What happened: UEFA has completed the draws for the first and second qualifying rounds of the 2026/27 Women's Champions League. The rounds are contested as four-team mini-groups split into a champions path, for domestic title winners, and a league path, for runners-up and third-placed sides. Arsenal will not enter until the league phase at the end of September, giving the squad a full summer break before a pre-season tour to Spain.
Why it matters: The staggered entry points reward the continent's strongest sides with a lighter early calendar, and Arsenal's deferred start hands the holders extra recovery and preparation time their qualifying-bound rivals will not get. Chelsea face an earlier road into the competition, dropping into the third qualifying round of the league path before the group stage. The format keeps Europe's elite clubs apart until later rounds while smaller federations fight through the summer mini-groups.
By the numbers: Arsenal, Manchester City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Roma, Benfica and others enter directly in the league phase, while Chelsea begin in the third qualifying round. League-path qualifying ties include Ajax, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting CP and PSV Eindhoven across the mini-group draws. First qualifying round semi-finals are set for 22 July with finals on 25 July; the second round concludes on 8 August.
What to watch: Watch the July and early-August qualifying mini-groups to see which clubs advance toward the league phase, then Arsenal's late-September opener following their Spain pre-season tour.