Scotland are set to lose one of their two berths in the 2018-9 UEFA Women’s Champions League, due to Switzerland rising above them in the rankings.
The Swiss will instead have two UEFA Women’s Champions League entries for the first time in 2018/19, after the provisional access list and the match calendar were confirmed by the governing body.
UEFA explain that the top 12 nations in the UWCL coefficient rankings are entitled to two entries in each season’s competition, and Switzerland have moved up four places to ninth in the rankings, claiming a second berth at the expense of Scotland.
So when Hibernian host Glasgow City in a likely SWPL 1 title decider on 12th November, the stakes will now be that much higher, with no place in Europe for the runners-up.
Those associations with two entries in 2018/19 are: Germany, France, Sweden, England, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Austria, Norway.
All other countries are entitled to one place, though if the eventual winners of this season’s competition do not also qualify via their domestic league, that country could have three entries (assuming they are in the top 12).
The exact round each team enters in depends on the total number of entries, which will be confirmed in June 2018.
The Qualifying Round draw will be made on 22nd June and the final is to be played at Ferencváros Stadium in Budapest, at a date yet to be set in May 2019.
