WCL quals 25/26 | United qualify for the WCL league phase

Lightbringer

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Will Manchester United Women seek to host the Womens Champions League 4 team group phase?

Now that its confirmed that we will have to play a mini-tournament of 4 teams and required to win the semifinals and final to reach the final UCL 2-leg qualification round, are we going to do everything we can to get home advantage as Arsenal got this season?

I think there is no time to waste here, just get someone working on this ASAP :devil: I am sure most teams could not wait to play at Leigh on top of that ;)
 
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Lightbringer said:
Will Manchester United Women seek to host the Womens Champions League 4 team group phase?

Now that its confirmed that we will have to play a mini-tournament of 4 teams and required to win the semifinals and final to reach the final UCL 2-leg qualification round, are we going to do everything we can to get home advantage as Arsenal got this season?

I think there is no time to waste here, just get someone working on this ASAP :devil: I am sure most teams could not wait to play at Leigh on top of that ;)
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Don't we join at CL round 2?
 
Demon Barber said:
Don't we join at CL round 2?
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Yeah, round 2 is the mini-tournament. The rounds get a little confusing, particular given they have two separate paths and only the "Champions path" actually play in round 1.
 
Demon Barber said:
Don't we join at CL round 2?
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Round 1 - Neither Arsenal or United take part
Round 2 - is the 4 team mini tournament 1 leg only (United joins, not Arsenal)
Round 3 - is the 2-leg tie vs 1 team. (Arsenal enters at this stage)
 
Demon Barber said:
I misread part of your original post. Apologies.
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No worries brother. About the "little jap" comment while I am at it. I wrote that when I had like 180 in pulse was nervous and as quote dizzy from watching the game, so I could not recall how to spell Miyazawa, so I just wrote her nationality, and it was genuine praise as she ran like a never ending battery and never tired :-)

I could have called Toone our little lioness pr Sandberg our little swede just as well, and it would not mean anything bad. Just wanted to clarify that.

I have a vague recollection of someone pointing it out once before that using the term jap was somehow offensive, but I cant recall why atm.
 
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The draw is tomorrow, do we expect the club to apply to host as soon as the draw is confirmed? Leigh Sports Villa would be able to host as Arsenal hosted last season at their small arena.
 
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Lightbringer said:
The draw is tomorrow, do we expect the club to apply to host as soon as the draw is confirmed? Leigh Sports Villa would be able to host as Arsenal hosted last season at their small arena.
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Are there any rumours around that we might be offering to host?
 
jojojo said:
Are there any rumours around that we might be offering to host?
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Not what I have seen, but I think it would be a no-brainer for the club, its such massive advantage!

Seems like this rugby game at Leigh could put a dent in plans to host possible.

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The 1st game is to played the 27th, and the rugby team plays the 28th. But I assume both semifinals would play on the 27th and then nobody would play the 28th as you dont play back to back games as far as I know, there is a days rest in between!
I have a feeling this is something that could be solved if Man United really wants it to happen! I just hope its a priority!
 
Manchester United is the highest seed. I hope we have first chance to host because of that regardless if the other teams wants to host or not! BK Häcken was just promoted to the final knockout round as Arsenal is guaranteed a spot from winning the UCL. So UEFA always rewards the highest seed, so would make sense!
 
Lightbringer said:
Manchester United is the highest seed. I hope we have first chance to host because of that regardless if the other teams wants to host or not! BK Häcken was just promoted to the final knockout round as Arsenal is guaranteed a spot from winning the UCL. So UEFA always rewards the highest seed, so would make sense!
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We're seeded, but Roma, Sparta Prague and Brann have higher coefficients than us. Including 3rd round teams, we've got the 7th highest coefficient, so we're unlikely to be seeded should we get to the 3rd round.
 
Ubik said:
We're seeded, but Roma, Sparta Prague and Brann have higher coefficients than us. Including 3rd round teams, we've got the 7th highest coefficient, so we're unlikely to be seeded should we get to the 3rd round.
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I am talking about the 2nd round qualifying groups, not the 3rd round 2-leg final qualifying round :-) Since this thread is related to the possibility of hosting the 2nd qualifying round "mini group" stage.

I know we wont be seeded should be make the 3rd and final 2-leg round and likely will face a mighty opponent because of that.
 
