2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League explained

Tourney Name:	UEFA Women's Champions League
Year:	2016–17
Size:	275px
Dates:	Qualifying round: 23–28 August 2016 Knockout phase:
Num Teams:	Knockout phase: 32 Total: 59
Associations:	47
Champion Other:	Lyon
Count:	4
Second Other:	Paris Saint-Germain
Top Scorer:	Zsanett Jakabfi Vivianne Miedema (8 goals each)
Prevseason:	2015–16
Nextseason:	2017–18

The 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League was the 16th edition of the European women's club football championship organised by UEFA, and the 8th edition since being rebranded as the UEFA Women's Champions League.

The final was held at the Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on 1 June 2017, two days before the final of the men's tournament played at the Millennium Stadium.^[1]

Lyon were the defending champions, and successfully defended their title after defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the final 7–6 on penalties after a goalless draw, and equalled Frankfurt's record of four European titles.^[2]

Expansion

The tournament was expanded such that the top 12 national associations (instead of the previous top 8) in the rankings were allowed to enter two teams in the competition.^[3]

The change has been criticized, as it broadens the tournament but doesn't add teams from top countries.^[4] The lack of an increase in prize-money also has been criticized.^[5] For the first time the clubs receive money for flights to away games. The amount increases from €12,000 over €17,000 to €20,000 based on flight time.

Association team allocation

A total of 59 teams from 47 of the 55 UEFA member associations participated in the 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League, which was a record number of entries.^[6] The ranking based on the UEFA Women's Champions League association coefficient is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:^[7]

• Associations 1–12 each have two teams qualify.
• All other associations, should they enter, each have one team qualify.
• The winners of the 2015–16 UEFA Women's Champions League were given an additional entry if they do not qualify for the 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League through their domestic league. Since the title holders Lyon qualified through their domestic league, the additional entry for the Champions League title holders was not necessary for this season.

Association ranking

For the 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2015 UEFA Women's Champions League association coefficient, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2010–11 to 2014–15.^[8]

Scotland for the first time receive two entries in the UEFA Women's Champions League.^[9]

Rank Association Coeff. Teams 1 Germany 96.000 align=center rowspan=12 2 2 France 76.000 3 Sweden 61.500 4 England 58.000 5 Russia 44.000 6 Spain 41.000 7 Denmark 39.000 8 Italy 35.000 9 Austria 32.500 10 Czech Republic 32.000 11 Scotland 29.000 12 Norway 27.500 13 Switzerland 27.000 align=center rowspan=7 1 14 Cyprus 19.000 15 Poland 18.500 16 Kazakhstan 18.000 17 Netherlands 17.000 18 Iceland 17.000 19 Belgium 17.000

Rank Association Coeff. Teams 20 Hungary 15.500 align=center rowspan=18 1 21 Serbia 14.000 22 Romania 14.000 23 Finland 13.000 24 Lithuania 11.000 25 Republic of Ireland 11.000 26 Turkey 11.000 27 Ukraine 11.000 28 Belarus 11.000 29 Greece 10.500 30 Slovenia 10.000 31 Portugal 9.500 32 Bosnia and Herzegovina 9.000 33 Croatia 8.000 34 Israel 8.000 35 Bulgaria 6.500 36 Slovakia 6.500 37 Estonia 5.000

Rank Association Coeff. Teams 38 Faroe Islands 4.000 align=center rowspan=9 1 39 Wales 3.000 40 Macedonia 3.000 41 Northern Ireland 2.000 42 Albania 1.500 43 Montenegro 1.000 44 Moldova 0.500 45 Malta 0.000 46 Latvia 0.000 47 Luxembourg 0.000 align=center rowspan=2 0 48 Georgia 0.000 Kosovo align=right rowspan=7 0.000 1 Andorra align=center rowspan=6 0 Armenia Azerbaijan Gibraltar Liechtenstein San Marino

Notes

• – Additional berth for title holders
• – Did not enter
• – No rank (association did not enter in the five seasons used for computing coefficients)

Distribution

The format of the competition remains unchanged from previous years, starting from the qualifying round, which is played as mini-tournaments with four teams in each group, followed by the knockout phase starting from the round of 32, which is played as home-and-away two-legged ties except for the one-match final.

