UEFA Women’s Champions League draw: Live stream, how to watch, teams, schedule, what to know

The 2025-26 UEFA Women’s Champions League is ringing in a new era of top-flight tournament football. The competition bids farewell to its traditional group stage and welcomes an 18-team league phase inspired by the men’s “Swiss model,” where teams will manage matches against six different teams, playing half the games at home and half away. The league phase draw will take place on Friday, in Nyon, Switzerland at 6 a.m. ET on CBS Sports Golazo Network.

Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming draw;

VIewing information

• Date: Friday, Sept. 19 | Time: 6 a.m. ET
• Location: Nyon, Switzerland 
• Live stream: CBS Sports Golazo Network

How does the draw work

The draw will serve as a mechanism for team pairings in the league phase. The 18 clubs will be divided into three pots of six clubs, and the pots are determined according to club coefficient rankings formed at the beginning of the UWCL season. Reigning title holders Arsenal are the top seed in pot 1.

The draw will be conducted manually, with balls physically drawn from a bowl, and with automated software. Three bowls will be prepared for the draw, one for each pot, with six balls containing the team names of the clubs forming the pot. Each club is drawn against two opponents from each of the three pots, and plays one opponent from each pot at home and the other away.

Clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against each other, but each club can play against two teams from any other association. 

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More matches for more drama

The traditional groups will be gone as the league phase kicks off and features a single table where each team plays six games against six different opponents. Teams are ranked across a single table and follow standard point rules with three points for a win, one for a draw, and zero for a loss. 

The top four teams advance directly to the quarterfinals; teams fifth through 12th will participate in a two-legged knockout playoff for the remaining quarterfinal spots. Teams ranked 13th through 18th will be eliminated from the tournament.

What teams are involved in the draw?

There are nine teams that already have a secure spot in the league phase:

• Arsenal (England, titleholders)
• Lyon (France)
• Paris Saint-Germain (France)
• Bayern Munich (Germany)
• Wolfsburg (Germany) 
• Barcelona (Spain)
• Chelsea (England) 
• Benfica (Portugal) 
• Juventus (Italy)

Who will be the other teams?

Second leg matches of the third qualifying round concluded on Thursday. Here are the winners who will fill the other nine spots in the league phase draw:

• Paris FC (France)
• Real Madrid (Spain)
• Atlético de Madrid (Spain)
• Manchester United (England)
• Roma (Italy)
• Twente (Netherlands)
• Vålerenga (Norway)
• St. Polten (Austria)
• OH Leuven (Belgium)

2025-26 UWCL match dates

League Phase
Matchday 1: Oct. 7-8
Matchday 2: Oct. 15-16
Matchday 3: Nov. 11-12 
Matchday 4: Nov. 19-20
Matchday 5: Dec. 9-10
Matchday 6: Dec. 17

Knockout phase play-offs
Draw: Dec. 18 — Nyon, Switzerland
First leg: Feb. 11-12
Second leg: Feb. 18-19

Quarterfinals
Draw: Dec. 18 – Nyon, Switzerland
First leg: March 24-25
Second leg: April 1-2

Semifinals
Draw: Dec. 18 – Nyon, Switzerland
First leg: April 25-26
Second leg: May 2-3

Champions League Final 
May 22-24: Ullevaal Stadion — Oslo, Norway