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Group 4 would have been the dream group, but this is a good draw for us. Very bad draw for my club Hammarby though to get United in the group :D
 
Our opponents for the group are PSV and then Hammarby or Metalist 1925 from Ukraine. Hammarby are the other seeded team in our group so we’d likely face them in the final. I think they’re quite a strong team for this stage of the competition but I’m sure @Lightbringer can tell us more.
 
Back to the longest thread title ever ... Obviously Kharkiv will not be hosting, so it's LSV/Old Trafford, Eindhoven or Stockholm. All sound good, to be honest.
 
With regards to United being able to host, here are the criteria:

Regulations of the UEFA Women's Champions League 1 March 2025

"Article 23 First and second qualifying rounds host selection

23.01 Following the first and second qualifying round draws, the clubs in each group have to agree who will host the mini-tournament. If they cannot agree, the UEFA administration decides according to the following principles:

If one club is interested in hosting the mini-tournament, the UEFA administration designates that club as host.

If more than one club is interested in hosting the mini-tournament, the following criteria apply:

Opinion of the majority of the clubs

Priority given to clubs from associations which do not already have clubs hosting a first qualifying round mini-tournament

Drawing of lots

If no club expresses an interest in hosting the mini-tournament, the UEFA administration conducts a draw to determine the host.

For operational reasons, only clubs who start directly in the round concerned may be considered for hosting responsibilities."
 
Worth remembering that City and Arsenal have both struggled to make it through the qualifiers and both have lost at this stage.

The timing is going to be tough on the international players (not just United's and not just England's!). With the Euros final on the 27th July and semifinals on the 22/23rd there will be a lot of players feeling under pressure - if not from the club, then from themselves - to take the shortest break possible.

At any rate, we might be seeded but that may not mean very much.
 
jojojo said:
Worth remembering that City and Arsenal have both struggled to make it through the qualifiers and both have lost at this stage.

The timing is going to be tough on the international players (not just United's and not just England's!). With the Euros final on the 27th July and semifinals on the 22/23rd there will be a lot of players feeling under pressure - if not from the club, then from themselves - to take the shortest break possible.

At any rate, we might be seeded but that may not mean very much.
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The 2nd round is played 27th to 30th august:

30th august old trafford. Premier league. Manchester United - Burnley
28th August Leigh Sports Village - RUGBY

I guess that answers our question why United cant host? Or if the ukrainain team and PSV rather wanted to go to Stockholm than Manchester? :D
 
PSV v United
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Only just understanding the ridiculously convoluted qualifying process here

and the even more ridiculous idea that one team gets to host the rest - huge advantage to the Swede's
 
Cool group! Teams we should be beating if we want to really say we aim to compete in the CL, but not pushovers.
 
Rood said:
Only just understanding the ridiculously convoluted qualifying process here

and the even more ridiculous idea that one team gets to host the rest - huge advantage to the Swede's
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The question is if United had impossible ways of making this happen at Old Trafford and Leigh Sports Village combined? Or it they just did not care? Hammarby has been forced to split the event into 2 locations. Which means United could have held semifinals the 27th at Old Trafford and then the finals at Leigh Sports Village the 30th august.

If Hammarby could do it, Manchester United could have? Its the champions league so United should be coming out swinging to be able to host just like Arsenal has done!

The only other reason Hammarby got the host would be if the Metalist and PSV declared that they both preferred Hammarby to host over United, in that case United would not be able to host even if they wanted to as the majority of teams would be voting for a different team to host!

In terms of outcome from this I am more concerned this shows a lack of ambition from United (that they were not prepared or dedicated) - because I still think United should be able to win the group, but it would have been easier in Manchester, no doubt!
 
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Lightbringer said:
The question is if United had impossible ways of making this happen at Old Trafford and Leigh Sports Village combined? Or it they just did not care? Hammarby has been forced to split the event into 2 locations. Which means United could have held semifinals the 27th at Old Trafford and then the finals at Leigh Sports Village the 30th august.

If Hammarby could do it, Manchester United could have? Its the champions league so United should be coming out swinging to be able to host just like Arsenal has done!

