total of 18.2 million euros, and then 24.1 million euros for the following three years. Half are starting bonuses, half are performance bonuses.

Roughly speaking, each of the 18 women’s Champions League participants can initially calculate around one million euros. The Champions League winner can then earn 2.8 million instead of 1.4 million euros. For comparison: the entry fee for men alone is currently 18.6 million euros. Established long-term guests such as FC Bayern now collect three-digit million amounts through the various UEFA pots.

UEFA now generates a gigantic sum of 4.4 billion euros per season through the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League in men’s football. 25 million euros, or just under 0.6 percent, go to the women’s competitions as cross-subsidies.