Frauen-Champions League: SKN St. Pölten and the hopes for more spectators

Frauen-Champions League: SKN St. Pölten and the hopes for more spectators

The group phase of the women's champions League started on Tuesday. On Wednesday, SKN St. Pölten will start in Sweden. Until the grand finale in the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon, which will take place at the end of May, one hopes for a growing interest of the audience.

The simultaneous duel of several players of the Austrian team in the champions League : Katharina Naschenweng and Sarah Zadrazil are on the square at Bayern Munich, while on the other hand Manuela Zinsberger Laura Wienroither compete at Arsenal. These encounters bring great interest and show how strongly the Austrian players are represented in international leagues.

A look at the story

The Women's Champions League has its roots in 2001 when the UEFA Women’s Cup was launched. Over the years, this competition developed and became today's Champions League that has been held for 15 years. The 1 won the first season. FFC Turbine Potsdam , while the French association lyon is the record winner - with a total of eight titles. It is surprising that the English teams were not very successful in this competition since Arsenal in 2007 was able to win the UEFA Women’s Cup. The Norwegian Ada Hegerberg , who represents the record scorer with 64 goals, is particularly remarkable.

Financial incentives and their role

The promotion to the group phase brings the 16 participating clubs 400,000 euros each this season. This is only the starting point, because there is an additional 50,000 euros for every win in the group phase, while a tie brings 17,000 euros. The group can also count on additional premiums for the group victory and promotion to the next rounds. Due to the new mode, which has been in the case since 2021, solidarity payments should also flow to non -participating clubs to support these clubs and reduce the gap in women's football.

The distribution of the funds aims to promote the development of women's football, but of course there are still significant differences in the level of competition. UEFA took measures to promote equality in sport, including funds to support the clubs that are not represented in the Champions League.

The new mode of the women's champions League will be introduced from the 2025/26 season. He uses the format of the men's champions League, whereby 18 teams will now compete against each other in a league system. The teams no longer only play against three opponents, but against six different ones, which further increases competitiveness.

For the football enthusiasts in Austria, there is good news: All games of the women's champions League are transmitted free of charge at the streaming service dazn as well as on the YouTube channel from dazn . In this way, fans can experience the exciting encounters up close and follow the performance of the domestic players.