HB Køge Women had to be separated from the men’s club before Angie and Chris Long could buy it. Fifteen months later, that transaction has an appointment in Eindhoven at 19:00 CEST on Wednesday.
PSV and HB Køge open their tie at De Herdgang as champions of their respective countries. The Dutch side lifted the first league title in its history in May; the Danish club reclaimed its domestic crown after three years and paired it with the cup. The winner over two legs will enter the Women’s Champions League league phase. The loser will drop into the second qualifying round of the Women’s Europa Cup.
A women’s club bought on its own
Ballard Capital announced its purchase of HB Køge Women on 27 May 2025. The investment company belongs to Angie and Chris Long, the owners of Kansas City Current. To acquire only the women’s side, the Longs and the seller first had to separate the men’s and women’s operations. The agreement was presented as one of the most significant transactions in the history of Danish women’s sport.
The intention was not hidden behind corporate language. The new owners wanted to apply the model built in Kansas City, invest in a leading Scandinavian academy for girls and women, win Danish championships and return HB Køge to the highest level of European competition.
The first of those objectives was achieved during their first full season. Kristian Mørch’s side beat Kolding IF 3-1 on 13 June, secured the club’s fourth Danish championship and completed the first league-and-cup double in its history. The Champions League now turns that promise into a measurable test: HB Køge are one tie away from returning to Europe’s main phase for the first time since appearing in the inaugural group stage in 2021/22.
The Kansas City connection extends beyond ownership. Mwanalima Jereko arrived from the Current, while Macy Schultz had played for its second team. Kyra Carusa returned to Køge this summer after a loan spell in the NWSL. All three featured in the previous qualifying round and two have already scored in Europe this season.
Six wins, with two warnings hidden inside them
HB Køge have won all six of their competitive matches this season, scoring 18 goals and conceding three. They have beaten FC Copenhagen 3-0, ASA Aarhus 4-0, OB Q 3-0 and Brøndby 2-1 in the A-Liga. In Europe, they eliminated Riga 4-1 and Hearts 2-1 in the second-round mini-tournament.
The sequence is perfect; the route through Europe has not been. Riga took the lead in the fifth minute and Hearts did so in the 13th. The Danish champions had to come from behind in both matches. Schultz began the response in the first; Nadia Nadim and Sarah Thygesen added the decisive goals after the break. Against Hearts, Jereko equalised on 60 minutes and Mille Gejl scored the winner in the first minute of stoppage time.
That distribution matters. HB Køge’s threat is not limited to Nadim’s experience or Carusa’s presence up front. Five different players have scored their five non-own goals in this Champions League campaign, with an own goal completing the 4-1 win over Riga. PSV will need to track the runners arriving from deeper positions and the impact from the bench, not merely contain one striker.
PSV arrive with a first title, a first Super Cup and a clear attacking leader
PSV are coming from a foundational year of their own. They won the 2025/26 Eredivisie with a match to spare after recording the most wins, scoring the most goals and conceding the fewest in the division. On 31 July, they added the first Super Cup in their history with a 3-0 victory over FC Twente.
Liz Rijsbergen was involved in all three goals that night: she set up Chimera Ripa and Sara Thrige before scoring the third herself. Eight days later, she produced all three goals in the 3-1 victory over HJK that carried PSV into this round. No player has shaped their start to the season more decisively.
The Dutch champions have played five competitive matches, winning four and drawing one with an overall score of 12-4. They beat Sarajevo 3-2 and HJK in Europe. In the league, they required goals in the 90th minute and stoppage time to overcome PEC Zwolle, before being held to a 1-1 draw by FC Utrecht on Saturday.
That latest match left Kasper Kurland with a problem to solve. PSV dominated possession against a deep defensive block but struggled to find the vertical and diagonal passes needed to break through it. Their equaliser arrived through an own goal in the 80th minute. If HB Køge can reduce the available space and force PSV into a static attack, Rijsbergen’s ability to beat an opponent may again become the most direct route to goal.
The tie is not simply about its two biggest names
Rijsbergen and Nadim are the obvious reference points, but the decisive area lies in what happens around them. PSV need their press to prevent HB Køge from finding Carusa and their midfield runners immediately after regaining possession. The Danish side, meanwhile, must stop Rijsbergen receiving on the front foot with room to attack: against Twente she turned three moves from the flank into two assists and a goal; against HJK she had to finish the chances herself and responded with a hat-trick.
There is also a difference in obligation. PSV host the first leg and must travel a week later to the Capelli Sport Stadion, where HB Køge have already come from behind to win both of their European matches. A one-goal advantage would leave the tie entirely open; failing to secure one would transfer all the pressure to Denmark.
The Dutch club are pursuing a league-phase place for the first time as national champions. The Danish club are trying to prove that the model announced in Kansas City can carry them back to that stage. One has just opened a domestic door. The other built a project to knock on the European one again.
PSV vs HB Køge: kick-off time and how to watch
The first leg will be played on Wednesday 26 August at 19:00 CEST (18:00 BST) at the TenCate Stadion De Herdgang in Eindhoven. No broadcast has been announced. Disney+ coverage begins with the league phase and does not include the qualifying rounds.
Portugal’s Catarina Campos will referee the match. Vanessa Gomes and Sara Maria Silva Cunha are the assistant referees, with Filipa Pereira Cunha as fourth official, according to UEFA’s official appointment.
The return leg will be played at the Capelli Sport Stadion in Køge on Wednesday 2 September, also at 19:00 CEST (18:00 BST).
