On 23 May 2000, the UEFA Executive Committee approved the proposal to establish a European women’s club competition.
This resulted in the eventual birth of the UEFA Women’s Champions League as we know it today. But who has scored the most goals? And which team has taken home the most trophy titles? ±«Óătv Bitesize takes a look at five things you didn’t know about the women’s Champions League.
It was previously called the UEFA Women’s Cup
The first European women’s club competition took place in 2001 and was initially named the UEFA Women’s Cup. It saw over 33 teams set out to secure the inaugural title, which was eventually won by FFC Frankfurt. Over the years the competition grew rapidly and, by the 2007/08 tournament, 45 clubs were taking part.
In 2008, the UEFA Executive Committee decided that the 2009/10 competition would be reformatted and rebranded the UEFA Women’s Champion’s League. Similar to the men’s game, the new structure included the runners-up of the top women’s football leagues across Europe. It also introduced extra home games and a showpiece final.
Lyon have won the most titles
Since the establishment of the European competition, Olympique Lyonnais FĂ©minin have been the most dominant team. Following the 2009/2010 tournament restructure they've won the cup a whopping eight times, having qualified for 11 of a total 14 finals.
The years between 2016 and 2020 are considered Lyon’s golden era as the club won five consecutive titles. This is on top of the 14 consecutive domestic league titles they took home from 2007 to 2020. They have the opportunity to take home another title when they face Barcelona in the final on 25 May 2024.
Lyon’s French centre-back Wendie Renard and forward Eugénie Le Sommer hold the joint record for titles won by a player at eight each.
In the 2022/23 competition, Lyon became the first club to win 100 UEFA Women’s Champions League games.
Germany have been the most successful country
While French club Lyon have the most titles, German clubs have the most successful record when it comes to producing winners. Since 2001, four different German teams have won across nine tournaments. Frankfurt have seen the most victories with four wins, followed by both Wolfsburg and Potsdsam with two wins each and finally Duisburg with one win.
The biggest crowd to ever attend a Champions League game took place when Barcelona took on Wolfsburg in the 2021/22 semi-final first leg at the Camp Nou stadium. The new record saw 91,648 fans in attendance.
Ada Hegerberg is the all-time tournament top goal scorer
With 64 goals in 67 appearances, the Norwegian striker Ada Hegerberg is no stranger to Champions League glory. Her world-record topping goals have come from across three clubs: Lyon (60), FFC Turbine Potsdam (2) and Stabæk (2).
In the 2022 Champions League final she scored in the 23rd minute against Barcelona to help Lyon secure their 8th title.
Hegerberg scored 50 European goals faster than any other player, man or woman. But the achievements don’t stop there. In 2015/16 she was voted UEFA Best Women’s Player in Europe and in 2018 she was named the recipient of the first women’s Ballon d’Or award.
Only one British club has won
Arsenal are the first and so far only British club to have claimed the UEFA Women’s Cup, with a 1-0 aggregate victory over the Swedish champions Umea IK in 2007.
The first-leg of the match saw a late goal by right-back Alex Scott in Sweden. This goal would eventually win Arsenal the trophy. The second-leg of the final was played at Meadow Park Stadium in front of a crowd of 3,467.
This trophy contributed towards a memorable Arsenal campaign, where they won the quadruple, taking home the London County FA Women’s Cup, the now-defunct Community Shield and the FA Women’s Premier League Cup. Since then, Arsenal hold the European record for most Champions League quarter-final appearances at 15.
The closest feat achieved by an English team since is Chelsea, who lost the 2021 final against Barcelona.
This article was published in May 2023 and last updated in May 2024
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