Unlike the men's Champions League, not every association enters a team, and so the exact number of teams in each round (qualifying round and round of 32) can not be determined until the full entry list is known. In general, the title holders, the champions of the top 12 associations, plus the runners-up of highest-ranked associations (exact number depending on the number of entries) receive a bye to the round of 32. All other teams (runners-up of lowest-ranked associations plus champions of associations starting from 13th) enter the qualifying round, with the group winners plus a maximum of two best runners-up advancing to the round of 32 to join the direct qualifiers.

With 59 entries for this season, the lowest-ranked 36 teams enter the qualifying round (9 groups), with only the 9 group winners advancing to the round of 32 to join the 23 direct qualifiers.^[10]

Teams

The following list the teams that qualified and entered this season's competition.^[6] Here CH denotes the national champion, RU the national runner-up. Entries from 49 associations were possible. Three associations have no current league (Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein, San Marino). Azerbaijan only has junior leagues and teams from Liechtenstein play in the Swiss leagues. Gibraltar's league is only nine-a-side for 2015/16 and Andorra's is only five-a-side.^[11] Thus they are ineligible as well. Armenia has a regular league with an 11-a-side champion crowned for autumn and summer,^[12] but hasn't registered for European competition the last years. Also Georgia and Luxembourg did not enter a team. It's the first time a club (men or women) from Kosovo enters a UEFA competition.^[13]

Round of 32 (Champions from associations 1–12 + Runners-up from associations 1–11)
Bayern Munich (CH)	Wolfsburg (RU)^[14]	Lyon^TH (CH)	Paris Saint-Germain (RU)
Rosengård (CH)	Eskilstuna United DFF (RU)	Chelsea (CH)^[15]	Manchester City (RU)
Zvezda Perm (CH)^[16]	Rossiyanka (RU)	Athletic Club (CH)	Barcelona (RU)
Fortuna Hjørring (CH)	Brøndby (RU)	Brescia (CH)	AGSM Verona (RU)^[17]
St. Pölten-Spratzern (CH)^[18]	Sturm Graz (RU)	Slavia Praha (CH)	Sparta Praha (RU)
Glasgow City (CH)^[19]	Hibernian (RU)	Lillestrøm SK (CH)
Qualifying round (Runners-up from associations 12 + Champions from associations 13–55)
Avaldsnes IL (RU)^[20]	Zürich (CH)^[21]	Apollon Limassol (CH)^[22]	Medyk Konin (CH)^[23]
BIIK Kazygurt (CH)	Twente (CH)^[24]	Breiðablik (CH)^[25]	Standard Liège (CH)^[26]
Ferencváros (CH)^[27]	Spartak Subotica (CH)^[28]	Olimpia Cluj (CH)	PK-35 Vantaa (CH)^[29]
Gintra Universitetas (CH)^[30]	Wexford Youths (CH)^[31]	Konak Belediyespor (CH)^[32]	Zhytlobud Kharkiv (CH)
FC Minsk (CH)	PAOK (CH)^[33]	Pomurje (CH)^[34]	CF Benfica (CH)^[35]
SFK 2000 (CH)^[36]	Osijek (CH)^[37]	Ramat HaSharon (CH)	NSA Sofia (CH)
Slovan Bratislava (CH)^[38]	Pärnu JK (CH)^[39]	KÍ Klaksvík (CH)	Cardiff Met. LFC (CH)^[40]
ŽFK Dragon 2014 (CH)^[41]	Newry City (CH)^[42]	Vllaznia (CH)^[43]	Breznica (CH)^[44]
ARF Criuleni (CH)	Hibernians (CH)^[45]	Rīgas FS (CH)^[46]	Hajvalia (CH)^[47]

Round and draw dates

UEFA has scheduled the competition as follows (all draws are held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland).^[48]

Round	Draw	First leg	Second leg
Qualifying round	24 June 2016	23–28 August 2016
Round of 32	1 September 2016	5–6 October 2016	12–13 October 2016
Round of 16	17 October 2016	9–10 November 2016	16–17 November 2016
Quarter-finals	25 November 2016	22–23 March 2017	29–30 March 2017
Semi-finals		22–23 April 2017	29–30 April 2017
Final		1 June 2017 at Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff

Qualifying round

See main article: article and 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying round. The draw was held on 24 June 2016, 13:30 CEST, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.^{[49] [50]} The 36 teams were allocated into four seeding positions based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season. They were drawn into nine groups of four containing one team from each of the four seeding positions. First, the nine teams which were pre-selected as hosts were drawn from their own designated pot and allocated to their respective group as per their seeding positions. Next, the remaining 27 teams were drawn from their respective pot which were allocated according to their seeding positions.

