UEFA Women's Champions League 2026/27: full Matchday 1 schedule and ticket information published
The league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Women's Champions League begins on Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 September with nine matches scheduled across several European cities. On 18 September, UEFA published the complete league-phase schedule, an overview of the main stories ahead of Matchday 1, and a central page with ticket information for all 18 clubs. According to UEFA's official schedule, some of the most high-profile opening fixtures are Bayern München – Manchester City, Real Madrid – Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea – Austria Wien and Barcelona – Paris FC. Reigning European champions Barcelona begin their title defence in front of their own supporters, while Manchester City return to the competition after a one-year absence with an away match against Bayern. Matchday 1 will also mark the start of the second Women's Champions League season using a single league table featuring 18 clubs.
UEFA has confirmed six league-phase matchdays from September to December, with each club playing six matches against six different opponents, three at home and three away. All 18 teams are placed in one common table, while the points system remains standard: three points for a win, one for a draw and no points for a defeat. According to the competition rules published by UEFA, the top four teams after six matchdays will qualify directly for the quarter-finals, while the clubs finishing from fifth to 12th place will enter the play-offs for the remaining four places among the last eight. Teams finishing from 13th to 18th place will end their European season after the league phase. Because of this system, every result from Matchday 1 directly affects the common standings, without the traditional groups that previously determined the path towards the knockout phase.
Full Matchday 1 schedule for 22 and 23 September
UEFA states that all nine Matchday 1 fixtures will be played on 22 and 23 September, with kick-off times on the official website listed in CET. Five matches are scheduled for Tuesday, with the remaining four taking place on Wednesday. Bayern München and Inter open the evening in the earlier time slot, while Arsenal, Juventus and Real Madrid are the hosts in the later evening block. The following day, OH Leuven and Servette play in the earlier slot, while Chelsea and Barcelona bring Matchday 1 to a close. The full schedule is as follows:
- Tuesday, 22 September 2026 at 18:45: Bayern München – Manchester City
- Tuesday, 22 September 2026 at 18:45: Inter – Häcken
- Tuesday, 22 September 2026 at 21:00: Arsenal – HB Køge Women
- Tuesday, 22 September 2026 at 21:00: Juventus – Benfica
- Tuesday, 22 September 2026 at 21:00: Real Madrid – Paris Saint-Germain
- Wednesday, 23 September 2026 at 18:45: OH Leuven – Roma
- Wednesday, 23 September 2026 at 18:45: Servette – OL Lyonnes
- Wednesday, 23 September 2026 at 21:00: Chelsea – Austria Wien
- Wednesday, 23 September 2026 at 21:00: Barcelona – Paris FC
The schedule already brings several meetings between highly ambitious clubs on Matchday 1, as well as an important moment for teams that are only now entering this level of European competition. In its preview, UEFA particularly highlights Manchester City's return, the debuts of Inter and Austria Wien, and record holders OL Lyonnes' away match against Servette. Arsenal, European champions in the 2024/25 season, begin against HB Køge Women, a club returning to the competition after a multi-year absence. Juventus and Benfica meet again at the start of the league phase after their Matchday 1 encounter last season ended in a 2:1 victory for the Italian side. The opening schedule has therefore already brought together established contenders, returning clubs and debutants, one of the consequences of a system in which every team receives six different opponents.
Bayern and Manchester City open one of the most closely watched fixtures
The meeting between Bayern and Manchester City in München is one of the central fixtures of the opening day. In its Matchday preview, UEFA notes that Bayern reached the semi-finals last season, while Manchester City return to the Women's Champions League after a one-year absence and make their first European appearance since the quarter-finals of the 2024/25 season. The English club arrive in München with an attack led by Khadija Shaw, and UEFA highlights her tally of 21 goals in 22 league matches last season. For Bayern, the focus is on the creativity of Klara Bühl, who according to UEFA data recorded eight assists in the 2025/26 league phase, and Pernille Harder, who scored eight goals during that European campaign. Kick-off is scheduled for 18:45, and for both teams it is an opportunity to collect points immediately before a demanding continuation of the schedule.
