Gotham FC fans should know this information about the FIFA Women's Champions Cup

It feels like the 2025 season just ended, but NJ/NY Gotham FC will play their first competitive game of 2026. While the NWSL Championship celebrations will likely continue at the beginning of the NWSL season, the Bats must put that to the side and focus on the upcoming 2026 FIFA Women's Champions Cup.

Gotham FC secured their spot by winning the 2024/25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup and immediately booked a spot in the semifinals. As such, the upcoming mini tournament will only be two fixtures, for even if they lose, the NJ/NY team would play the third-place match. But what else should fans know about the FIFA Women's Champions Cup?

Gotham FC in the FIFA Women's Champions Cup

The Champions Cup will take place from Wednesday, January 28, through Sunday, February 1, with both semifinal games taking place on Wednesday and the third-place game and finals taking place on February 1. Hence, supporters should expect Gotham FC to begin preseason training earlier compared to other NWSL teams.

Meanwhile, the semifinals will take place at Brentford Stadium, also known as Gtech Community Stadium. The third-place game and finals will take place at Arsenal Stadium, also known as Emirates Stadium. The names have to change since this is a FIFA event.

Unfortunately for Gotham fans, the first game will be early in the morning, right before most people are heading to work. The semifinals will take place at 12:30 PM local time, so 7:30 AM ET. The Bats will play Sport Club Corinthians Paulista Futebol Feminino from Brazil. So, many fans of both teams will likely have to watch the match later on in the day.

Then, depending on what happens in the semifinals, Gotham will face either Arsenal W.F.C. or Association's Sports of Forces Armed Royal women. The third-place match would be at 2:45 PM local or 9:45 AM ET. The finals would be at 6:00 PM local or 1:00 PM ET. At least it will be easier to watch the Sunday matches. Although FIFA and the NJ/NY team have not released how to watch the games at this time.

If Gotham faces Arsenal, then they will see a familiar face in Jenna Nighswonger, who moved to the team in the last offseason. She has not played often, so it is possible fans might not see her take the pitch. Perhaps she will return stateside and not be a part of the team at all.

In the end, this is a good opportunity for Gotham FC to see how they stack up against teams around the world. More information, including the preseason information, should be released soon.