In each group, teams play against each other in a round-robin mini-tournament at the pre-selected hosts. The nine group winners advance to the round of 32 to join the 23 teams which qualified directly. The matchdays are 23, 25 and 28 August 2016.

Group 9

Knockout phase

See main article: article and 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League knockout phase.

In the knockout phase, teams play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:

• In the draw for the round of 32, the sixteen teams with the highest UEFA coefficients are seeded (with the title holders being the automatic top seed), and the other sixteen teams are unseeded. The seeded teams are drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.
• In the draw for the round of 16, the eight teams with the highest UEFA coefficients are seeded (with the title holders being the automatic top seed should they qualify), and the other eight teams are unseeded. The seeded teams are drawn against the unseeded teams, with the order of legs decided by draw. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.
• In the draws for the quarter-finals onwards, there are no seedings, and teams from the same association can be drawn against each other.

Round of 32

The draw for the round of 32 was held on 1 September 2016, 13:30 CEST, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.^{[51] [52]}

Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 17 October 2016, 13:30 CEST, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.^{[53] [54] [55]}

Quarter-finals

The draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals was held on 25 November 2016, 13:30 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.^{[56] [57]}

Final

See main article: article and 2017 UEFA Women's Champions League Final.

The final was played on 1 June 2017 at the Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.^[58] The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.^[56]

Statistics

Qualifying goals count towards the topscorer award.

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Team	Goals
					Total
1	Zsanett Jakabfi	Wolfsburg	—	8	8
	Vivianne Miedema	Bayern Munich	—	8
3	Gulnara Gabelia	BIIK Kazygurt	4	3	7
	Alexandra Lunca	Olimpia Cluj	7	—
	Aleksandra Sikora	Medyk Konin	5	2
6	Cristiane	Paris Saint-Germain	—	6	6
	Hege Hansen	Avaldsnes IL	5	1
	Fabienne Humm	FC Zürich	3	3
	Eugénie Le Sommer	Lyon	—	6
	Loredana Popa	Olimpia Cluj	6	—

Squad of the season

The UEFA technical study group selected the following 18 players as the squad of the tournament:^[59]

	Player	Team
	Sarah Bouhaddi	Lyon
	Katarzyna Kiedrzynek	Paris Saint-Germain
	Lucy Bronze	Manchester City
	Kadeisha Buchanan	Lyon
	Griedge Mbock Bathy	Lyon
	Wendie Renard	Lyon
	Ashley Lawrence	Paris Saint-Germain
	Eve Périsset	Paris Saint-Germain
	Jill Scott	Manchester City
	Camille Abily	Lyon
	Saki Kumagai	Lyon
	Dzsenifer Marozsán	Lyon
	Grace Geyoro	Paris Saint-Germain
	Pernille Harder	VfL Wolfsburg
	Vivianne Miedema	Bayern Munich
	Eugénie Le Sommer	Lyon
	Cristiane	Paris Saint-Germain
	Zsanett Jakabfi	VfL Wolfsburg

See also

• 2016–17 UEFA Champions League

External links

• 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League
• European league standings

