UEFA Women's Coefficient: The Top European Women’s Clubs

The UEFA coefficients are rankings centered on the results and points earned by European clubs in the UEFA club competition for the past five years. Using the weighted arithmetic mean, the confederation can rank and seed teams in international and club tournaments.

The UEFA coefficients were introduced for men's tournaments in 1979 before being applied to women's soccer and UEFA Futsal Champions League. Throughout this read, we will discuss the UEFA women's coefficients, how the coefficients are calculated, and the top UEFA clubs since 2001.

History Of UEFA Coefficients

To better understand the history of UEFA coefficients, you need to go back to 1957 when the International Ladies Football Association staged a European Championship, represented by four teams; England, the Netherlands, West Germany, and Austria. The tournament took place successfully despite women's soccer teams being forbidden. In 1969 the Italian Football Federation organized another European tournament. By this time, women's football was becoming popular, but UEFA still showed little interest due to the lack of female representation.

However, in 1971, UEFA formed a male-only committee for women's soccer that ended up folding in 1979. In 1980, UEFA formed a competitive championship for women's national teams. After a couple of tournaments, UEFA saw the need to introduce women's coefficients, something they have been doing for UEFA men's national teams since 1979. The coefficients were necessary for ranking and seeding teams during international competitions.

UEFA Club Coefficients

The UEFA Women's Club Coefficients are calculations based on clubs' performance in the previous five UEFA women's Champions League competitions. With this in mind, it is time to analyze how the UEFA club coefficients are calculated and which competitions they affect:

How Are UEFA Club Coefficients Calculated?

Calculating UEFA club coefficients is a process that requires patience. To come up with the season's coefficients, the confederation adds the total points earned by the club during the season to 20% of the club's association coefficient for the same season. The formula used to award points to the clubs often varies every year. For example, for the season 2021/22, points were awarded using the following criteria:

• 1.5 – awarded to the club that wins the first round third-place match for a four-team mini-tournament or a team defeated in the matched one tie in the case of a three-team mini-tournament.
• 0.5 – awarded to every club eliminated during the opening round
• 1 – awarded to the club defeated in the first round third-place match
• 2 – awarded to the finalist defeated in round 1
• 1 – group stage draws and draws onwards
• 4 – bonus participation for the group stage
• 3 – awarded to all clubs eliminated in the second round
• 2 – group stage wins and wins onwards
• 1 – all-round clubs that reach quarter-finals onwards

UEFA awards match points only to games that have been played. Furthermore, the confederation does not count penalty shootouts. Finally, the coefficients are represented to the thousand without rounding up.

What Competitions do UEFA Club Coefficients effect

The UEFA club coefficients affect leagues under the UEFA confederation. These include the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League for men and the UEFA Champions League for men and women. However, this section will be based on the following women's tournament:

UEFA Women’s Champions League

One of the main competitions organized by the UEFA confederation is the UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL), formerly known as UEFA Women's Cup. This is a tournament for international women's association soccer teams that was launched in 2001.

Usually, the competition contains 72 teams, but for the season 2021/22, UEFA introduced a 16-team group stage. Since 2001, Lyon has been the most successful club in the UEFA women's Champions League with eight titles.

Top 3 UEFA Clubs Since 2001

Since 2001, the UEFA has been ranking teams based on the number of points awarded during the qualifications, playoffs, and group stages. Other points come from the round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final, third place match, and the final game. For every competition, there have been changes in teams' rankings. However, some clubs have always dominated the list by achieving high coefficients. These clubs include:

Olympique Lyon

Olympique Lyon is the most successful women's soccer club based in Lyon, France, with 9 points on the top UEFA teams' list of all time. Since 2001, Lyon has dominated UEFA tournaments in various seasons and has managed to come on top during the Champions League UEFA seasons 2010–11, 2011–12, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, and 2021–22. Lyon holds a Guinness world record for the most consecutive victories in all competitions.

Wolfsburg

Ranked second in the all-time list with three points is Wolfsburg. VfL Wolfsburg is one of the best German women's soccer clubs from Lower Saxony. The team won the UEFA Women's Champions League finals twice in 2013 and 2014.

Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt is another women's soccer club in Germany with an impressive record of four titles in the UEFA Women's Champions League. Frankfurt comes in at a joint third on the all-time list with 2 points. The club won the UEFA Women's Champions League in 2002, 2006, 2008, and 2015.

Turbine Potsdam

FFC Turbine Potsdam is a top-performing soccer club in Germany, ranking joint third on the all-time list with 2 points. The team dominated the UEFA Women's Champions League in 2005 and 2010 and finished as a runner-up in 2006 and 2011.