After Manchester City, Bayern's league-phase schedule continues with Benfica away, Real Madrid at home, Paris Saint-Germain away, Austria Wien away and Barcelona at home on the final matchday. After München, Manchester City will host Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, then travel to Inter and Häcken, before concluding the league phase with a home match against Austria Wien. That schedule shows how different the new model is from the former group format: clubs do not meet the same opponent twice, but instead collect points for one common table through six different fixtures. UEFA organised the draw by dividing the clubs into three seeding pots, with each club receiving two opponents from each pot, one at home and one away. Clubs from the same national association generally could not be paired against each other, while the number of opponents from any other single association was also limited.
Real Madrid against PSG, Barcelona begin their title defence
In the evening slot on 22 September, Real Madrid host Paris Saint-Germain in one of the most prominent opening fixtures. Both clubs belong to the group of teams that qualified directly for the league phase, and according to UEFA's schedule, Real Madrid will also travel to Manchester City and Bayern during the first half of the competition. After Madrid, PSG host OH Leuven, then travel to Manchester City, welcome Bayern, travel to Chelsea and finish the league with a home match against Juventus. Since only the top four places qualify directly for the quarter-finals, early meetings between clubs with major European ambitions can have a significant impact on the later battle to avoid the additional play-offs. UEFA, however, has designed the format so that the final standings are determined only after all six matchdays of the common league have been completed.
One day later, Barcelona begin their European title defence at home against Paris FC. UEFA states that Barcelona won their fourth European title in May 2026 and, in its Matchday 1 preview, also notes that Paris FC reached the knockout-phase play-offs in the previous season. The two teams also met last season, when Barcelona won 2:0. The Catalan club enter the new European campaign with a changed squad following summer departures, while UEFA highlights Ewa Pajor, Caroline Graham Hansen, Vicky López and Brazilian newcomer Kerolin among their attacking options. For Paris FC, an important part of the new squad is Evelyne Viens, who joined the club after a spell at Roma.
Chelsea host a debutant, Inter begin against the Women's Europa Cup winners
Chelsea host Austria Wien at 21:00 on 23 September, one of two clubs UEFA identifies as debutants in this edition of the league phase. The Austrian champions qualified through the qualifying rounds, and UEFA particularly highlights Modesta Uka, who scored six goals in four qualifying matches, including a hat-trick against Brann in the third qualifying round. Austria Wien also have experience from the previous season's UEFA Women's Europa Cup, in which they reached the quarter-finals. Chelsea, one of the direct participants in the league phase, will follow this match with OL Lyonnes away, Roma at home, Häcken away, PSG at home and OH Leuven away. That schedule gives the London club three home and three away matches, just like all the other participants.
Inter open their first league-phase appearance at 18:45 on 22 September against Häcken. UEFA states that the Milan club qualified after eliminating Wolfsburg on penalties in the final qualifying tie. Häcken enter the competition as the winners of the previous season's UEFA Women's Europa Cup, meaning the match in Italy immediately brings together a debutant and a club that won a European trophy only a few months earlier. On the same Matchday 1, Servette host OL Lyonnes, the eight-time European champions according to UEFA data, while OH Leuven play Roma at home. The variety of Matchday 1 pairings also demonstrates the geographical breadth of the league phase, with clubs from England, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland.
All 18 clubs and the path to the knockout phase
The 2026/27 league phase features Arsenal, Austria Wien, Barcelona, Bayern München, Benfica, Chelsea, Häcken, HB Køge Women, Inter, Juventus, Manchester City, OH Leuven, OL Lyonnes, Paris FC, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Roma and Servette. UEFA placed nine clubs directly into the league phase, while the remaining nine places were filled through the third qualifying round. Under the new format, each team plays each of its six opponents only once, meaning there are no return fixtures within the league phase. The top four clubs in the final table skip the play-offs and advance directly to the quarter-finals, while the teams finishing from fifth to 12th place play two-legged knockout play-offs in February 2027. The four winners of those ties will join the leading four clubs in the quarter-finals.
