Key points
Celtic FC Women are amongst the 16 elite clubs in this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League and there’s great excitement about testing themselves against the continent’s best players.
Celtic have been striving to reach this level for years and off the back of last term’s superb SWPL title win, Elena Sadiku has catapulted her team into uncharted territory.
The players showed their quality to knockout Ukrainian champions Vorskla Poltava 3-0 on aggregate in Round 2 this week, following victories against Gintra and KuPS in Round 1 earlier in the month.
Join us for updates in our live blog below as the Ghirls find out their fate in today’s 12pm group stage draw, with details on seeding pots, dates, opponents and prize money ahead of a very exciting period for Celtic FC Women.
Cup duty next for Celtic FC Women
That’s it for today’s draw – thanks for joining us. It’s a daunting but exciting set of matches for Celtic, with exact fixture details to be confirmed in the coming days.
On the immediate horizon is SWPL Cup action on Sunday away to Montrose Ladies.
Then it’s a big league derby away to Rangers next Thursday night as the two unbeaten SWPL rivals go head-to-head for the first time this season.
We’ll have all the latest on 67 Hail Hail as an exciting 2024/25 campaign continues!
Box office line-up for Celtic
Reigning English champions Chelsea and Spanish giants Real Madrid bring prestige and glamour to Celtic’s line-up while Dutch league winners FC Twente will provide a competitive test for Elena Sadiku’s side having come through the same qualifying process as the Ghirls.
[Link]UEFA Women’s Champions League draw in full
Group A: Lyon, Wolfsburg, Roma, Galatasaray.
Group B: Chelsea, Real Madrid, Twente, Celtic.
Group C: Bayern, Arsenal, Juventus, Valerenga.
Group D: Barcelona, Man City, St Polten, Hammarby.
Celtic’s Women’s Champions League draw
Celtic will play Chelsea, Real Madrid and FC Twente in this year’s Women’s Champions League group stage!
[Link]Pot Three draw complete
Group A: Lyon, Wolfsburg, Roma
Group B: Chelsea, Real Madrid, Twente
Group C: Bayern, Arsenal, Juventus
Group D: Barcelona, Man City, St Polten
Celtic are up next!
[Link]Pot Two draw complete
Group A: Lyon, Wolfsburg
Group B: Chelsea, Real Madrid
Group C: Bayern, Arsenal
Group D: Barcelona, Man City
A reminder of the seeding
UEFA are explaining the draw procedure. If you’re unaware it’s basically a condensed version of the old men’s Champions League format that was in place for a couple of decades.
Here’s a reminder of the seeding pots today:
Pot 1: Barcelona, Lyon, Bayern, Chelsea.
Pot 2: Wolfsburg, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Man City.
Pot 3: Juventus, St Polten, Roma, Twente.
Pot 4: Valerenga, Celtic, Hammarby, Galatasaray.
UEFA keep it lengthy as usual
The balls haven’t started coming out quite yet. As usual, UEFA are really milking it with video packages and interviews!
[Link]Pot One is up first
Last season’s tournament winners Barcelona plus Lyon, Bayern and Chelsea will be assigned from groups A to D.
[Link]The draw is about to begin
UEFA are going through all the formal procedures and we’re about to get underway!
[Link]Elena Sadiku on the move to Hamilton
The Celtic FC Women’s head coach said: “Playing in a home stadium that meets all UEFA Women’s Group Stage requirements and allows us to make the matchday experience better still for our supporters is crucial as we continue our journey.
“This will provide our team with a true home for Celtic Women’s football, offering an excellent environment where I am sure we can continue to flourish.’
“We have come a long way and I would like to thank all our fans for being with us on this journey. Last night was the culmination of our work together and now we need to keep pushing on for more success with our fans by our side in our new home as we aim to retain our SWPL title, fight for more cup success and prepare for Champions League group stage games against Europe’s elite.”
[Link]Club announce new permanent home for Celtic FC Women
Celtic FC Women are moving their matchday base from Airdrie to New Douglas Park in Hamilton, the club confirmed moments ago.
A statement said: “The move is a pivotal step in the continued development of our women’s team, with New Douglas Park offering a modern, purpose-built facility that meets all the required criteria for UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage matches and SWPL games.
“It also presents a great opportunity to enhance the matchday offering for supporters with a range of different ticket offerings and opportunities for greater matchday activation.”
[Link]Forging links with Celtic fans
Over 1,000 people turned out in Airdrie on Thursday night to cheer on the Ghirls and there’ll be hope of more strong turnouts for this European campaign.
The group stage has the potential to capture the imagination of the wider Celtic support as the club pushes ahead in Europe with the men’s and youth teams, too.
UEFA prize money
Celtic have already landed a six-figure sum for qualification to the group stage and you can find our full breakdown below.
If the club choose to reinvest the windfall into the women’s team project it’ll be a significant boost to Elena Sadiku and her staff.
[Link]
Highlights of historic night
Here’s all the action and goals from Thursday night’s win over Vorskla Poltava.
Celtic’s Champions League schedule
We already know the dates for the six-game group stage and it’ll be completed before Christmas before knockouts start in March 2025.
Matchday one: 8/9 October
Matchday two: 16/17 October
Matchday three: 12/13 November
Matchday four: 20/21 November
Matchday five: 11/12 December
Matchday six: 17/18 December
Women’s Champions League format and seeding
There are four groups of four and the draw is seeded into four pots. Celtic will play two matches – home and away – against teams from three other pots.
Pot 1: Barcelona, Lyon, Bayern, Chelsea
Pot 2: Wolfsburg, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Man City
Pot 3: Juventus, St Polten, Roma, Twente
Pot 4: Valerenga, Celtic, Hammarby, Galatasaray
The top two teams in each group will qualify for the quarter-final knockouts.
[Link]Welcome
Good morning and welcome to a big day for Celtic FC Women.
Elena Sadiku and her team will learn which three opponents they’ll meet in the group stage of the Women’s Champions League.
Thursday night was an historic one for the club and for Scottish football with goals from Emma Lawton and Shannon McGregor sealing victory against Ukrainian champions Vorskla Poltava.
Celtic FC Women will be the first Scottish side to ever represent the country in the group stage of this format.
The draw ceremony begins at 12pm and we’ll be updating you with everything you need before, during and after the Ghirls find out their fate.
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