January 30 – Gotham FC’s defeat to Corinthians in the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup semifinal has reignited a debate in the women’s game that expansion, while promoting the game, has to have a calendar that aligns or sporting integrity suffers.
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) champions were beaten 1-0 in London by the Brazilians in what was Gotham’s first competitive match since lifting the league trophy on November 22. Corinthians finished their season December 14, three weeks later.
With the new NWSL season not starting until March 13, the New York club entered a global semi-final without a proper pre-season in their legs (thought the same could be argued for Corinthians), raising questions about whether a tournament designed to showcase elite club football can be fair when preparation windows are so uneven.
Gotham players did not hide their frustration with the January scheduling, which lands squarely in the NWSL offseason.
Defender, Jess Carter said: “I mean you’re asking players to cut their offseason short when everyone’s just had competitions and Euros and traveling across the world. And then we come in after very limited time off and have to play again.”
The six-team Champions Cup is intended as an annual intercontinental showcase, bridging regional tournaments and leading into FIFA’s planned 16-team Women’s Club World Cup from 2028. But staging a global event when at least one confederation’s representative is out of season inevitably tilts the sporting balance.
Integrity in competition depends not just on who qualifies, but on whether teams can prepare properly. Gotham, effectively coming in cold, lost two players to injury on the night, with Rose Lavelle later placed in concussion protocol.
Carter warned the calendar is already stretched. “I think at the moment there’s just a lot of games being added to the women’s game and people are just hoping everyone can cope with the load.
“Just take care of us, look after the players. We all want to play, we want to give everybody the highest level of entertainment and we can only do that if were all fully fit and that goes across the board for every single women’s game.”
Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger added: “There should be a better system that everyone comes fit enough into that competition because you want to play against the best teams and you have to figure out when the best time is.”
While global growth is the objective, without aligned calendars, the competitive premise is compromised.
While the out-of-season argument isn’t falling on deaf ears, it should be noted that the US Women’s national team completed a training camp and two full international fixtures in California over the past week.
Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]