The only other reason Hammarby got the host would be if the Metalist and PSV declared that they both preferred Hammarby to host over United, in that case United would not be able to host even if they wanted to as the majority of teams would be voting for a different team to host!

In terms of outcome from this I am more concerned this shows a lack of ambition from United (that they were not prepared or dedicated) - because I still think United should be able to win the group, but it would have been easier in Manchester, no doubt!
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The whole concept of one club hosting is unfair - should be neutral or home & away

Not idea why they come up with bizarre formats for Women's competitions, never heard of anything like this in Men's
 
Rood said:
The whole concept of one club hosting is unfair - should be neutral or home & away

Not idea why they come up with bizarre formats for Women's competitions, never heard of anything like this in Men's
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I agree. But that is why its more concerning United as we know did not want to host. We just handed over home advantage and also we are going play on artificial grass when we could have had home advantage and hosted others that play artificial grass and thereby would be disadvantaged on the road in Manchester by both surface and crowd.

The stakes are extremely high, so I do not understand why United seemed to have no interest in hosting! I still have not seen any statement on why United did not challenge to host other than the rugby and old trafford game, which none of them would be an obstacle if United really wanted to host!
 
Lightbringer said:
I agree. But that is why its more concerning United as we know did not want to host. We just handed over home advantage and also we are going play on artificial grass when we could have had home advantage and hosted others that play artificial grass and thereby would be disadvantaged on the road in Manchester by both surface and crowd.

The stakes are extremely high, so I do not understand why United seemed to have no interest in hosting! I still have not seen any statement on why United did not challenge to host other than the rugby and old trafford game, which none of them would be an obstacle if United really wanted to host!
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To be fair, I think both the rugby and the men's game at OT were serious obstacles for us to host. Reading the rules, one of the big ones is the choice of the teams involved - maybe we did suggest some sort of Manchester based event, but it was easier for the Ukrainians to get to Sweden? We don't know what has gone on behind the scenes.

Either way, we should have enough about us to get through this round (however dumb it might be...) and we'll see what happens in the final qualifying round. I'll be there at LSV, that's for sure!
 
It's an interesting discussion, but does anybody know for sure that we did not bid to host? The point about the men's game and the rugby is a valid one.

Are both pitches in Stockholm artificial? Are all pitches in Scandinavia (excluding Denmark) artificial? Hammarby may have home advantage, but they have to beat Kharkiv first- a side that beat Real Madrid last time they were in the competition, then lost to PSG.

Anyway, we ought to progress.
 
According to the Wikipedia pages linked by @Lightbringer above, both stadiums in Stockholm have artificial turf. To my mind that alone should disqualify a team from hosting.
 
Demon Barber said:
It's an interesting discussion, but does anybody know for sure that we did not bid to host? The point about the men's game and the rugby is a valid one.

Are both pitches in Stockholm artificial? Are all pitches in Scandinavia (excluding Denmark) artificial? Hammarby may have home advantage, but they have to beat Kharkiv first- a side that beat Real Madrid last time they were in the competition, then lost to PSG.

Anyway, we ought to progress.
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The thing is that United announced they were going to face PSV in Stockholm, Sweden. Like less than 40 minutes after the draw had taken place, which to be indicates that United never was in on hosting. As I would have a hard time believing UEFA would review which teams applied to host, and then managed to reach out to all 4 teams and ask them which host they would prefer between United and Hammarby and then took a decision on the matter within 40 minutes. Thats just seems unlikely. Far more likely would be that Hammarby was the only team that submitted a bid to host this and United had no plans hosting, and as such every team knew instantly where the competition would be played.

As for the rugby game and the mens game, you could easily just play the semifinals at Old Trafford and then the finals and 3rd place at Leigh, just like Hammarby is doing with 2 different venues. So it comes down to the will of the club to make it happen - overcoming obstacles and not just surrendering to the first issue making it easy for themselves. Hammarby is not landlord of Grimsta IP and they are one of several teams playing at 3 Arena, so it was never an easy decision or walk in the park process for Hammarby either in sense of hosting this!

