Next Sunday's Women's Super League match between Chelsea and Manchester United could have to be rearranged at short notice with just a week's notice from the announcement of the Women's Champions League group stage results, leaving fans and clubs in shock. I feel dissatisfied.
UEFA announced on Saturday morning that Chelsea's Group B opener will be played at home to Real Madrid on Tuesday 8 October, just two days after the scheduled match at Kingsmeadow, which is already sold out. It is believed that
Further complicating the conflict, the match was chosen to be broadcast live in the UK by Sky Sports. The selection for this broadcast was announced on August 21, over a month ago.
Chelsea and Women's Pro Leagues Limited [WPLL]UEFA has backed the decision by both sides to request that Chelsea's first Champions League match, the new organization hosting the WSL, be scheduled for later this week.
UEFA added in a statement, pointing out that the fixture calendar was published more than a year ago and its regulations make it clear that all three English clubs participating in the competition cannot play on the same night. We communicated this to national associations, leagues and clubs each match week so they could plan ahead.
“For the group stage draw of the Women's Champions League, there are two established draw principles for teams from the same national association. The first prevents teams from the same national association from being in the same group; The aim is to pair two teams (in this case top seeds Arsenal and Chelsea) to play on different days of each match week, with these principles clearly communicated in advance. It has been common practice since the introduction of the Women's Champions League group stage in the 2022 season.
Chelsea and the WPLL have been seeking a solution, citing player welfare and arguing that players should not be expected to play twice in just over 48 hours.
Real Madrid have started playing in the Spanish domestic league quite early, with their home match against Valencia already scheduled for Friday night, October 4, four days before the opening game of the Champions League.
European football's governing body outlined ahead of Friday's group stage draw that Arsenal and Chelsea are scheduled to play on separate nights. England is the only country with three teams participating in this season's Women's Champions League. The opening match between Arsenal and Manchester City is scheduled for Wednesday, October 9th.
Talks continue between Chelsea, Manchester United, WPLL and Sky Sports to find a solution on Saturday, with new dates needed to be found for WSL matches.
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The women's international fixture calendar has also been the subject of widespread debate in recent years. The group stage of Europe's elite women's club competition begins in October, less than two weeks after the qualifying round concluded on Thursday night.
Supporters are angry that they were given only 10 days' notice of the opening game, complicating plans for the trip.
