Chelsea drawn against Real Sociedad in WCL third qualifying round
Chelsea will face Real Sociedad in the Women’s Champions League third qualifying round, with the first leg at home on 26 August and the return in Spain on 2 September; the winner over the two legs will qualify for the competition’s main league phase.
Chelsea, the 2021 runners-up and six-time European semi-finalists, are taking part in qualifying after finishing third in the Women’s Super League last season, their lowest league placing since 2019. Sonia Bompastor’s side reached the semi-finals in three of the past four campaigns but were beaten by Arsenal in a dramatic quarter-final last term. They will approach the tie as favourites and will hope to join Arsenal and Manchester City in the league phase of the competition.
Seedings shaped the draw: Chelsea could have been paired with Ajax, Inter, Eintracht Frankfurt or the Austrian side St Polten, while they were unable to meet clubs such as Real Madrid, Wolfsburg, Juventus or Paris Saint-Germain at this stage because of the seeding system. The qualifying stage in which Chelsea find themselves contains domestic runners-up and third-placed sides in the league path, distinct from the champions path used for domestic winners.
Real Sociedad, the Spanish side based in San Sebastián, finished third in Spain’s top division last season behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. That placing puts them in the league path alongside Chelsea for this round. Chelsea will therefore prepare for a two-legged tie against a team that earned its place through a top-three La Liga finish.
The financial stakes of failing to reach the league phase are material: all 18 clubs in the league phase are guaranteed a minimum of €505,000, receive €60,000 for every league-phase victory and €20,000 for each draw, and are allocated prize money ranging from €10,000 to €180,000 depending on finishing position, rising by €10,000 per place. The eventual champions would collect €1,050,000 in prize money across the knockout phase, including €500,000 specifically for winning the final, with six-figure sums available for each knockout fixture.
Chelsea will host the first leg before travelling to Spain for the return three days ahead of their WSL season opener at home against Aston Villa on 5 September. The scheduling places the decisive Champions League tie close to the club’s domestic season start, compressing their pre-season programme.
The qualifying draw was split into a champions path and a league path. Champions-path ties include Sparta Prague v Servette, PSV Eindhoven v HB Køge, Brann v Austria Vienna and OH Leuven v Czarni Sosnowiec; Køge, who eliminated the Scottish champions Hearts earlier in the qualification process, were drawn against PSV Eindhoven. League-path ties feature Eintracht Frankfurt v Paris Saint-Germain, St Polten v Juventus, Wolfsburg v Inter, Chelsea v Real Sociedad and Ajax v Real Madrid, the latter described in the draw as the most eye-catching tie of the round.
Chelsea must win the two-legged tie against Real Sociedad to secure a place among the 18 teams in the league phase of the Women’s Champions League, a stage that carries the guaranteed financial payments outlined above. Success would see them join the competition proper alongside the other qualified English sides mentioned in the draw commentary.