Will Gotham FC’s FIFA Women's Champions Cup run hurt their momentum?

NJ/NY Gotham FC, the reigning 2025 NWSL Champions, fell short in the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, getting bested by Brazilian club and historical powerhouse Sport Club Corinthians Paulista in the semifinal match, and was forced to settle for third place. After the frustrating loss to Corinthians, Head Coach Juan Carlos Amorós shared his thoughts on what areas of the game went wrong for his side via the Gotham FC official website: “The team did really well in every aspect apart from scoring goals.”

Despite the loss that the club suffered, as no truly competitive team likes to lose anything, especially a team from New York with so much camaraderie, grit, and togetherness as this squad has. However, there may be a bigger problem that this tournament revealed about the NJ/NY side.

The possible Champions Cup impact on Gotham FC

With the team competing in tournament play and not having the best showing on the pitch, will Gotham FC struggle to find their strong rhythm in order to start the 2026 NWSL season off on the right foot? The normal offseason period would be between eight and 10 weeks. However, with the team competing in the FIFA Women’s Cup, the duration was significantly cut.

With the 2026 season kicking off on Saturday, March 14, they have just a few weeks more to shake off the disappointment and begin their title defense. Another question that can be posed to this situation is, should superstar athletes be allowed to play in nonleague tournaments, which ultimately do not have any significance toward the league standing or position of the team when the new season commences?

Recently, in other sports leagues, like Major League Baseball, certain superstar players cannot participate in the World Baseball Classic. This is largely to protect and ensure the integrity of the players' health and that player priority is set on the team-oriented season, considering the severe risk that this tournament could present as far as injury. Notably, insurance, or the lack of it, has led to some players not attending.

The excitement of participating in an inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup can be viewed as a very exciting thing. However, one can argue that if it does not have a direct impact on the season and league play, then maybe one time is enough.

Granted, the tournament is quite small compared to tournaments like the World Cup. The time that these players sacrificed to participate in this tournament could have been poured back into more framing and tactical refinement, given that the NWSL season is right around the corner. With teams in sports constantly making moves, big signings, and finding every which way to strengthen their roster, it is important for Gotham FC to be dialed in.

It will be interesting to see if the Bats can “win the war” (capturing a consecutive NWSL title) after they have lost this battle in winning the FIFA Women’s Champion Cup. Gotham FC will be looking to stay sharp physically and mentally as they set out to bring another piece of silverware home to add to the collection.