Latest news with #FIFAWomen'sClubWorldCup
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Vancouver Rise FC Academy learns its path at the 2025-26 CONCACAF W Champions Cup
The Vancouver Rise FC Academy was drawn with defending champion Gotham FC and fellow NWSL side Washington Spirit in Group B for the second edition of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup, which kicks off in August. Group B also includes Mexico's CF Monterrey Femenil and El Salvador's Alianza Women FC. Group A is comprised of Mexico's Club America and CF Pachuca Femenil, NWSL champion Orlando Pride, Costa Rica's LD Alajuelense and Panama's FC Chorrillo. The group stage, to run from August to October, will see each team play two home and two away games. The top two from each group advance to the semifinals, set for May 2026. The 10-team tournament is the elite women's club competition in the region that covers North and Central America and the Caribbean. The winner qualifies for the 2027 FIFA Women's Champions Cup, an annual tournament featuring the champions of each confederation, and for the inaugural FIFA Women's Club World Cup, set to debut in 2028. Gotham, the 2023 NWSL champion, defeated Mexico's Tigres UANL 1-0 in the May 25 final of the inaugural edition of the tournament. As winner, Gotham qualifies for the 2028 FIFA Women's Club World Cup. The Vancouver Rise Academy, formerly Whitecaps Girls Elite FC, qualified virtue of winning the League1 Canada Inter-Provincial Championship — the same pathway it used for 2024-25 qualification. Whitecaps Girls Elite failed to reach the knockout rounds after finishing fourth in Group B at 1-3-0, outscored 16-2 after losses to Club America (7-0) and NWSL's Portland Thorns (6-0) and San Diego Wave (2-0) and a win over Panama's Sante Fe FC (2-1). The Northern Super League is currently in discussions with Canada Soccer and CONCACAF about the qualification process for future editions. Gotham was the highest-scoring team in the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup with 25 goals. CF Monterrey won the 2024 Apertura title while Alianza Women won the 2024 Apertura and Clausura titles in El Salvador for a domestic four-peat. Tuesday's draw was conducted by Carlos Fernandez, CONCACAF's chief football competitions officer, and assisted by former Mexican footballer Desirée Monsiváis. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Vancouver Rise FC Academy learns its path at the 2025-26 CONCACAF W Champions Cup
The Vancouver Rise FC Academy was drawn with defending champion Gotham FC and fellow NWSL side Washington Spirit in Group B for the second edition of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup, which kicks off in August. Group B also includes Mexico's CF Monterrey Femenil and El Salvador's Alianza Women FC. Group A is comprised of Mexico's Club America and CF Pachuca Femenil, NWSL champion Orlando Pride, Costa Rica's LD Alajuelense and Panama's FC Chorrillo. The group stage, to run from August to October, will see each team play two home and two away games. The top two from each group advance to the semifinals, set for May 2026. The 10-team tournament is the elite women's club competition in the region that covers North and Central America and the Caribbean. The winner qualifies for the 2027 FIFA Women's Champions Cup, an annual tournament featuring the champions of each confederation, and for the inaugural FIFA Women's Club World Cup, set to debut in 2028. Gotham, the 2023 NWSL champion, defeated Mexico's Tigres UANL 1-0 in the May 25 final of the inaugural edition of the tournament. As winner, Gotham qualifies for the 2028 FIFA Women's Club World Cup. The Vancouver Rise Academy, formerly Whitecaps Girls Elite FC, qualified virtue of winning the League1 Canada Inter-Provincial Championship — the same pathway it used for 2024-25 qualification. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Whitecaps Girls Elite failed to reach the knockout rounds after finishing fourth in Group B at 1-3-0, outscored 16-2 after losses to Club America (7-0) and NWSL's Portland Thorns (6-0) and San Diego Wave (2-0) and a win over Panama's Sante Fe FC (2-1). The Northern Super League is currently in discussions with Canada Soccer and CONCACAF about the qualification process for future editions. Gotham was the highest-scoring team in the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup with 25 goals. CF Monterrey won the 2024 Apertura title while Alianza Women won the 2024 Apertura and Clausura titles in El Salvador for a domestic four-peat. Tuesday's draw was conducted by Carlos Fernandez, CONCACAF's chief football competitions officer, and assisted by former Mexican footballer Desirée Monsiváis. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2025.
