# UEFA Women's Europa Cup
The **UEFA Women's Europa Cup** is UEFA's second-tier annual club competition for European women's football, launched in the 2025/26 season alongside the reformatted [UEFA Women's Champions League](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-womens-champions-league) and played entirely as two-legged knockout rounds. It was approved by the UEFA Executive Committee on 2 December 2023 as part of the post-2025 concept for European women's club football, and the inaugural edition was won by the Swedish club Häcken, who beat fellow Swedes Hammarby 4-2 on aggregate in the final.[1](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0288-199d5409c078-998cb47d6cf3-1000--benefitting-the-whole-of-europe-uefa-to-reformat-women-s/) • [2](https://www.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/news/029e-1efb20338bad-74d728006183-1000--women-s-europa-cup-all-the-results/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Status | Second women's club competition organized by UEFA, alongside the Women's Champions League; first edition 2025/26[3](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/029c-1e6df4a858e1-212bd6e36df5-1000--2025-26-uefa-women-s-europa-cup-dates-access-list-full-guide/) |
| Format | Straight knockout, six rounds (first and second qualifying rounds, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, final), every tie including the final played home and away[3](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/029c-1e6df4a858e1-212bd6e36df5-1000--2025-26-uefa-women-s-europa-cup-dates-access-list-full-guide/) |
| Entries (2025/26) | 43 clubs: 12 entered directly, 31 transferred from Women's Champions League qualifying[3](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/029c-1e6df4a858e1-212bd6e36df5-1000--2025-26-uefa-women-s-europa-cup-dates-access-list-full-guide/) |
| Reward | Winners qualify for the third qualifying round of the champions path of the next season's Women's Champions League[3](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/029c-1e6df4a858e1-212bd6e36df5-1000--2025-26-uefa-women-s-europa-cup-dates-access-list-full-guide/) |
| Prize money | Teams share a €5.6 million total fund[4](https://apnews.com/article/8441b8576c80fde47d2e2b1fdcd87561) |
| First champions | Häcken, 4-2 on aggregate over Hammarby in the 2025/26 final[2](https://www.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/news/029e-1efb20338bad-74d728006183-1000--women-s-europa-cup-all-the-results/) |
| Leading scorer | Felicia Schröder (Häcken), 8 goals[5](https://ar.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/history/2026/) |
## Origin and purpose
Before 2025, UEFA ran only one women's club competition, the Women's Champions League, while men's football had three. On 2 December 2023 the UEFA Executive Committee approved a post-2025 sporting concept that both reformed the Champions League into an 18-team league phase and created a second European women's club competition, following consultation with the European Club Association, national associations, leagues and clubs.[1](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0288-199d5409c078-998cb47d6cf3-1000--benefitting-the-whole-of-europe-uefa-to-reformat-women-s/) The name was announced on 16 December 2024: "Europa" was chosen because the men's [UEFA Europa League](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-europa-league) had already made the term associated with second-tier European club football, and "Cup" emphasizes the tournament's purely knockout format.[6](https://as.com/futbol/femenino/la-uefa-anuncia-una-subida-de-premios-en-la-euro-y-la-nueva-uefa-womens-europa-cup-n/)
The competition addresses a gap in access: for many clubs, European campaigns had previously been a distant ambition or ended too early to drive development, and the new tournament offers broader access plus a second pathway for teams eliminated in the early stages of Champions League qualifying.[7](https://www.uefa.com/womenschampionsleague/news/02a6-20d5754e28b9-c23cf37e8c28-1000--a-new-era-peaks-in-oslo-uefa-women/) UEFA framed it as a way to give more clubs, players and fans a chance of European glory and to incentivize domestic growth.[1](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0288-199d5409c078-998cb47d6cf3-1000--benefitting-the-whole-of-europe-uefa-to-reformat-women-s/)
## Format and access
The tournament is a straight knockout played in parallel to the Women's Champions League, with six rounds: the first and second qualifying rounds, the round of 16, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final, all over two legs, home and away.[3](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/029c-1e6df4a858e1-212bd6e36df5-1000--2025-26-uefa-women-s-europa-cup-dates-access-list-full-guide/) In the inaugural season, 12 teams entered directly, the third-placed teams in the domestic leagues of the associations ranked 8 to 13 and the runners-up of the associations ranked 18 to 24, while a feeding system from the Champions League gave a second chance to the nine clubs eliminated in the third qualifying round and to the runners-up and third-placed teams from the 11 second qualifying round mini-tournaments.[3](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/029c-1e6df4a858e1-212bd6e36df5-1000--2025-26-uefa-women-s-europa-cup-dates-access-list-full-guide/) In total 43 clubs competed, 12 directly and 31 transferring from Champions League qualifying.[3](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/029c-1e6df4a858e1-212bd6e36df5-1000--2025-26-uefa-women-s-europa-cup-dates-access-list-full-guide/)
The winner earns a place in the third qualifying round of the champions path of the following season's Women's Champions League, one round away from the league phase.[3](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/029c-1e6df4a858e1-212bd6e36df5-1000--2025-26-uefa-women-s-europa-cup-dates-access-list-full-guide/) The 2025/26 season ran from a first qualifying round drawn on 31 August 2025, with legs in September, October, November, February, March and April, to a final played on 25/26 April and 2/3 May 2026.[3](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/029c-1e6df4a858e1-212bd6e36df5-1000--2025-26-uefa-women-s-europa-cup-dates-access-list-full-guide/)