The league phase runs until 16 December 2026, when the final nine matches are scheduled. UEFA has planned for all fixtures on the final evening to be played simultaneously, which should reduce the possibility that later results influence the approach of clubs that already know their rivals' outcomes. The knockout-phase draw is then planned for 18 December, with UEFA noting that the date is subject to change. The play-offs will be played on 3 and 4 February and 10 and 11 February 2027, the quarter-finals in late March and early April, and the semi-finals in early May. The final will be held at Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw on 28, 29 or 30 May 2027, with UEFA's current page still listing three possible dates.
UEFA launches central ticket information page
For supporters, the most important new development is the publication of UEFA's central ticket information page for the 2026/27 season. The page, published on 18 September, does not provide a single sales platform for all league-phase tickets, but instead brings together each of the 18 clubs' three home matches and a link to the club's own ticketing information. This means that tickets for Bayern – Manchester City, for example, are followed through Bayern's sales channels, while information for Real Madrid – PSG is available through Real Madrid's official ticketing service. The same applies to Barcelona against Paris FC and Chelsea against Austria Wien, as well as the other Matchday 1 hosts. UEFA explicitly directs users on its page to the individual club systems, meaning prices, sections, sales schedules and current availability may depend on each host's rules.
The Matchday 1 hosts are Bayern München, Inter, Arsenal, Juventus, Real Madrid, OH Leuven, Servette, Chelsea and Barcelona. For all nine clubs, UEFA has placed links on its central page to their official ticket information, together with a list of all their home matches in the league phase. The same page also provides links for the other nine participants, whose first home fixtures come in later matchdays. Since the official consolidated schedule does not list every stadium alongside each fixture, supporters planning to travel should make a point of checking the current club website before purchasing transport or accommodation. The final venue, sales deadlines, ticket categories and any rules for away sections are generally published there, depending on the match and the host.
UEFA has separately stated that tickets for the 2027 final will be sold exclusively through its official ticketing system. The final is planned for the National Stadium in Warsaw at the end of May 2027, and the start of ticket sales has not yet been announced on the current information page. UEFA recommends creating a myUEFA account and subscribing to notifications for information about when final ticket sales begin. For the league phase, however, club channels remain the key source, which is important to distinguish from the sales model used for the final. Supporters should therefore follow the home club for each individual match, while UEFA's central page serves as a starting point connecting all 18 clubs.
Six matchdays through 16 December
After the opening on 22 and 23 September, Matchday 2 follows on 30 September and 1 October. Matchday 3 will be played on 28 and 29 October, Matchday 4 on 10 and 11 November, and Matchday 5 on 18 and 19 November. The final, sixth matchday is scheduled for 16 December, when all 18 clubs will conclude their battle for places leading directly to the quarter-finals, the play-offs or elimination. Among the later fixtures, Bayern – Real Madrid, Manchester City – Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona – Arsenal, Chelsea – Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern – Barcelona on the final matchday stand out in particular, and all are confirmed in UEFA's official schedule. The opening two days of the competition will therefore be only the beginning of a six-matchday schedule that, in less than three months, determines the entire initial knockout picture of Europe's leading women's club competition.
Sources:
- UEFA – official Matchday 1 preview with the schedule, key stories and information about clubs and players (link)
- UEFA – complete UEFA Women's Champions League 2026/27 league-phase schedule by dates and matchdays (link)
- UEFA – official page with ticket information and links to ticketing for all 18 clubs (link)
- UEFA – guide to the format, participants, calendar and qualification system for the knockout phase for the 2026/27 season (link)