2025–26 CONCACAF W Champions Cup
2nd season of CONCACAF women's club football tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2025–26 CONCACAF W Champions Cup was the second season of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup, the annual continental women's football club competition organized by CONCACAF.[2] On 12 May 2025, CONCACAF released key details of the competition, including a reduction in the number of teams from 11 to 10 and the elimination of the preliminary round.[3]
América (1st title)
Washington SpiritEstadio Hidalgo served as the venue for the final four of the tournament | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 19 August 2025 – 23 May 2026 |
| Teams | 10 (from 6 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | América (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Washington Spirit |
| Third place | Pachuca |
| Fourth place | Gotham FC |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 22 |
| Goals scored | 96 (4.36 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Rosemonde Kouassi (Washington Spirit)6 goals |
| Best player | Scarlett Camberos (América)[1] |
| Best young player | Montserrat Saldívar (América)[1] |
| Best goalkeeper | Itzel Velasco (América)[1] |
| Fair play award | Washington Spirit[1] |
← 2024–25 2027 → | |
The competition began in August 2025. Gotham FC were the defending champions, having defeated Tigres UANL 1–0 in the inaugural final, but were eliminated in the semi-finals after losing 4–1 to América. In the 2026 final, held on 23 May,[2] América triumphed over the Washington Spirit 5–3 to win their first title.
Format
The second edition of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup featured ten teams from six CONCACAF member associations. Teams were split into two groups of five teams. Teams faced each other in a single round-robin format, with each team playing two matches at home and two matches away in August, September, and October 2025. The top two clubs from each group advanced to the knockout stage, played at a centralized location in May 2026. The knockout stage featured semi-finals, a third place play-off and a final to determine the champions of the competition. The champions qualified for the 2027 FIFA Women's Champions Cup and 2028 FIFA Women's Club World Cup.[4][3]
Tiebreakers
Teams in the group stage were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If two or more teams were equal on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine their rankings:[5]
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches;
- Points in head-to-head matches among the tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among the tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among the tied teams;
- Lower number of disciplinary points (single yellow card = 1 point, double yellow card = 3 points, direct red card = 4 points, direct red card after single yellow card = 5 points);
- Drawing of lots.
Association team allocation
North American Zone 
Central American ZoneCONCACAF allocated spots to six of their member associations, based on eligibility criteria. Each association had one spot in the tournament, with the exception of Mexico and the United States, which had three each.[3]
Distribution
The following was the access list for the 2025–26 tournament.[3]
| Round | Teams entering in this round | Teams advancing from previous round |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage (10 teams) |
|
N/a |
| Knockout phase (4 teams) |
N/a |
|
Teams
Teams qualified through their domestic leagues based on sporting merit. The qualification criteria were proposed by each member association and ratified by CONCACAF.[3]
| Association | Team | Qualification method[6] | App. (last) | Previous best (last) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Canada(1 berth) |
Vancouver Rise Academy | 2024 League1 Canada Inter-Provincial Championship champions | 2nd (2024–25) | Group stage (2024–25) |
 Costa Rica(1 berth) |
Alajuelense | 2024 Costa Rican Women's Premier Division Apertura and Clausura champions | 2nd (2024–25) | Group stage (2024–25) |
 El Salvador(1 berth) |
Alianza | 2024–25 Primera División Femenina de El Salvador Apertura and Clausura champions | 2nd (2024–25) | Preliminary round (2024–25) |
| Mexico (3 berths) |
Monterrey | 2024 Liga MX Femenil Apertura champions | 2nd (2024–25) | Group stage (2024–25) |
| Pachuca | 2025 Liga MX Femenil Clausura champions | 1st | Debut | |
| América | Best runners-up of the 2024–25 Liga MX Femenil season based on accumulated points during the regular phase[Note MEX] | 2nd (2024–25) | Fourth place (2024–25) | |
 Panama(1 berth) |
Chorrillo | Winner of the 2024 Clausura and 2025 Apertura Champions play-off | 1st | Debut |
| United States (3 berths) |
Orlando Pride | 2024 National Women's Soccer League champions and 2024 National Women's Soccer League Shield winners | 1st | Debut |
| Washington Spirit | 2024 National Women's Soccer League Shield runners-up | 1st | Debut | |
| Gotham FC | Third best club in 2024 National Women's Soccer League Shield standings[Note USA] | 2nd (2024–25) | Champions (2024–25) |
- ^ Mexico (MEX): América was semifinalist in 2024 Liga MX Femenil Apertura and runners-up in 2025 Liga MX Femenil Clausura.
