Concacaf to launch women's continental club tourney, the W Champions Cup

Every club dreams of not only topping their league but topping their continent. Now, teams will get a chance to actually do it.

On Tuesday, Concacaf made the massive announcement that a continental club tournament would be coming to the region.

Yes, the W Champions Cup, will be North America, Central America, and the Caribbean's first official women’s continental club championship.

The move marks the next strategic move in women’s football by Concacaf who just finished up a highly successful rebooted W Gold Cup on Sunday night.

The W Champions Cup (essentially Concacaf's answer to the UEFA Champions League) will be an annual competition. It will include the best clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean and will crown a regional women’s club champion.

The tournament will also be the sole path through which Concacaf region clubs can qualify for the new FIFA Women’s Club World Cup, which FIFA has committed to launching in the near future.

Details, what we know

The inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup will be the 2024/25 edition, with Preliminary Round and Group Stage matches scheduled for August, September, and October 2024 and a final four centralized Semifinals, Third Place Match, and Final in May 2025.

The competition will be played annually between 11 clubs from Member Associations that meet Concacaf’s eligibility criteria.

Clubs will qualify through their domestic leagues based on sporting merit through criteria which must be proposed by their Member Association and ratified by Concacaf. The qualification slots are allocated to Member Associations as follows:

• Canada: 1 club in Preliminary Round*
• Costa Rica: 1 club in Group Stage
• El Salvador: 1 club in Preliminary Round*
• Jamaica: 1 club in Group Stage
• Mexico: 3 clubs in Group Stage
• Panama: 1 club in Group Stage
• USA: 3 clubs in Group Stage

*The best club from each of Canada and El Salvador will compete in a Preliminary Round play-in to determine which of them progresses to the Group Stage.

The format for the Concacaf W Champions Cup will include a Preliminary Round (Canada club vs El Salvador club) followed by a Group Stage consisting of two groups of five teams, with each team playing a total of four group stage matches (two at home; two away) in August, September, and October.

Here is a video explaining the tournament format.

What they said

“Launching the Concacaf W Champions Cup is a very exciting next step on our journey of developing all aspects of women’s football in our region”, said Concacaf President and FIFA Vice President, Victor Montagliani.

 “When we launched our Concacaf W women’s football strategy in 2019 we focused on creating an enhanced calendar of national team competitions that benefited all of our Member Associations, and on providing opportunities for women and girls to develop a passion for football at all levels of the sport.  We have made significant progress in those areas, albeit with much work more to do, and the growth of leagues and clubs is an important next phase in our strategy. The W Champions Cup will provide a tremendous sporting opportunity for clubs in Concacaf, and we look forward to the first edition commencing in August this year, to crowning a first champion in May 2025, and to delivering an exciting pathway to the new FIFA Women’s Club World Cup,” added Montagliani.

Who qualifies from the NWSL

At this time it is unconfirmed who the three teams from the NWSL will be. NJ/NY Gotham FC as champions of the playoffs will likely get a spot. My guess is along with the San Diego Wave who topped the regular season league table.

For now, the third and final spot for the Americans could go to the North Carolina Courage, who won the 2023 Challenge Cup. That domestic cup has ben repackaged for 2024, and now will be a curtain raiser more akin to the 'Community Shield' in Europe.

This means the winner of the 2024 Challenge Cup – either Gotham or Wave – is unlikely to warrant a berth in the 2024 W Champions Cup from winning that standalone match. The two are also likely already qualified.

Who qualifies from Mexico

The current LigaMX Femenil season is underway, with the two teams that make the Gran Final likely to earn spots in the W Champions Cup. The third spot from Mexico will probably goes to whichever club finishes highest in the table during the regular league season, before the playoffs.

At this time it is unknown. And Concacaf has said the leagues and confederation members will decide who qualifies.