England to get additional Champions League spot in format change

The Women's Super League is set to gain an additional Champions League place from 2021 onwards after UEFA announced a major overhaul of the competition.

For the first time, there will be a group stage introduced for the 2021-22 season once teams reach the last 16. Four groups of four will play each other home and away with the top two in each group going through to the quarter-finals.

Only the winners and runners-up in the WSL currently qualify, but under the new format the top six leagues in Europe will all be allowed to enter an additional team into Round 1, which will be played as a mini-tournament at a single venue. England are currently third in the European rankings.

The first round group winners will progress to Round 2, which retains a traditional home-and-away knockout format. The WSL winners will enter the competition in the new group stage with the runners-up starting in Round 2.

Chelsea and Manchester City will represent England in next season's Champions League, although they could still be joined by Arsenal if the Gunners win this season's trophy.