Umeå

Umeå IK is among the best performing clubs in the professional association soccer, founded in 1917. The club jointly ranks third on the all-time list with two points. To achieve such a milestone, Umeå won the UEFA Women's Champions League in 2003 and 2004 and came in second in 2002, 2007, and 2008.

UEFA Country Coefficients

The UEFA Country Coefficients, popularly known as the Women's Association Club Coefficients, is a ranking based on the number of points a specific association has gathered in a particular season of the UEFA Women's Champions League. This is in correlation to the cumulative number of bonus points accumulated by different clubs in the association.

How Do UEFA Calculate National Association Coefficients?

The calculation of the UEFA National Association Coefficients is much more different from that of UEFA Club Coefficients. For the former, the federation takes the total number of points earned during a particular season and consequently adds bonus points earned by teams in the association. So far, the bonus points are determined as follows:

• 4 bonus points for clubs that advance to the Champions League group stage
• 1 bonus point for women's clubs that advance to the Champions League quarter-finals
• 5 bonus points for women's clubs that reach the Champions League round of 16
• 1 bonus point for clubs that reach the semi-finals or finals of the Champions League

Finally, the confederation considers the results for the past five seasons and not just a single season when calculating UEFA national association coefficients.

What are the benefits of higher coefficient points scored?

Scoring higher coefficient points come with numerous benefits. For example, the more points earned, the more favorable UEFA looks upon the team in terms of rankings and seedings. Also, UEFA rankings determine the number of clubs representing a European country in the UEFA Champions League.

Top 5 UEFA National Associations

UEFA has very competitive tournaments, which has seen each association receive a high national coefficient. So far, here is a detailed list of the top UEFA National Associations as per their cumulative points for the past five seasons:

France - French Football Federation (FFF)

The French Football Federation is the highest football association in France, Monaco, and French-administered territories. FFF was formed in 1919 and got affiliated with the UEFA in 1954.

It was, however, until 1970 that they reinstated women's soccer. This saw the women's team participate in their first official international match in 1971. After their qualification, the FFF teams participate in top leagues, including FIFA and UEFA Champions League. Some of the top women's teams in the association include Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain, and Toulouse.

Germany - German Football Association ( DFB)

German Football Association, popularly known as DFB, is the body that governs soccer in Germany. DFB was formed in 1900 and affiliated with the UEFA in 1954. In 1984 the women's team played their first UEFA championship match but did not go past the group stage.

However, they have gone ahead to win multiple European Championship titles. In the latest season's championship's league competition, Germany garnered 14.666 points. The country has participated in FIFA Women's World Cup, UEFA Women's Championship, and Summer Olympic Games. The top women's teams in Germany include Frankfurt, Turbine Potsdam, VfL Wolfsburg, and Duisburg.

Spain - Royal Spanish Football Federation (REFF)

The Royal Spanish Football Federation has been Spain's governing association since 1909. REFF became part of UEFA in 1954, but it was not until 1987 that the women's team signed up for UEFA.

Some of the top competitions that REFF teams have participated in include the FIFA Women's World Cup and UEFA Women's Championship, which, despite joining in 1987, did not qualify until 1997. Barcelona is one of the top teams under REFF with a single UEFA Championship.

England -The Football Association (FA)

The football association or FA is England's governing body and the association behind soccer teams and clubs in crown dependencies such as Guernsey and Jersey. FA launched in 1863 and joined the UEFA in 1954. England competes in most international competitions, including the FIFA and UEFA Women's Championship which the team won for the first time in 2022. Top teams in England include Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea.

Sweden - Svenska Fotbollförbundet (SvFF)

Svenska Fotbollförbundet is Sweden’s soccer governing body founded in 1904. Sweden women's teams started qualifying for the UEFA champions league in 1982 and have also been participating in other top tournaments, including FIFA Women's World Cup, Olympic Games, and UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship. Some of the top Sweden teams include Umeå, Djurgården, and Tyresö.

Coefficient Schedules - When Are the Coefficients Updated?

UEFA usually releases three rankings, namely the UEFA National Team Coefficient, Association Coefficient, and Club Coefficient. The National Team Coefficient seeds national teams for UEFA competitions in qualifying and final tournaments. The rankings happen yearly to determine the number of clubs granted entry into the UEFA Champions League. On the other hand, the updates occur live as the tournament proceeds.

FAQ On UEFA Women's Coefficients

Here are FAQs that will give you more information on the UEFA Women's Coefficient by answering different questions surrounding the topic: