I stream most matches in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, where Europe’s elite clubs compete through group stages and knockout rounds until a single champion emerges. Traditional cable TV coverage isn’t an option here.
In a hurry? You can watch the first half of the UEFA Women’s Champions League matches for free via YouTube. But if you want to watch the whole season, you will need to sign up with DAZN for as little as $12.50/mo.
Table Of Contents
Although women’s continental championship events have recently started getting organized around the world, this is the oldest one. It first took place in 2001.
For its 2022-23 campaign, all 61 matches in the group stage and knockout phase will be available to watch for free on YouTube, courtesy of the DAZN UEFA Women’s Champions League channel.
However, DAZN ($19.99/mo) will only allow 19 of those contests to be enjoyed at no charge in the two seasons following.
UEFA Women’s Champions League
The UEFA Women’s Champions League was referred to as the UEFA Women’s Cup for its inaugural edition in 2001-02 and for the seven that followed before it took on its current moniker.
That first competition was a true “champions” league as the 33 participating teams came from 33 different countries. After a group stage, four teams advanced to the semifinals. Frankfurt ended up lifting the trophy.
German teams continued to dominate this competition in its early going as sides from that country won nine out of its first 14 editions. Four of those were claimed by 1. FFC Frankfurt (2002, 2006, 2008, and 2015), which is now known as Eintracht Frankfurt.
However, a French club has dominated ever since. Lyon won five straight trophies from 2015-16 to 2019-20 and another in 2021-22. Those followed earlier victories in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Note that there is no FIFA Women’s Club World Cup, but one has been proposed.
Notable Attendances
Some of the world’s largest crowds for women’s soccer matches have been recorded at UEFA Women’s Champions League contests. These include Barcelona’s final two home games of its 2021-22 European campaign, the club’s home legs in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Those crowds of 91,553 and 91,648 at Camp Nou both surpassed that of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup final (90,185) and were the largest in the sport in more than 50 years — especially in the USA.
Structure
In most cases, UEFA’s 55 countries are eligible to send at least their league champions to the UEFA Champions League. Exceptions include Andorra, Liechtenstein, and San Marino as none of those countries have organized women’s leagues. Russia, for at least the 2022-23 edition, has also been excluded for other reasons.
In 2022-23, Austria, Belarus, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, and Switzerland are sending two sides while the Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Spain, and Sweden will have three teams apiece.
Only four sides automatically advance to the group stage, the league champions from England, France, Germany, and Spain. Nine others enter in the second qualifying round while the other 60 take part in the first qualifying round. It involves a series of four-team tournaments hosted by one of those four sides.
The group stage and knockout phase are similar to the UEFA Champions League in format except that the knockout phase is three rounds, not four. Meanwhile, the 2022-23 single-match final will be played in Eindhoven, Netherlands, while the 2023-24 final is being hosted by the city of Bilbao, Spain.
Watching the UEFA Women’s Champions League
Watching the UEFA Women’s Champions League is a particularly easy and affordable (free) process for the 2022-23 competition. All that it takes is navigating to the DAZN UEFA Women’s Champions League YouTube channel. In addition, DAZN is simulcasting those same broadcasts.
DAZN
DAZN is a streaming service that provides access to all UEFA Women’s Champions League matches from the group stage onward. Note that this will include exclusive coverage of 42 games in the 2023-24 campaign. The cost to secure access to DAZN varies by country. In the US, it costs $19.99/mo or $12.50/mo if you get a yearly subscription.
Its coverage of soccer events also varies around the world. For example, the UEFA Women’s Champions League is its soccer-related focus in the US while those who subscribe to DAZN in Germany can also watch, for example, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Nations League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and Bundesliga.
DAZN supports pretty much all streaming devices. These include Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, and Roku devices, mobile devices running Android and iOS, and Xbox and PlayStation gaming systems.
See our DAZN review for more details.
YouTube
YouTube offers access to a number of soccer matches, including all UEFA Women’s Champions League games in the group stage and knockout phase in 2022-23 and 19 of those contests in 2023-24.
Other events that are streamed on YouTube, depending on geographical restrictions, which are often extensive, include Serie A, Bundesliga, A-League, and CONCACAF-related competitions.
Wrapping Up
The UEFA Women’s Champions League has been steadily increasing in popularity in Europe and throughout the world as its attendances and television ratings show. If you are interested in catching this event while it is still completely free to watch, get over to YouTube while keeping in mind that access to DAZN ($19.99/mo) will be necessary for the majority of matches starting with its 2023-24 edition.
FAQs
What’s the difference between the UEFA Women’s Champions League and UEFA Women’s Euro?
Although both of these events determine the best women’s soccer teams in Europe, they are significantly different in one notable way. The UEFA Women’s Champions League is a club-based competition while UEFA Women’s Euro involves national teams. Also, the former event is annual while the latter usually takes place every four years.
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My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.
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