FC Barcelona Femení to possibly be featured in international seven-a-side tournament held before UEFA Women’s Champions League Final

In the spirit of spring, the international club football season is quickly coming to the end of the road for most leagues, teams and tournaments. FC Barcelona Femení still remain atop Liga F in Spain, with one loss on their record and a handful of league matches to play until the end of May. Similarly, the Barclays WSL season in England features 22 weeks of match days, with this weekend marking the 16th out of 22. European entities such as German giants FC Bayern Munich in the Frauen Bundesliga have their sights set on not just dominating domestically but also capturing the UEFA Women’s Champions League flag, with one big hurdle.

FC Barcelona Femení stand in the way of European glory for not just FC Bayern Munich but other elite European clubs, having won the most recent version of the UEFA Women’s Champions League competition along with the year prior. But, before the 2025 final is set to kick off in Lisbon, Portugal on May 24th, FC Barcelona Femení first need to qualify for the final by making it past the quarterfinal and semi-final rounds, facing the victors of the other side of the bracket. While on the hunt, and in preparation for this year’s contest, a new seven-a-side tournament proposed by private American investors and prominent women’s football executives featuring big name clubs will be taking place days before the UWCL final.

As broken by Tom Garry of The Guardian, multiple football leagues are collaborating to conduct eight participating teams stemming from the likes of the Barclays WSL, Frauen Bundesliga, and even the NWSL in America for a seven-a-side tournament to be played around three days prior to the final for reportedly more prize money than the actual winning team of the UEFA Women’s Champions League! Garry reports that UEFA nor FIFA will not be the overseers of this event, although the governing bodies have been in discussions involved with organisers. This excursion is ambitious, although one a kind in its international competitiveness and lucrative nature for fan engagement.

Although exciting, organisers are also well aware of the upcoming EUROs this summer wherein the best sportswomen from said clubs will represent their countries at the highest level for one month in Switzerland, another title opportunity. England’s Lionesses currently hold the trophy from 2022, and to prevent any unnecessary injuries beforehand, a seven-a-side tournament limits the amount of players on the field at the same time, along with allowing rolling substitutions rather than following the strict rules of a standard football match. What’s at stake during the seven-a-side is not to be taken lightly, considering prize money may even surpass several million (pounds).

So, clubs, franchises and fans alike better start arranging travel plans to Portugal. It’s all going down in Lisbon, whether FC Barcelona Femení qualify for the UEFA Women’s Champions League final or not. Time will tell the success of this tournament.