Women's Europa Cup final first-leg preview: Hammarby vs Häcken

Hammarby and Häcken meet in the first leg of the inaugural UEFA Women's Europa Cup final first leg on Saturday 25 April at Stockholm Arena.

Hammarby vs Häcken

When: Saturday 25 April (15:00 CET kick-off)

Where: Stockholm Arena, Stockholm

What: UEFA Women's Europa Cup final first leg

How to follow: Build-up can be found here

Second leg: Friday 1 May (16:00 CET) at Hisingen Arena, Gothenburg.

What do you need to know?

After 41 two-legged knockout ties over six rounds, two Swedish clubs remain in contention to lift the new trophy. One will become the first team from their nation to claim a UEFA club title since Umeå's victories in the second and third UEFA Women's Cup editions of 2002/03 and 2003/04.

Both clubs have bounced back from heartbreaking Women's Champions League qualifying exits, mid-campaign managerial exits and player departures to each reach their debut European final.

UEFA via Getty Images

Stockholm's Hammarby are only in their second European campaign but, after making the Women's Champions League group stage last season, have produced another impressive run in this competition to delight their famously fervent fans. After knocking out Brann and Ajax, William Strömberg took over as coach to lead a squad who beat Sporting CP on penalties then knocked out Sparta Praha courtesy of 16-year-old Fanny Peterson's heroics.

UEFA via Getty Images

Gothenburg's Häcken have a more substantial European pedigree, and have made three Women's Champions League quarter-finals. They have knocked out Katowice, Inter, Breidablik and, after a superb 3-0 away first-leg win, Eintracht Frankfurt. Häcken finished four points clear of Hammarby to win the 2025 Damallsvenskan, in which last October's 2-0 home win against the Stockholm side was key. They knocked out Breidablik and four-time European champions Frankfurt under new coach Elena Sadiku, who left Celtic to replace Mak Lind.

Form guide

Hammarby

Last six games: WWWWWW

Last match: Brommapojkarna 0-3 Hammarby, 06/04, Damallsvenskan

Where they stand: 1st in 2026 Damallsvenskan (2nd in 2025), Swedish Cup final

Häcken

Last six games: WLWWWW

Last match: Vittsjö 1-2 Häcken, 06/04, Damallsvenskan

Where they stand: 3rd in 2026 Damallsvenskan (1st in 2025), Swedish Cup final

View from the camps

Elena Sadiku, Häcken coach: "We will have a Swedish team that will win the Women's Europa Cup, and that's fantastic for Swedish football. It's a good start to the season for us both, so it's going to be interesting and fun to see how it goes."

Vilde Hasund, Hammarby midfielder: "It's fantastic to get to play a final in Europe. It's huge, and it means a lot. We've previously won the Swedish league title, the cup, and now we want to go for a European title as well."

Tabitha Tindell, Häcken midfielder: "It's going to be unbelievable to play in the final. It's the first year of this tournament and to come so far, and also to have such a strong showing from Swedish clubs [is fantastic]."

Fanny Peterson, Hammarby midfielder: "It shows where Sweden is heading that we have two top teams in Europe who have made it all the way [to the final]. Credit to the academies, to Swedish football as a whole, to all the coaches, the staff and everyone."

The Women's Europa Cup trophy

UEFA

The winning team will be the first to lift the new Women’s Europa Cup trophy, which was crafted in Italy and features six stripes to represent each round of the competition.

The winners will also automatically qualify for the third qualifying round of the champions path of next season's Women's Champions League, leaving one round to navigate to gain a place in the 2026/27 league phase.

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