Coach Juan Carlos Amoros said Gotham FC has already won the league trophy and federation title, so the next logical step is the Intercontinental Championship.
The National Women’s Football League club is battling to win England’s first ever Women’s Champions Cup this week, and will face Brazil’s Corinthians in the semi-finals starting Wednesday.
“The hunger they have to win is incredible. It’s their nature,” Amoros said of Gotham. “When they win one tournament, they are already thinking about the next one.”
UEFA Champions League winners Arsenal will face Morocco’s ASFAR in the second half of the semi-final at London’s G-Tech Community Stadium. The championship and third place play-off will be held at Emirates Stadium on Sunday. The winner will receive $2.3 million.. The runner-up wins $1 million.
Gotham was a surprise winner of the NWSL Championship as the No. 8 seed going into the playoffs, defeating No. 1 Kansas City and defending champion Orlando before winning the championship. Washington Spirit won 1-0.
Gotham won the first CONCACAF Champions Cup and qualified for the inaugural FIFA event. 1-0 victory over Mexico’s Tigres Last May.
“This is where we want to be. Competing in the semifinals, competing in the finals, competing to lift another trophy. That’s the standard here at Gotham,” said Gotham defenseman Mandy Freeman, who did preseason training in Spain. “We not only want to be the first to win this kind of competition, but we also want to carry on that tradition and continue to fight for the championship.”
The six-team Women’s Champions Cup was created as an intercontinental championship for women’s club teams. It builds on the growing number of regional club competitions, led by the success of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
It also capitalizes on the growth of women’s football globally. At the 2025 Women’s European Championship to be held in Switzerland, Tournament participation record and Viewership rating. At club level, Barcelona won and drew against Real Madrid in the 2022 Champions League final at Camp Nou. World record crowd of over 91,000.
However, the launch of the new tournament was full of ups and downs. Final Stage’s global broadcast partner was not announced until DAZN intervened two weeks ago. Sky Sports will broadcast the match in England.
FIFA has also introduced a 16-team Women’s Club World Cup, which is scheduled to begin in 2028 and be held every four years. The new Champions Cup will be held every year except in years when the Club World Cup is held.
Who is eligible?
The competition will feature one representative from each of six federations: UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF (North, Central America and the Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), CAF (Africa), OFC (Oceania) and AFC (Asia).
In addition to Arsenal qualifying for the UEFA Champions League and Gotham for the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Corinthians qualified by winning the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Femenina and ASFAR won the CAF Champions League.
Two continental champions, Auckland United representing Oceania and Wuhan Chago Jiangda representing Asia, were eliminated in the previous round.
Winners of UEFA, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL competitions will advance directly to the semi-finals, while winners of Africa, Asia and Oceania will play the final tournament.
Why London?
There were rumors that the NWSL had made a host offer and that a West Coast venue was being considered for the final stage, but Arsenal’s league match against Chelsea on Sunday put that question into question. So, in the end, London was chosen.
Total prize money
The total prize money to be divided among the six continental champions is $3.9 million. In contrast, Arsenal earned around $1.8 million in prize money for winning the Women’s Champions League last season.
FIFA Secretary General Matthias Grafström said in a statement that the prize money “is a clear statement of belief in the players, teams and competitions that drive women’s club football and its continued development.”
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