LEICESTER, ENGLAND – MARCH 03: Maika Hamano of Chelsea eacts following the Barclays Women´s Super … [+] League match between Leicester City and Chelsea FC at The King Power Stadium on March 03, 2024 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Harriet Lander – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
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Chelsea head coach Emma Hayes will have to make a tough decision this week when she submits her revised squad to play in the knockout stages of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Since the group stage of the competition ended in December, Hayes has invested large amounts to recruit two established international stars – Sweden’s Nathalie Björn and Colombia’s Mayra Ramírez – as well as recalling Japanese prodigy Maika Hamano from her loan spell at Hammarby IF.
In addition, earlier this month, long-term absentee Catarina Macario returned to action after 641 days out injured due to a rupture of her anterior cruciate ligament. In two substitute appearances, Macario has already scored two goals in just 45 minutes on the field underlining her match-winning potential. Once Hayes assumes her new role as the head coach of the United States Women’s National Team in June, it is likely she will base her team around Macario.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – MARCH 10: Catarina Macario of Chelsea celebrates after scoring her team’s first … [+] goal during the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Quarter Final match between Everton FC and Chelsea FC at Walton Hall Park on March 10, 2024 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
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In October, Chelsea surprisingly omitted Macario from their 24-player squad eligible to play in the group stage of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, which ran from November to January. Even if she was not fit to play, they could have included her, as the maximum squad size permissible for European competitions is 25.
Having failed to do so, Chelsea can now only add three of the four aforementioned players to their squad for the knockout stages. Article 47.01 of the regulations for the UEFA Women’s Champions League state that “as of the quarter-finals, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches in the current competition. Such registration must be completed by 14 March 2024 (24.00 CET) at the latest. This deadline cannot be extended.”
In addition, the registration of the three new players will take their squad for the Champions League to 27, too large under UEFA regulations. Article 47.03 states “if the registration of such new players causes the number of players on List A to exceed 25, the club must remove the necessary number of currently registered players to reduce the squad to 25 players again.”
This may prove to be less of a problem. Strikers Sam Kerr and Mia Fishel are out with long-term injuries having both succumbed to ruptures of their anterior cruciate ligaments this year. Neither has any chance of playing again this season so both could be left out from Chelsea’s UEFA Women’s Champions League squad for the knockout stages which begin at the end of this month.
Being cut from the 25-player squad for the knockout stages does not mean those players will not be eligible for a medal should Chelsea go on to win the competition in May. UEFA regulations state that the two finalists will be presented with up to 40 winners or runners-up medals which can be distributed as the club sees fit.
The loss of Kerr and Fishel would seem to necessitate the inclusion of Ramírez and Macario to replace them as experienced alternatives to play in the central striking roles. The 19-year-old Hamano is also a forward but she seems the most likely to miss out on a place in the Champions League squad.
Hamano was signed on a four and a half year contract in January 2023 and immediately loaned out to Hammarby for the rest of the calendar year. In September, she sustained a significant shoulder injury which led to her recall to London to undergo “a rehabilitation programme with support from the club’s medical team.” She has since recovered to make her Women’s Super League debut on December 17 and her first start for Chelsea at home to Sunderland in the FA Continental Cup last month.
The 26-year-old Björn was signed for $159,000 (£125,000) from Women’s Super League rivals Everton in January. She has already played eight times for her new club, starting seven matches and scoring her first goal last weekend away to Leicester City.
LEICESTER, ENGLAND – MARCH 03: Nathalie Bjorn of Chelsea celebrates scoring her team’s first goal … [+] during the Barclays Women´s Super League match between Leicester City and Chelsea FC at The King Power Stadium on March 03, 2024 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Morgan Harlow/Getty Images)
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In the continued absence of captain Millie Bright, Björn offers the squad versatility as she can cover a number of positions in defence and midfield. However, yesterday she too went off injured during Chelsea’s FA Cup win at Everton. Hayes is awaiting a further assessment on Björn’s injury, only confirming that “she felt her calf, so I think it’s fair to say there’ll be something there with that, but we won’t know until we get back.”
Ultimately the decision is Hayes’ and we will all be left wondering until UEFA release the updated squads for the eight remaining quarter-finalists in the women’s Champions League on Friday.
