Chelsea and Manchester United's Women's Super League match next Sunday may need to be hastily rearranged with only a week's notice due to the release of the Women's Champions League group-stage fixtures, causing frustration among fans and the clubs.
UEFA announced on Saturday morning that Chelsea's opening Group B fixture will be at home against Real Madrid on Tuesday 8 October, just two days after their scheduled fixture at Kingsmeadow, which is reported to have already sold out. Adding to the complications, the fixture has been selected for live broadcast in the UK by Sky Sports, a decision announced over a month ago on 21 August.
Chelsea and the Women's Professional Leagues Limited [WPLL], the organization responsible for the WSL, had both requested that Chelsea's Champions League opener be scheduled later in the week, but UEFA is standing by its decision. UEFA pointed out that its match calendar was published more than a year ago and that its regulations clearly state that all three English clubs in the competition cannot play on the same night.
UEFA highlighted the two possible match days available in every match week and communicated this to national associations, leagues, and clubs to allow for advance planning. For the Women's Champions League group stage draw, there are two established draw principles concerning teams from the same national association. The first prevents teams from the same national association from being drawn into the same group, and the second pairs two teams, in this case, the highest seeds Arsenal and Chelsea, to ensure they play on different days of every match week. These principles have been clearly communicated in advance and have been standard practice since the introduction of the Women's Champions League group stage in the 2021-22 season.
Chelsea and the WPLL, citing player welfare, argue that players should not be expected to play twice in just over 48 hours, prompting their search for a solution. Real Madrid is already scheduled to play in their domestic league in Spain on the night of Friday 4 October, four days before their Champions League opener.
UEFA outlined before Friday's group-stage draw that Arsenal and Chelsea would be scheduled to play on different nights. England is the only nation with three teams involved in this season's Women's Champions League. Arsenal and Manchester City's opening fixtures have been scheduled for Wednesday 9 October.
Ongoing discussions between Chelsea, Manchester United, the WPLL, and Sky Sports on Saturday aim to find a resolution and a new date for the WSL match. The international women's fixture calendar has also been a subject of widespread debate in recent years. The group stages of Europe's elite women's club competition are starting in October, less than two weeks after the qualifying rounds concluded on Thursday night.
Supporters have expressed exasperation at having only 10 days' notice for the opening rounds of fixtures, complicating their travel plans.
