NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Title holder Barcelona’s defense of the Women’s Champions League will include hosting Arsenal in a rematch of the 2025 final won by the London club after the 18-team draw was made Friday.
Barcelona faces a season of transition after two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas and other storied Spain players left in the offseason, though got a favorable slate of six opponents that starts later this month.
Also hosted in Barcelona are Paris FC and Servette, while there are trips to play at Bayern Munich, Roma and HB Køge of Denmark.
Arsenal will host eight-time champion OL Lyonnes, Benfica and Køge, and also visit Paris FC and Inter Milan.
OL Lyonnes, which was the beaten finalist in May, goes to Arsenal, Juventus and Servette, and will host Chelsea, Europa Cup winner Häcken and Inter Milan.
English champion Manchester City will host Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Austria Vienna, while traveling to face Bayern, Häcken and Inter.
Real Madrid hosts both Paris clubs plus Inter, with away games at Bayern, Roma and Man City.
Women’s Champions League format and schedule
The six rounds of the league phase start Sept. 22 and are played through Dec. 16.
The top four in the 18-team standings in December will go direct to the quarterfinals starting in March. Fifth to 12th in the standings enter the knockout playoffs in February.
The final is played in Poland’s national stadium in Warsaw in late May.
UEFA prize money fund tops $21 million
The 18 Champions League clubs will share a UEFA prize money fund of 18.2 million euros ($21.2 million), with each guaranteed 505,000 euros ($587,000).
There is 5.6 million euros ($6.5 million) on offer in the Women’s Europa Cup, the second-tier competition which debuted last year won by Häcken.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
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