- ^ United States (USA): With Orlando Pride winning both the 2024 National Women's Soccer League Championship and 2024 National Women's Soccer League Shield, the third qualifying spot for the United States went to the next best club in 2024 National Women's Soccer League Shield standings not already qualified, Gotham FC.
Seeding
The seeding for the tournament was confirmed on 2 June 2025. Teams were split into five pots based on the CONCACAF Women's Club Rankings.[4][6]
| Pot | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gotham FC |
2,500.25 |
| América |
1,630.15 | |
| 2 | Orlando Pride |
1,320.07 |
| Washington Spirit |
1,320.07 | |
| 3 | Pachuca |
1,120.08 |
| Monterrey |
1,120.08 | |
| 4 | Alajuelense |
680.06 |
| Vancouver Rise Academy |
630.02 | |
| 5 | Chorrillo |
355.02 |
| Alianza |
0 |
Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 3 June 2025 at 20:00 EDT (UTC−4).[3] The draw began by randomly selecting a team from Pot 1, placing them into Group A and then selecting the remaining team from Pot 1 and placing them into Group B. It then continued with the same procedure for the remaining pots.[4]
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows.[3]
| Phase | Round | Match date |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 19–20 August 2025 |
| Matchday 2 | 2–3 September 2025 | |
| Matchday 3 | 16–18 September 2025 | |
| Matchday 4 | 30 September – 2 October 2025 | |
| Matchday 5 | 14–16 October 2025 | |
| Knockout stage | Semi-finals | 20 May 2026 |
| Third place play-off | ||
| Final | 23 May 2026 |
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AME | PAC | ORL | ALA | CHO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | América |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | +12 | 10 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | — | — | |
| 2 | Pachuca |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 2 | +10 | 7 | — | — | — | 5–0 | 6–0 | ||
| 3 | Orlando Pride |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 7 | — | 1–1 | — | 3–0 | — | ||
| 4 | Alajuelense |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 4 | 0–0 | — | — | — | 1–0 | ||
| 5 | Chorrillo |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 21 | −21 | 0 | 0–9 | — | 0–5 | — | — |
| Alajuelense | 0–0 | América |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Alajuelense | 1–0 | Chorrillo |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Orlando Pride | 1–1 | Pachuca |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | WAS | GFC | MON | VNR | ALI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington Spirit |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | +15 | 10 | Advance to knockout stage | — | — | 4–0 | 4–0 | — | |
| 2 | Gotham FC |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 10 | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | — | — | ||
| 3 | Monterrey |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 6 | — | — | — | 4–0 | 8–0 | ||
| 4 | Vancouver Rise Academy |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 3 | — | 1–4 | — | — | 8–0 | ||
| 5 | Alianza |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 25 | −25 | 0 | 0–7 | 0–2 | — | — | — |
| Washington Spirit | 4–0 | Vancouver Rise Academy |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Monterrey | 8–0 | Alianza |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Vancouver Rise Academy | 8–0 | Alianza |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes each). If still tied after extra time, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out. On 20 January 2026, CONCACAF announced that Estadio Hidalgo in Hidalgo, Mexico would host the knockout stage of the tournament between 20 and 23 May 2026.[7]
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 20 May – Pachuca | ||||||
| América | 4 | |||||
| 23 May – Pachuca | ||||||
| Gotham FC | 1 | |||||
| América | 5 | |||||
| 20 May – Pachuca | ||||||
| Washington Spirit | 3 | |||||
| Washington Spirit | 1 | |||||
| Pachuca | 0 | |||||
| Third place play-off | ||||||
| 23 May – Pachuca | ||||||
| Gotham FC | 0 | |||||
| Pachuca | 3 | |||||
Semi-finals
| Washington Spirit | 1–0 | Pachuca |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Third place play-off
| Gotham FC | 0–3 | Pachuca |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Final
Statistics
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Team(s) | Goals[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rosemonde Kouassi |
Washington Spirit |
6 |
| 2 | Scarlett Camberos |
América |
5 |
 Chinwendu Ihezuo |
Pachuca | ||
| 4 |  Irene Guerrero |
América |
4 |
| 5 |  Geyse |
Gotham FC América |
3 |
| Kiana Palacios |
América | ||
| Alice Soto |
Monterrey | ||
| Summer Yates |
Orlando Pride | ||
| 9 | Seventeen players | 2 | |
Best XI
CONCACAF selected the following players as the team of the tournament.[9]
Awards
| Award | Player | Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Player Award | Scarlett Camberos | América | [1] |
| Best Goalkeeper Award | Itzel Velasco | América | |
| Young Player Award | Montserrat Saldívar | América | |
| Top Scorer Award | Rosemonde Kouassi | Washington Spirit | |
| Fair Play Award | N/a | Washington Spirit |
See also
- 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup (men's edition of this tournament)