UEFA Women’s Champions League 2017/18

Overview

The UEFA Women’s Champions League 2017/18 was the seventeenth edition of the European championship competition for women’s football clubs and the ninth under this designation. The competition began with the first games of the qualifying round on August 22, 2017, and ended with the final on May 24, 2018, held at the Valeri Lobanovsky Stadium in Kiev.

Participants

A record number of teams participated in the 2017/18 UEFA Women’s Champions League, with 61 clubs from 49 countries competing for the title. The participants included:

* The champions and vice-champions of the twelve strongest nations
* The national champions of 37 other UEFA members
* The top 12 UEFA-rated associations at the end of the 2015-2016 season had their qualified champion clubs directly enter the sixteenth finals, with their vice-champions entering either in the sixteenth finals or in the qualifying phase

Qualification Scheme

The qualification scheme for the UEFA Women’s Champions League 2017/18 was as follows:

* The holder of the title (Olympique Lyon) was qualified directly for the final
* The top 12 UEFA-rated associations at the end of the 2015-2016 season had their champion clubs directly enter the sixteenth finals, with their vice-champions entering either in the sixteenth finals or in the qualifying phase
* Other associations had their champion club enter the qualification phase

Final

The final was held on May 24, 2018, at the Valeri Lobanovsky Stadium in Kiev. The defending champions, Olympique Lyon, prevailed against VfL Wolfsburg to defend their title.

Note: I've kept the original dates and names intact, and resolved conflicts by preferring the most detailed explanation (e.g., using "Valeri Lobanovsky Stadium" instead of "Dynamo Lobanovski Stadium").