## Inaugural season, 2025/26
The first edition opened with a 22-team first qualifying round, followed by a 32-team second qualifying round played as 16 two-legged ties.[5](https://ar.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/history/2026/) In the round of 16, Sparta Praha, trailing 3-0 from the first leg, defeated Young Boys 4-0 in the return thanks to a late Michaela Khýrová goal, making them the first club ever in UEFA women's club competition to advance after a home defeat by three goals or more.[5](https://ar.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/history/2026/)
**Quarter-finals and semi-finals.** Häcken beat Breidablik 11-1 on aggregate and [Eintracht Frankfurt](https://www.edgepedia.org/eintracht-frankfurt) beat Nordsjælland 7-2, while Hammarby eliminated [Sporting CP](https://www.edgepedia.org/sporting-cp) on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate tie and Sparta Praha needed extra time to get past Austria Wien, becoming the first Czech team to reach a UEFA women's club competition semi-final.[5](https://ar.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/history/2026/) In the semi-finals, Häcken's 3-0 first-leg win over Eintracht Frankfurt was enough despite a narrow second-leg loss, and Hammarby beat Sparta Praha 5-2 on aggregate, setting up an all-Swedish final.[5](https://ar.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/history/2026/)
**Final.** Häcken won the first leg 1-0 away at Hammarby and took the second leg 3-2 at Gothenburg's Hisingen Arena, winning 4-2 on aggregate. [Felicia Schröder](https://www.edgepedia.org/felicia-schroder) scored all four of Häcken's goals across the tie, including a hat-trick in the second leg.[5](https://ar.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/history/2026/) The title made Häcken the first Swedish team to lift a UEFA club competition trophy since 2004, and Schröder finished as the tournament's top scorer with 8 goals, ahead of Khýrová on 5.[5](https://ar.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/history/2026/) As winners, Häcken entered the Champions League league phase in 2026/27.[8](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/uwcl-everything-you-need-to-know-as-the-womens-champions-league-kicks-off)
## Finance
Teams in the Women's Europa Cup share a total prize money fund of €5.6 million, set when UEFA announced its new financial distribution system for women's club competitions.[4](https://apnews.com/article/8441b8576c80fde47d2e2b1fdcd87561) For the first two seasons of the 2025/26 cycle, €37.7 million per season is available across UEFA's women's club competitions, rising to €46.7 million per season for the three seasons after.[6](https://as.com/futbol/femenino/la-uefa-anuncia-una-subida-de-premios-en-la-euro-y-la-nueva-uefa-womens-europa-cup-n/)
## Second edition, 2026/27
The 2026/27 tournament is the second edition and follows the same format as the first.[9](https://de.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/fixtures-results/format/) The 2026/27 final will again be played over two legs, at the home of each finalist, and will crown the competition's second winner.[10](https://pt.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/news/02a6-20e1fa4a719f-0a0f2a009653-1000--final-da-women-s-europa-cup-2027-tudo-o-que-precisa-de-saber/)
## References
1. [Benefitting the whole of Europe: UEFA to reformat Women's Champions League and introduce second competition, UEFA.com, 4 December 2023](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0288-199d5409c078-998cb47d6cf3-1000--benefitting-the-whole-of-europe-uefa-to-reformat-women-s/)
2. [Women's Europa Cup: All the results, UEFA.com](https://www.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/news/029e-1efb20338bad-74d728006183-1000--women-s-europa-cup-all-the-results/)
3. [2025/26 UEFA Women's Europa Cup: Dates, access list, full guide, UEFA.com, 19 September 2025](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/029c-1e6df4a858e1-212bd6e36df5-1000--2025-26-uefa-women-s-europa-cup-dates-access-list-full-guide/)
4. [Champions League in women's European soccer moves to pay-TV in 5-year deal with Disney+, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/8441b8576c80fde47d2e2b1fdcd87561)
5. [2025/26 Women's Europa Cup: Häcken triumph in first edition, UEFA.com](https://ar.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/history/2026/)
6. [La UEFA anuncia una subida de premios en la Euro y la nueva 'UEFA Women's Europa Cup', AS, 16 December 2024](https://as.com/futbol/femenino/la-uefa-anuncia-una-subida-de-premios-en-la-euro-y-la-nueva-uefa-womens-europa-cup-n/)
7. [A new era peaks in Oslo: UEFA Women's Champions League and UEFA Women's Europa Cup reshape the landscape, UEFA.com](https://www.uefa.com/womenschampionsleague/news/02a6-20d5754e28b9-c23cf37e8c28-1000--a-new-era-peaks-in-oslo-uefa-women/)
8. [UWCL: Everything you need to know as the Women's Champions League kicks off, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/uwcl-everything-you-need-to-know-as-the-womens-champions-league-kicks-off)
9. [UEFA Women's Europa Cup 2026/27: Termine, vorläufige Zugangsliste und weitere Infos, UEFA.com](https://de.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/fixtures-results/format/)
10. [Final da Women's Europa Cup 2027: tudo o que precisa de saber, UEFA.com](https://pt.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/news/02a6-20e1fa4a719f-0a0f2a009653-1000--final-da-women-s-europa-cup-2027-tudo-o-que-precisa-de-saber/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Competitions and recurring events › UEFA competitions › UEFA women's competitions › UEFA women's competitions overview and history*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license