The race for the 2026 Ballon d’Or honors has officially heated up with the unveiling of the nominees for the prestigious Club of the Year awards. Back-to-back European champions Paris Saint-Germain are looking to defend their men's crown against a resurgent Arsenal and a dominant Bayern Munich side, while a treble-winning Barcelona enter the women's category on a fierce mission to reclaim their throne.
The road to European glory has been mapped out following the UEFA Women's Champions League league phase draw in Nyon. England's elite representatives have discovered their fate, with several mouth-watering ties confirmed for this campaign.
Chelsea, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have all learned their opponents for the third qualifying round of the Women's Champions League, with victory in the final round of the preliminary stage to secure passage through to the league phase of the 2026-27 edition of the UWCL. With the likes of Ajax and Inter lurking as potential opposition, Tuesday's draw threw up some interesting ties.
Jong PEC Zwolle
