Gotham FC meets Brazil’s Corinthians in the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup

CONCACAF champions Gotham FC will take on new South American champions Corinthians of Brazil in the first-ever FIFA Women’s Champions Cup in London next year.

The meeting between the two continental champions is the first confirmed meeting in the last four of the new tournament, which will be a step towards the inaugural FIFA Women’s Club World Cup in 2028.

The first-ever winner of the AFC Women’s Champions League, China’s Wuhan Jiangda, played against Oceania champions Auckland FC in the tournament’s opening play-off earlier this month. In front of 32,218 spectators at the Wuhan Five Rings Sports Center, the honor of scoring the first-ever goal of the competition went to Jiang Chenjing.

Wuhan Jiangda is now through to a second play-off against the undisclosed winners of the CAF Women’s Champions League in Africa. Whoever emerges victorious from that tie will travel to London in February to face European champions Arsenal in the last four of the competition.

Gotham FC, who won the first ever CONCACAF W Champions Cup final by beating hosts Tigres UANL in Monterrey in May, are in the other half of the draw. They were drawn to face the South American champions, the team that won the Copa Libertadores Femenina.

Corinthians had won the last two editions and made it seven straight wins for Brazilian clubs at the continental championships by beating Colombia’s Deportivo Cali today. The full 16-team tournament was played over 17 days in the Greater Buenos Aires province of Argentina.

In the final, played at the Estadio Florencio Sola in Banfield, Corinthians won their sixth title in nine years, and a third in a row, after a penalty shoot-out. The match ended scoreless after regular playing time. Brazilian forward Jhonson scored the decisive penalty after Cali’s Kelly Ibargüen failed to convert her kick.

The final stages of the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup – consisting of two semi-finals, a third place match and a final – will be played in the last week of January. Two weeks ago, the FIFA Council decided that the last four matches will be played in London, with the exact location yet to be determined.

Arsenal will have to reschedule their Women’s Super League match against Leicester City on January 31. Winning the UEFA Women’s Champions League ensured Arsenal, as title holders, went straight to the group stages of this season’s competition. This meant they avoided the added burden of playing a two-legged qualifier after finishing second in their domestic league.

While this gave their players an extra week off in the summer, they will now have to play two extra matches in the middle of what promises to be another demanding season for the team, playing a total of five competitions.

Last season, Arsenal became the first women’s team ever to win the Champions League after finishing third in the domestic league. To do this, they had to go through two qualifying rounds, meaning they played a record 15 matches in the tournament, one of 41 for the club this season.

This season they may only have to play eleven games to retain the trophy. However, if they fail to finish in the top four of the new Champions League group stage in the “Swiss format”, they may have to play play-offs for a place in the knockout stages.

The eight teams finishing between 5th and 12th in the group stage will face an additional two-match tie in February, immediately after Arsenal play in the FIFA Women’s Champions Trophy. If they also reach the semi-finals of the Women’s League Cup, Arsenal will have to play nine matches between February 1 and March 1.

In total, Arsenal could potentially play a maximum of 45 games this season. By comparison, domestic treble winners Chelsea, who also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, have played 40 games in all competitions this season.