It would be pretty convenient if United just announcer why they would not seek to host or why their potential request to host were denied :-)
 
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Lobster11 said:
According to the Wikipedia pages linked by @Lightbringer above, both stadiums in Stockholm have artificial turf. To my mind that alone should disqualify a team from hosting.
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Yes, that is correct. Hammarbys main stadium Kanalplan (Hammarby IP) is not up to UEFA standards, so thats why the games that can not be played at 3 Arena is being moved to a neutral venue in Vällingby = Grimsta IP.

In this case it was probably impossible to host in Ukraine, and United obviously claimed they would be unable to host, that would have left PSV to host against their will if we applied the artificial pitches would not be able to host :-)

So it could have been a tricky situation in that sense. I dont have a set opinion on the pitch thing, as we in sweden need to have artificial pitches in some location because of the weather. Normally when its home and away, Hammarby gets an advantage on home and then a disadvantage on the road as we normally dont play on real grass and thus are not used to it.

But with this only being a one leg tie its different, so in that sense I can kind understand your argument.
 
Lightbringer said:
Yes, that is correct. Hammarbys main stadium Kanalplan (Hammarby IP) is not up to UEFA standards, so thats why the games that can not be played at 3 Arena is being moved to a neutral venue in Vällingby = Grimsta IP.

In this case it was probably impossible to host in Ukraine, and United obviously claimed they would be unable to host, that would have left PSV to host against their will if we applied the artificial pitches would not be able to host :-)

So it could have been a tricky situation in that sense. I dont have a set opinion on the pitch thing, as we in sweden need to have artificial pitches in some location because of the weather. Normally when its home and away, Hammarby gets an advantage on home and then a disadvantage on the road as we normally dont play on real grass and thus are not used to it.

But with this only being a one leg tie its different, so in that sense I can kind understand your argument.
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I certainly understand why the climate in Sweden and other far-north countries would make grass fields very difficult or impossible to maintain.

I'm sensitive to this issue because it has been a subject of debate here in the U.S., across many sports, ever since "Astroturf" was first invented back in the 1970s. Even our northernmost cities are capable of maintaining real grass, though no doubt with considerable cost and difficulty, but we also have a lot of indoor stadiums in which real grass isn't an option. (If I recall correctly, the first use of artificial turf in a stadium dates back to a stadium known as the "Astrodome," built back in the 70's for a baseball team in a city where the problem was a climate that was too hot and humid rather than too cold.)

Anyway, I feel strongly about "soccer" and American football being played on real grass rather than artificial turf. The data show that playing on turf increases the risk of a variety of kinds of injuries, and if you ask players they will, to a person, say they would rather play on real grass. So that's why I think a country should be excluded from hosting international competitions if they cannot offer grass fields.
 
Tickets for Champs League v PSV Eindhoven in Stockholm.
Flights and hotel booked but still awaiting news of tickets going on sale and where to source them from.
 
milothedog said:
Tickets for Champs League v PSV Eindhoven in Stockholm.
Flights and hotel booked but still awaiting news of tickets going on sale and where to source them from.
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You will get tickets via the club. It won't sell out. Just check the official website closer to the time and you'll be sorted. #jealous
 
Demon Barber said:
You will get tickets via the club. It won't sell out. Just check the official website closer to the time and you'll be sorted. #jealous
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Cheers DB. The main competition for tickets would appear to come from Stockholm United Supporters Club which is the largest in numbers outside the UK.
The semi final is being stated at Grimsta IF on the outskirts of Stockholm which has a capacity of 5000.
I've been in email contact with Hammarby IF who are dealing with ticket sales who say PSV are being allocated the small older side of the ground and United the much more developed stretch opposite with a new cantilever stand. They anticipate a healthy take up by Stockholm Man United Supporters Club members who travel in healthy numbers to OT.
Really looking forward to it. Stockholm looks like a great place to visit apart from the two games.
 
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Bloody hell this is confusing, I'm sure I've got this wrong, help me out if I did. I'm interested in United and Athlone here. They both have 3 ties to win to qualify for the Champions League proper. It's seems the next 2 ties are one off games and the last tie to qualify is 2 legs, is that right?
 
Ole'sgunnarwin said:
Bloody hell this is confusing, I'm sure I've got this wrong, help me out if I did. I'm interested in United and Athlone here. They both have 3 ties to win to qualify for the Champions League proper. It's seems the next 2 ties are one off games and the last tie to qualify is 2 legs, is that right?
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Yup.
 
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