Today’s draw for the UEFA Women’s Champions League first qualifying round has set up another Baltic derby, as Estonian champions FC Flora will face reigning Latvian titleholders Riga FC Women. The match will mark Riga’s debut in Europe’s top women’s club competition.
Unlike the men’s format, the Women’s Champions League qualifiers begin with six mini-tournaments — three featuring four teams and three featuring three. Each mini-tournament follows a knockout format with semifinals and a final, and only the winner advances to the second qualifying round.
Both Baltic teams will begin their campaign in the semifinal. The winner of the Flora vs. Riga FC match will face either Racing Union (Luxembourg) or AEK Athens (Greece) in the final. The losers of both semifinals will also play for third place. Last season, both Flora and Racing Union finished third in their respective mini-tournaments. Greek champions AEK Athens, who ended PAOK’s decade-long title reign last season, will also make their debut in the competition.
One of the four teams will host the mini-tournament, but the host for this group has yet to be announced. Semifinals are scheduled for July 30, with the final and third-place match taking place on August 2.
Flora and Riga FC met earlier this month in the Baltic League, where the Latvian side claimed a 1–0 victory at home on June 7.
Notably, the men’s sides from Estonia and Latvia have also been paired in this year’s UEFA Champions League first qualifying round, with FCI Levadia set to face FC RFS.
Later today, the draw for the second qualifying round will take place, where Lithuanian champions FC Gintra will join the competition and get to know their potential opponents.