New York Post
25-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Gotham FC ‘over the moon' after securing place as global heavyweight with Concacaf Champions Cup win
NJ/NY Gotham FC secured their place among the global women's soccer heavyweights this weekend when they won the inaugural Concacaf Women's Champions Cup. They were crowned the best team in North America, Central America and the Caribbean after beating Mexico-based club Tigres UANL in the tournament's championship game Saturday night. Gotham FC's offense was relentlessly attacking and frustrating the Tigres. Advertisement Ultimately, Esther González's second-chance goal in the 82nd minute was all Gotham needed to secure the 1-0 win in Monterrey, Mexico. 4 Gotham FC players celebrate after winning the Concacaf Women's Champions Cup on May 24. Shutterstock 'It's a historic moment for the Concacaf and for women's football in this part of the world,' Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amorós said after the win. 'It was the whole target at the beginning of the year — not only to come here and compete, but to come here and win.' Amorós said the team was 'over the moon' that it did just that. Advertisement Gotham recorded 23 shots, with seven on goal, while the Tigres registered only seven shots, none on target. González scored the winning goal when she found the back of the net off a rebound after her penalty kick was initially stopped. 'We really left it all out there and everyone really fought hard to the end,' defender Mandy Freeman told reporters. 'We deserved the win and we really earned it.' Advertisement 4 Gotham FC players react after winning the Concacaf Women's Champions Cup on May 24. REUTERS Gotham took pride in knowing they were bringing the inaugural regional championship trophy to the NWSL. 'It's always great to win a trophy with your team this early in the season, and I think this will help us going into our league games,' midfielder Jaelin Howell told reporters. 'It's great to win as a team and represent NWSL in this way.' Not only did the Concacaf Women's Champions Cup victory present Gotham, the 2023 NWSL champions, their second major trophy in two years, but it also secured them a spot in what's considered to be the top two women's club competitions in the world — the new 2026 FIFA Women's Champions Cup and the first FIFA Women's Club World Cup in 2028. Advertisement 4 Esther Gonzalez scored Gotham's only goal during their Concacaf Women's Champions Cup win on May 24. AP Gotham join Arsenal, who won the UEFA Women's Champions League Final on Saturday, as the only teams to have secured outright spots in the 2026 FIFA Women's Champions Cup semifinals in January. Wuhan Jiangda from China and Auckland United from Oceania have qualified for play-in games. The final two open spots are for South America and Africa. For now, Gotham are going to savor Saturday's win. 4 Gotham FC players celebrate with their medals after winning the Concacaf Women's Champions Cup win on May 24. AP 'It's really an honor to be walking back with a trophy and we're just glad to have been able to contribute on the field and go to the Club World Cup for the first time,' forward Sarah Schupansky told reporters. 'That's an incredible step forward for women's football and it's going to be really, really fun.' Gotham are set to return to NWSL June 7, when they host the KC Current at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
New York Times
03-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
FIFA set to postpone planned 16-team Women's Club World Cup
FIFA is set to postpone next year's inaugural Women's Club World Cup until 2027 at the earliest, after stakeholders in the women's game told the global governing body more time was needed to get it right. FIFA first announced its intention to host a new 16-team tournament between January and February of 2026 after a meeting of its 37-strong council in Bangkok last May. Advertisement However, 10 months on, there have been no announcements about a host, format or qualification criteria, let alone any broadcast or commercial deals. With the proposed start now less than a year away, clubs, confederations, leagues and the players' union have persuaded FIFA to delay the launch of a big new tournament by at least 12 months but to push on with the creation of a smaller Women's Club World Cup that can played in next year's time slot. The idea is that this tournament, which would involve four to six teams, would take place in the years between the 16-team competition, which will run on a four-year cycle. This would replicate the men's game, which holds its first expanded Club World Cup in the U.S. this summer but has retained its annual six-team tournament, now called the Intercontinental Cup. The decision to push back the launch of the new Women's Club World Cup is expected to be made at the next meeting of the FIFA Council on Wednesday. FIFA has declined to comment but it should be noted that last year's announcement was only a proposal, not a firm commitment, hence the lack of detail. Speaking in Bangkok at the time, Infantino said: 'To this date, we don't have a global club competition for women. Yet we are asking (men's) clubs to form women's clubs all over the world. 'We need to give players an opportunity to perform as well as on the global stage and to develop themselves in all continents of the world. 'For this reason, (we want) to have a 16-team FIFA Women's Club World Cup in January/February 2026.' Furthermore, FIFA also released a press release shortly after its congress in the Thai capital that a further proposal had been made for 'an additional FIFA women's club competition to be organised in non-FIFA Women's Club World Cup years as from 2027.' It now seems that Infantino, the confederations, leading women's leagues and everyone else concerned has decided to start small and get bigger, as opposed to the other way around. GO DEEPER How the FIFA Women's Club World Cup could help lessen disparity in player loading (Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP via Getty Images)
