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The 2021/22 season will mark the start of a new dawn for the UEFA Women’s Champions League. The addition of a group stage and the quadrupling of prize money has already been announced, but now, the competition will have its very own anthem, as well as an updated logo and brand identity.
The addition of a new anthem and branding is just the latest stage of an overhaul of UEFA women’s football, in line with UEFA’s Time for Action strategy, which aims to double the reach and value of UEFA flagship women’s competitions by 2024.
Something to relate to
“The UEFA Women’s Champions League is a competition in its own right, with its own sporting and commercial set-up, with its own uniqueness. So why shouldn’t we have a separate anthem and brand attached to this competition? People need to know the UEFA Women’s Champions League, they need to have something they can relate to and be attached to and I believe such an anthem is really important for a recognisable competition,” said UEFA’s chief of women’s football, Nadine Kessler.
“I really hope the players love it and they can feel and see that this anthem has been designed with the help of players for players. We really had one goal in mind, which is to make them feel invincible when they go out in that very special moment when they play the most important games in their career.”
The UEFA Women’s Champions League brand identity reflects the prestigious, inspiring and progressive character of a competition composed of the best women’s club sides in Europe. It is important for the profile and impact of the UEFA Women’s Champions League that this exciting brand identity is implemented consistently, while the logo perfectly captures the essence of the UEFA Women’s Champions League: ‘the best of the best women’s club football competition’.
The time is now
Meanwhile, the anthem follows the same principles as the world-famous UEFA Men’s Champions League anthem, which is sung in UEFA’s three official languages – English, French and German by the Groot Omroepkoor (Dutch Broadcasting Choir). An extract from the final verse can be found below and empathises the pride and honour the players will feel, when they step onto the pitch before an important European club encounter. It will be played before kick-off, as the players line-up.
All unite
Das große Spiel (the biggest game)
The time is now
C’est maintenant (it’s now)
They stand
With pride
“This new anthem represents the beginning of something new, the new UEFA Women’s Champions League. But it’s also representative of the growth of an entire sport, so it has a really big meaning,” Kessler added.
“It’s a symbol for all the changes that we made for this competition and it really visualises the most important moment: the pitch, the stadium when it’s full with fans and the players are coming out of the tunnel and that’s what we all should focus on.”
More competitive format
Branding agency Works Ltd, oversaw the UEFA Women’s Champions League’s new brand identity, while the new anthem has been developed in collaboration with global music agency MassiveMusic.
“The new brand identity of the UEFA Women’s Champions League has the potential to take the competition to the next level, by giving it the visual recognition that the world’s greatest women’s club competition deserves,” said UEFA marketing director, Guy-Laurent Epstein.
“The new branding and anthem, together with the new competition format and commercial model, can only help to make the UEFA Women’s Champions League a more exciting proposition for both our current and prospective partners and sponsors in the future.
“The broadcast platform for the Women’s Champions League will be second to none, and world famous companies, such as Hublot, Lays, Nike and Visa who have already agreed to partner with us over the last couple of years, while we have some more exciting news to share with you shortly.”
From next season, the UEFA Women’s Champions League will feature a more competitive format, with the addition of champions and league qualifying paths for early rounds, a 16-team group stage followed by a knockout stage – the participation of more teams and players, and, above-all, the promise of global visibility.