Notes and References

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2. Web site: Lyon match Frankfurt's record. UEFA.com. 1 June 2017.
3. Web site: New distribution concept for club competitions approved. UEFA.org. 23 March 2015.
4. Web site: Vorschlag zur Aufwertung des Europapokals der Frauen. 23 March 2015. framba.de. 2015-08-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924035832/http://www.framba.de/content/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6154%3Avorschlag-zur-aufwertung-des-europapokals-der-frauen&catid=122&Itemid=887. 2015-09-24. dead.
5. Web site: UEFA increase countries eligible for two slots in women's Champions League. 25 March 2015. dailycannon.com.
6. Web site: Women's Champions League entries confirmed. UEFA.com. 9 June 2016.
7. Web site: Regulations of the UEFA Women's Champions League 2016/17 Season. UEFA.com. 4 March 2016.
8. Web site: 2016/17 coefficient rankings. UEFA. 25 September 2015.
9. Web site: Scotland among 12 nations with two entries . UEFA . 25 September 2015 . 25 September 2015.
10. Web site: Access List for the UEFA Women's Champions League 2016/17 . UEFA.com.
11. Web site: Femení Base, Femení Base. 11 August 2015. faf.ad.
12. Web site: Մրցաշարեր. 11 August 2015. ffa.am.
13. Web site: UEFA lejon Hajvalinë të luajë në Ligën e Kampionëve. 7 May 2016. koha.net.
14. Web site: Wolfsburg macht Champions-League-Teilnahme perfekt. 16 May 2016. womensoccer.de. 16 May 2016. 9 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161009090146/http://www.womensoccer.de/2016/05/16/wolfsburg-macht-champions-league-teilnahme-perfekt/. dead.
15. Web site: Chelsea seal Women's Super League title . BBC . 4 October 2015 . 5 October 2015.
16. Web site: Josee Nahi won double with Zvezda-2005 Perm . lta-agency.com . 17 November 2015.
17. Web site: Calcio femminile, Agsm Verona da delirio: batte la Fiorentina e vola in Champions League!. 21 March 2016. trivenetogoal.it.
18. Web site: Mission Titelverteidigung erfolgreich abgeschlossen. fsk-stpoelten.at. 9 May 2016. 9 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161009152705/http://www.fsk-stpoelten.at/de/19952?entry=26507. 9 October 2016. dead. dmy-all.
19. Web site: Glasgow City secure their ninth league title in a row . BBC Sport . BBC . 18 October 2015 . 18 October 2015.
20. Web site: Village beckons for Champions League winner. https://web.archive.org/web/20160209074646/http://www.fifa.com/womens-football/news/y=2016/m=1/news=village-beckons-for-champions-league-winner-2756357.html. dead. February 9, 2016. FIFA. 25 January 2016. 25 January 2016.
21. Web site: FCZ feiert Meistertitel. 25 May 2016. blickamabend.ch. 25 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160529053309/http://www.blickamabend.ch/sport/wie-bitte-der-fcz-kann-heute-auch-meister-werden-id5074138.html. 29 May 2016. dead.
22. Web site: Η Άντρη Βιολάρη (αριστερά με τη φανέλα της Εθνικής μας) αναδείχτηκε πρώτη σκόρερ. (Eighth consecutive title for Apollon Ladies) . cfa.com.cy . 25 February 2016 . 15 February 2016 . el .
23. Web site: Medyk Konin obronił tytuł mistrzyń Polski w piłce nożnej kobiet. 14 May 2016. eurosport.onet.pl. 16 May 2016. 18 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160818124244/http://eurosport.onet.pl/pilka-nozna/medyk-konin-obronil-tytul-mistrzyn-polski-w-pilce-noznej-kobiet/74ecnd. dead.
24. Web site: FC Twente Vrouwen Voor Vierde Jaar op Rij Kampioen Van Nederland. 20 May 2016. tubantia.nl.
25. Web site: Paris step up, Chelsea push as knockouts near. UEFA. 11 September 2015. 9 September 2015.
26. Web site: Standard-Meisjes pakken Belgische tiel na winst op…Anderlecht. HBVL. 21 May 2016. 20 May 2016.
27. Web site: MTK Hungária FC – Ferencvárosi TC 1-3 (0-2) (GALÉRIA). 23 May 2016. mtkhungaria.hu. 2016-05-25. 2017-01-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20170113085735/http://mtkhungaria.hu/hirek/mtk-hungaria-fc-ferencvarosi-tc-1-3-0-2-galeria-/2016-05-23-20-39-59. dead.
28. Web site: ŽFK Spartak u nedelju proslavlja 6. uzastopnu titulu. 20 May 2016. TV Subotica.
29. Web site: PK-35 voitti jo viidennen Suomen mestaruutensa 2010-luvulla. 4 September 2015. hs.fi.
