Blues set to face Real test in bid for Euro glory
CITY could face Real Madrid in their quest to qualify for the group stage of the Women’s Champions League.
The draw for the round one stage, which includes a league path and champions path section, took place in Nyon yesterday.
The Blues, Glasgow City, Shelbourne, Swansea City and Rangers were among the 58 sides who discovered their initial opponents on the road to trying to reach the 16-team group stage later this year in October.
After a third-place finish in the Women’s Super League last season, Gareth Taylor’s City have entered Europe’s elite competition in the round one league path stage where they are in a four-team group that will be played in a minitournament format.
City will face Kazakhstan’s Tomiris Turan in Group Four of the round one semi-final phase on Thursday, August 18 and if they are successful, they will face the winner of Real Madrid versus Sturm Graz on Sunday, August 21 to progress into the round two section.
All fixtures will occur at the same location with the venue and kick-off times to be confirmed in due course.
Scotland’s Glasgow City are also in the league path category and will take on Roma in the semi-final stage of Group One. If they can progress, they will face Paris or Servette in their efforts to reach round two.
The other qualifying route is the champions path where Shelbourne, Swansea and Rangers are all included.
All of the last four ties will take place on August 18 with the finals scheduled for August 21. Locations and venues for the groups will be announced in due course.