New Women's Europa Cup could improve Irish clubs' prospects

SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division clubs will have a second European competition to aim for from the 2025/26 season after UEFA confirmed the launch of the newly created Europa Cup.

Plans to introduce another continental club competition in the women's game were first unveiled a year ago.

At a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in Switzerland on Monday, the name of the cup was confirmed, with details of increased revenue distribution for women's club competitions also approved.

Currently the Premier Division winners enter the 'Champions Path' and must come through a semi-final and final to make Round 2, the group stages, which is an incredibly tough task for a League of Ireland club.

The Europa Cup will offer a safety net for teams who fail to reach that stage.

For the first two seasons (2025/26 and 2026/27), UEFA have said it's projected that €37.7m per season will be available for distribution among teams. For the next three seasons after that (2027/28, 2028/29 and 2029/30), it is projected that €46.7m per season will be in the pot.

The UEFA Executive Committee have also approved a €41m in prize money for this summer's Euros in Switzerland, representing a 156% increase on the figure from 2022.

Participating national associations will distribute a guaranteed percentage of the rewards - between 30% and 40% - to their players for the first time.

Club benefits payments will increase to €6m, compensating European clubs who release players for the tournament.

The Republic of Ireland missed out on the Euros earlier this month after they were beaten by Wales in the play-off final.

In the men's game, UEFA confirmed the winner of the Italy v Germany Nations League quarter-final would host that tournament's final stages in June.

I