Canadian Olympic champs playing key roles in Women's Champions League

Four members of the Canadian soccer team that won gold at last summer's Tokyo Olympics will take centre stage during this week's quarter-final round of the UEFA Women's Champions League.

On Tuesday, a Paris Saint-Germain side featuring fullback Ashley Lawrence and forward Jordyn Huitema will travel to Germany to take on Bayern Munich in the opener of their two-game series.

On Wednesday, Italian outfit Juventus (with Canadian midfielder Julia Grosso) hosts French club Olympique Lyonnais, with whom veteran defender Kadeisha Buchanan has previously won four Champions League titles.

In this week's other first leg contests, Spanish rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona clash, while English club Arsenal welcomes Germany's Wolfsburg to London.

This annual competition that brings together the best clubs from across Europe was first staged in 2001-02 under the moniker of the "UEFA Women's Cup," before being rebranded the Champions League in 2009-10. The Women's Champions League has grown by leaps and bounds since then, with the biggest change coming at the start of this season with the introduction of a proper first-round group stage.

The new format means that for the first time both the women's and men's tournaments are aligned with each other. It also means greater revenue for the clubs involved with an increase of games on the schedule, which is another plus for advancement of the women's game at the pro level. 

"Having more matches is always a plus. The new format, with a group stage, it allows for more games, it allows for more teams to play across Europe, so it's only positive in terms of the progression and growth of the women's game on a global scale," Lawrence told CBC Sports.

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