30. Web site: "Gintros-Universiteto" komanda 11 kartą iš eilės užsitikrino Lietuvos čempionių titulą (11th consecutive title for Gintra) . lff.lt . 28 September 2015 . 28 September 2015 . lt . 28 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150928185626/http://www.lff.lt/lt/article/gintros-universiteto_komanda_11_karta_is_eiles_uzsitikrino_lietuvos_cempioniu_titula . dead .
31. Web site: ContinentalTyres WNL. 22 May 2016. Twitter.
32. Web site: Kadınlar 1. Lig Fikstür ve Puan Cetveli . Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu . tr . 31 March 2016.
33. Web site: Match report Elpides Karditsas vs PAOK . karditsasportiva.gr . 17 April 2016 . 18 April 2016 . el . 20 April 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160420135858/http://karditsasportiva.gr/%CF%80%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%B1%CE%BB%CE%AF%CE%B3%CE%BF-%CE%B7-%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B1%CF%84%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%80%CE%AE-%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82-%CF%87%CF%81%CE%BF%CE%BD%CE%B9%CE%AC%CF%82-%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CE%B5%CE%BB/ . dead .
34. Web site: Petica za peto zaporedno krono. znkpomurje.com. 3 May 2016. 3 May 2016. 3 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160603003348/http://www.znkpomurje.com/index.php?p=1&n=435. dead.
35. Web site: Futebol Benfica revalida título feminino, ao bater A-dos-Francos . destakes.com . 15 May 2016 . 15 May 2016 . pt .
36. Web site: Nova titula za SFK Sarajevo 2000 . sportsport.ba . 17 April 2016 . 24 April 2016 . bs.
37. Web site: Nogometašice Osijeka osmicom po treći ovosezonski trofej. 30 May 2016. glas-slavonije.hr.
38. Web site: League table Slovakia. 14 May 2016. 14 May 2016.
39. Web site: PJK naiskond kuuendat aastat järjest Eesti meister! . parnujk.ee . 26 September 2015 . 4 October 2015 . et.
40. Web site: Cardiff Metropolitan Ladies win Welsh Premier Womens title . BBC . 21 April 2016 . 24 April 2016.
41. Web site: Драгон со победа од 8-1 над Кочани ја одбрани титулата шампион на Македонија . gol.mk . 8 May 2016 . 8 May 2016.
42. Web site: Magnificent Newry win title . Newry Democrat . 15 September 2015 . 2 January 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160201003923/http://www.newrydemocrat.com/articles/news/48474 . 1 February 2016 . dead . dmy-all .
43. Web site: Vllaznia, edhe matematikisht kampione e Shqipërisë (Vllaznia now champion) . albaniansport.net . 17 April 2016 . 24 April 2016 . sq.
44. Web site: Breznica novi sampion Crne Gore . cg-fudbal.com . 24 April 2016 . 18 April 2016 . sr.
45. Web site: BOV Women's League . maltafootball.com . 19 April 2016 . 21 April 2016 . 27 April 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160427045446/http://www.mfa.com.mt/en/leagues/leagues/33/bov-womens-1st-div.htm?feature=news&mp=2187 . dead .
46. Web site: Rīgas FS sieviešu komanda 3. gadu pēc kārtas izcīna čempionu titulu. 13 July 2015. rigasfutbolaskola.lv. 2015-07-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20150714143547/http://rigasfutbolaskola.lv/?p=2278. 2015-07-14. dead.
47. Web site: Hajvalia wins the Kosovo Cup too. 8 June 2016. ffk-kosova.com. 6 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160625114341/http://www.ffk-kosova.com/en/?p=10619. 25 June 2016. dead.
48. Web site: 2016/17 UEFA Women's calendar. UEFA.com. UEFA.
49. Web site: Women's Champions League qualifying round draw. UEFA.com. 24 June 2016.
50. Web site: Women's Champions League qualifying round draw. UEFA.com. 24 June 2016.
51. Web site: Women's Champions League round of 32 draw. UEFA.com. 1 September 2016.
52. Web site: Wolfsburg face Chelsea: round of 32 draw. UEFA.com. 1 September 2016.
53. Web site: Women's Champions League round of 16 draw. UEFA.com. 17 October 2016.
54. Web site: Women's Champions League round of 16 seedings. UEFA.com. 14 October 2016.
55. Web site: Women's Champions League round of 16 draw. UEFA.com. 17 October 2016.
56. Web site: Women's Champions League quarter-final and semi-final draw. UEFA.com. 25 November 2016.
57. Web site: Women's Champions League quarter-final draw. UEFA.com. 25 November 2016.
58. Web site: 2017 final: Cardiff. UEFA.com.
59. Web site: Women's Champions League Squad of the Season. UEFA.com. 2 June 2017.