Chelsea face Real Sociedad in WCL third qualifying round with riches at stake

Chelsea will face Real Sociedad in the Women’s Champions League’s third qualifying round, needing a victory over two legs to earn a place in the main league phase of the competition.

The 2021 runners-up and six-time European semi-finalists are taking part in the qualifying stage by virtue of their disappointing third-placed finish in the Women’s Super League last term – their lowest league finish since 2019 – and they will be the favourites against the Spanish side.

Chelsea could have faced Ajax, Inter, Eintracht Frankfurt or the Austrian side St Polten. They were unable to meet the big-name sides such as Real Madrid, Wolfsburg, Juventus or Paris Saint-Germain at this stage because of seedings. Sonia Bompastor’s side will hope to join Arsenal and Manchester City in the main phase of the competition.

The potential financial implications of missing out on qualification are significant. All 18 clubs that take part in the league phase will receive a guaranteed minimum of €505,000, plus a further €60,000 for every league phase fixture they win and €20,000 for every draw, as well as prize money ranging from €10,000 to €180,000 depending on where they finish in the table, rising by €10,000 per position.

Additionally, the eventual champions would receive €1,050,000 in prize money across the course of the knockout phase – including €500,000 specifically for winning the final – as there are six-figure sums on offer for each knockout-phase fixture.

Chelsea will be at home for the first leg, which is scheduled to be played on 26 August, with the second leg in Spain scheduled for 2 September, three days before Chelsea’s WSL season opener, which is at home against Aston Villa on 5 September.

Chelsea have been strong contenders for the European title in recent years, reaching the semi-finals in three of the past four campaigns, but they lost to their rivals Arsenal in a dramatic quarter-final last term.

Real Sociedad, based in San Sebastián, finished third in Spain’s top division last term behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. The qualifying draw was split into two sections, with a “champions path” for winners of their domestic divisions drawn separately to the “league path” which contained domestic runners-up and third-placed sides such as Chelsea.

Køge, who eliminated the Scottish champions Hearts earlier in the qualification process, were pitted against PSV Eindhoven, while the most eye-catching tie of the round will see Ajax take on Real Madrid.