Women's football: European Club Association's new plans for European club competition for women
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New plans are being made which organisers hope will help grow women's football in Europe.
The European Club Association, ECA, are making plans to introduce a second-tier European club competition. The ECA is a group of more than 200 clubs, including big teams like Manchester United and Chelsea but also smaller clubs like Welsh side The New Saints, who help organise professional football across Europe.
Currently the Women's Champions League is the only European club competition in women's football.
In the men's game they have the Champions League, the Europa League and from next season the Europa Conference League.
Head of women's football at ECA, Claire Bloomfield, said: "We want the clubs to realise these ambitions [of growing women's football] in Europe and part of that is tabling very detailed proposals for a possible second-tier competition in Europe..."
It's just the latest indication of how women's football is growing. Here's three more ways women's football is smashing it:
A new European strategy
The ECA have many more plans for the women's game. Their 'Be a Changemaker' strategy aims to develop women's football and is the first time the association has made a plan for the women's game.
There are six goals which include finding new commercial opportunities, helping create new women's clubs across Europe and produce research studies for the women's game.
Chief executive Charlie Marshall said: "We want to achieve in a decade what they have achieved in 50 years in the historic men's game."
All of that means that one of the biggest bodies in European football is now committed to helping women's football grow. 1-0.
New TV deal
It was recently announced that the Women's Super League is to be shown on the BBC's main channels, with other games being shown on Sky.
The Football Association (FA) which runs the WSL announced the "landmark" multimillion pound deal, which is thought to be the biggest broadcast deal of any professional women's football league in the world.
Manchester City and England captain Steph Houghton said "it's a huge moment", while Kelly Simmons from the FA expects the deal will give the WSL a massive audience boost.
That's 2-0.
Champions League is changing
A new format for Women's Champions League will be introduced for this coming season.
There will be a group stage for the last 16. This means three English teams will take part in the competition rather than two.
UEFA, who are in charge of running European football, said this change was "designed to boost competitiveness and increase exposure of women's club football".
More women's football in Europe. 3-0.
Let us know in the comments how excited you are to see the women's game grow.
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