The 18 teams were place into four groups, two with four teams and 2 with five teams. In each group, teams will play against each other once in a round-robin format. The group winners in each group advanced to the Main round.
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 2 points for a penalty shootout win, 1 point for a penalty shootout loss, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
Goal difference in all group matches;
Goals scored in all group matches.
Draw
The draw took place in Zagreb on 13 August 2024. The seeding was based on the men's club rankings. The only restriction was that clubs from the same country could not be drawn against each other. H indicates which clubs is hosting a group. Teams in bold advanced to the Main round.[5]