The Blues will return to Europe’s elite competition this season after claiming the 2025/26 Barclays Women’s Super League title.
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This will be our ninth season competing in the Champions League in our professional history, most recently reaching the quarter-finals in 2024/25.
Our best performance saw us reach successive semi-finals in 2017 and 2018, when we were eliminated by eventual winners OL Lyonnes.
Find out more about next season’s tournament below…
League Phase Draw date
City have automatically qualified for the League Phase of the Champions League, after being crowned WSL champions.
The full complement of confirmed teams in the League Phase will be completed on Wednesday 2 September, at the conclusion of the Third Qualifying Round.
The League Phase draw then takes place on Friday 4 September in Nyon, Switzerland, where City will discover which six teams we will face.
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League Phase structure
This is the second season where the Champions League has followed the league model, with 18 teams each playing six matches, three at home and three away.
The 18 teams are split into three pots based off their UEFA Club Coefficient, with each team facing two opponents from each pot, though two teams from the same nation can’t face each other at this stage in the competition.
After each team has played six matches, the top four will qualify automatically for the quarter-finals, with fifth to twelfth entering a two-legged play-off to reach the last eight.
Finishing fifth to eighth provides an additional advantage in those play-offs, as the second leg is guaranteed to be played on home soil.
Fixture dates
The dates and times of City’s fixtures will be confirmed following the League Phase draw on Friday 4 September, but UEFA have confirmed the games will take place in the below Matchweeks:
Matchday 1: 22/23 September
Matchday 2: 30 September/1 October
Matchday 3: 28/29 October
Matchday 4: 10/11 November
Matchday 5: 18/19 November
Matchday 6: 16 December
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Who has already qualified?
City are one of nine teams already guaranteed to be competing in the League Phase. The full list can be found below:
FC Barcelona (ESP)
OL Lyonnes (FRA)
Bayern Munich (GER)
Arsenal (ENG)
BK Hacken (SWE)
Roma (ITA)
Benfica (POR)
Paris FC (FRA)
Manchester City (ENG)
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