Due to the Women’s World Cup this summer, there is an odd set-up for the Champions League group stage this season. The premier round will be decided in mid-November and a total of four rounds will be played before Christmas Eve. The last two group stage rounds will then be decided at the end of January.
It means it for both Rosengård and Häcken if the two Swedish clubs reach football’s fine room. The Women’s League ends on November 11, but the players cannot get any holiday before the first round of the Champions League.
Split up the holiday?
— We have not fully laid out the plan for when the players will have vacation. They have to somehow. We probably need to split it up. That we take time off over Christmas and New Year and a week or so into January, then we have to do it again. Since you have a holiday in February, says Rosengård’s sports manager Therese Sjögran.
In addition, the clubs may have to take into account the group stage in the Swedish Cup, which starts on 9–10 March. However, both Rosengård and Häcken need to win a qualifying match to get there.
— It will be messy for us, but we have known about it for a long time. We have a plan, but we don’t want to charge anything in advance. We are not in the group stage of the Champions League yet, says Therese Sjögran.
Rosengård’s sports director Therese Sjögran. Archive image.
But the conditions are good for both the Malmö club and Häcken ahead of Wednesday’s returns in the final qualifying round. Rosengård takes a 2-1 lead into the meeting with Serbian Spartak Subotica at Malmö IP. Häcken goes to the Netherlands for an away match against Twente – the first meeting at Hisingen ended 2-2.
“Forget as soon as we can”
Häcken – who has to do without injured national team star Elin Rubensson – tops the women’s league with three games left to play, but for the reigning champion team Rosengård, the league season is a gigantic disappointment. The team is seventh and will collect its worst league position ever.
TT: What would a Champions League group stage mean for you this season?
— Everything. If we can make it to a group stage, we can still have it with us when we enter 2024. For this season in the league, we want to forget as soon as we can, says Therese Sjögran.
No group stage in the Champions League is out of the question for Rosengård next season – the team cannot reach the top three in the women’s league this year.