Women’s football in the region is set for a boost starting next year following CONCACAF’s official launch of its first Continental Club Competition after the introduction of the “Women’s Champions Cup.”
CONCACAF announced the upcoming competition in a release on their website on Monday.
“The W Champions Cup will be an annual competition and will include the best clubs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean,” the release said, “and will crown a regional women’s club champion.”
The competition’s inaugural staging will be part of the 2024/25 football season, with the preliminary round and group stage fixtures scheduled for August, September, and October 2024.
The semifinals and final are set to be played in May 2025.
According to Concacaf, the annual tournament is set to be contested among 11 clubs from ‘Member Associations’ that meet the Federation’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
“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.
The announcement comes on the heels of the conclusion of the inaugural Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup on March 10, which saw former World Champions USA crowned champions.
