Coach Juan Carlos Amorós says Gotham FC already has a league trophy and a confederation title, so, naturally, the next step is an intercontinental championship.
The National Women's Soccer League club is vying to win the first Women's Champions Cup in England this week, starting Wednesday when the team will face Brazil's Corinthians in a semifinal.
"The hunger they have to win is unbelievable. It’s in their nature,” Amorós said about Gotham. “They win one competition and they’re already thinking about the next one.”
UEFA Champions League winner Arsenal plays Morocco's ASFAR in the late semifinal at London's Gtech Community Stadium. The championship and a third-place match will take place Sunday at Emirates Stadium with $2.3 million going to the winner. The runner-up takes home $1 million.
Gotham was the surprising winner of the NWSL championship as the eighth seed heading into the playoffs, knocking off No. 1 Kansas City and defending champion Orlando before beating the Washington Spirit 1-0 for the championship.
Gotham qualified for the inaugural FIFA event by winning the first CONCACAF Champions Cup, with a 1-0 victory over Mexico’s Tigres last May.
“This is where we want to be: Competing in the semifinals, competing in the finals, competing to raise another trophy. That’s the standard here at Gotham,” Gotham defender Mandy Freeman said as the team held preseason training in Spain. “We want to not only be the first to win these types of competitions, but to continue that legacy and keep coming back to fight for championships.”
The six-team women's Champions Cup was created as an intercontinental championship for women's club teams. It builds on a growing number of regional club competitions, led by the success of the UEFA Women's Champions League.
It also capitalizes on the growth of women's soccer globally. The 2025 Women's European Championship in Switzerland set a tournament record in attendance and viewership. At the club level, Barcelona's victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League final in 2022 at Camp Nou drew a world record crowd of over 91,000.
But the launch of the new tournament has been bumpy. A global broadcast partner for the final stage wasn't announced until two weeks ago, when DAZN stepped in. Sky Sports will broadcast the matches in England.
FIFA is also introducing a 16-team Women's Club World Cup, which will launch in 2028 and be played every four years. The new Champions Cup will be held every year, except years when the Club World Cup takes place.
The competition includes one representative from each of the six confederations: UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), CAF (Africa), OFC (Oceania) and AFC (Asia).
In addition to Arsenal's qualification through the UEFA Champions League and Gotham's qualification via CONCACAF's Champions Cup, Corinthians won the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Femenina to earn a spot and ASFAR won the CAF Champions League.
Two continental champions were eliminated in earlier rounds: Auckland United from Oceania and Wuhan Chegu Jiangda representing Asia.
The UEFA, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL competition winners advance to the semifinals directly, while the Africa, Asia and Oceania winners play a knockout round.
The NWSL had offered to host, and there were rumors that a West Coast location was considered for the final stage, but Arsenal's league match against Chelsea on Sunday made that problematic. So London was ultimately chosen.
The total prize pool to be distributed among the six continental champions is $3.9 million. In contrast, Arsenal got some $1.8 million in prize money for winning the Women’s Champions League last season.
The prize money is “a clear statement of the belief in women’s club football and the players, teams and competitions driving its continued rise,” FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafström said in a statement.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - NJ/NY Gotham FC defender Emily Sonnett, center, lifts the NWSL championship trophy after defeating the Washington Spirit in an NWSL women's championship soccer match Nov. 22, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Justine Willard, File)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — More than 24 hours before the first shot flew at a Final Four that really feels like a five-team affair, Arizona already had a win.
The Wildcats kept their coach from bolting to that fifth team — North Carolina.
Tommy Lloyd dropped the news of the contract extension that will keep him in Tucson through 2031 at Friday's news conference in advance of a titanic matchup against Michigan.
The meandering coaching search at one of the country's most storied programs has shared headlines with Saturday night's much-anticipated national semifinal that happens to feature two of Carolina's reported coaching targets.
"We’ve been able to get some things done the past couple days," Lloyd said.
Like Lloyd, Michigan coach Dusty May has spent most of this tournament batting down speculation that he might be the replacement for Hubert Davis, who was fired after the Tar Heels blew a 19-point lead in a loss to VCU in the first round of the tournament last month.
Not surprisingly, May was asked about it again the day before the big game.
“Yeah, I love it at Michigan, but you’ll never hear me comment on any other job unless Michigan lets me go and then I’ll comment on every job,” he said.
It's no big surprise that these two coaches are among the hottest commodities in hoops. Just look at the teams they brought to Indy.
There are no fewer than nine potential NBA stars sprinkled across the two rosters, which is why the winner of this, the second of Saturday night's semifinals, will almost certainly be a favorite against the UConn-Illinois winner in the undercard.
“It's the Final Four for a reason. It's the best teams, the best four," Arizona freshman Brayden Burries said. "UConn, Illinois, they're great teams. If we do win Saturday, we know we have a great shot at it. But no, we're not thinking about that now.”
Depending on which mock draft you check, Arizona's top NBA pick will either be Koa Peat (14 points, 5.5 rebounds) or Burries, a 16-point-a-game, McDonalds All-American who is shooting 68% from 3 over the tournament.
It's a striking stat for a team that attempted the third-lowest percentage of 3s in the country, if only because of all the tall, lanky talent it has across the court.
“We're doubling down on what we're good at, and we're believing in Coach Lloyd," said Arizona guard Jaden Bradley, a senior who has spent three years in Tucson after transferring from Alabama. “I like to get in the paint and get fouled. And when teams take that away, we're capable from 3 and we can knock those down, as well.”
Michigan is a 1 1/2-point favorite, according to the BetMGM Sportsbook, in a matchup of the top two teams in the KenPom rankings.
Michigan's best — but hardly its only — NBA prospect is Yaxel Lendeborg, who has scored 25, 23 and 27 in three straight blowout wins in the tournament.
Lendeborg came to Michigan last offseason from UAB. He was part of a quick rebuild, the likes of which are made possible in the era of the rapid-fire transfer portal. The architect is May, who himself arrived in Ann Arbor two seasons ago, just a year removed from a Final Four appearance with Florida A&M.
Michigan's four top scorers — Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr., Aday Mara and Elliot Cadeau — played at different colleges last season.
May conceded to feeling some relief now that the transfer portal is considered a legit way to build a roster. Gone are the days of spending hundreds of hours recruiting high schoolers, only to learn that they've chosen someplace else.
“When I say we’re saving time, we don’t waste time with all the other things,” May said. “We still have to do our research. We still have the intel. We still have to spend an inordinate amount of time. We just don’t have to spend it the way we used to.”
As this Final Four is showing, it's not just the players whose every move is under a microscope.
“I didn’t want to make this entire Final Four about that because I’m just a small part of something much bigger,” Lloyd said of his contract extension. “But on that same note, I’d also like to let you know that North Carolina is an amazing place. I mean, it’s a one of one. It’s an honor to even be considered for that job.”
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
Arizona guard Brayden Burries smiles after a win over Purdue in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 28, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Kelley L Cox)
Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg passes during practice ahead of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Michigan head coach Dusty May watches during practice ahead of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd watches during practice ahead of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against against Michigan at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
