Might want to get your laptop or iPad ready for tonight! Tonight, Concacaf will conduct the draw for the 2025-26 Concacaf W Champions Cup, where our Washington Spirit will learn who they will face in the group stage. It will occur at the same time as kickoff of the USWNT match against Jamaica, so all of us will have to keep tab on both with multiple screens.

The Spirit are in the W Champions Cup as a result of being the 2nd best team in the NWSL last year. Because the Orlando Pride won both the NWSL Shield and league title (still stings), the Spirit and Gotham FC join the field as the next best teams from the league.

The winner of the W Champions Cup gets a spot in the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup and the inaugural FIFA Women’s Club World Cup, which is set to debut in 2028. Gotham FC has already qualified for that tournament by winning the 2024-25 W Champions Cup, the inaugural edition of this tournament.

The 10 teams that will participate in the 2025-26 Concacaf W Champions Cup:

Canada (1): Vancouver Rise FC Academy 
Costa Rica (1): LD Alajuelense 
El Salvador (1): Alianza Women FC
Mexico (3): CF Monterrey Femenil, CF Pachuca Femenil, and Club America Femenil  
Panama (1): FC Chorrillo
United States (3): NJ/NY Gotham FC, Orlando Pride, and Washington Spirit

So, how will the draw work? The 10 teams are split into 5 pots based on the Concacaf Women’s Club Rankings. The 5 pots are as follows:

Pot 1  (two top-ranked clubs): NJ/NY Gotham FC and Club America Femenil
Pot 2 (Next two highest-ranked clubs): Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit
Pot 3 (Next two highest-ranked clubs): CF Pachuca Femenil and CF Monterrey Femenil
Pot 4 (Next two highest-ranked clubs): LD Alajuelense and Vancouver Rise FC Academy
Pot 5 (Two lowest-ranked clubs): FC Chorrillo and Alianza Women FC

The teams will be draw by pot into 2 groups of 5 teams each. This confirms that there will not be a Spirit-Pride matchup in the group stage. Each team will face the others in their group once for a total of four matches (2 at home, 2 on the road). The top 2 teams from Group A and Group B will advance to the knockout stage. The dates for those matchdays:

Group Stage Week 1: August 19-21, 2025 
Group Stage Week 2: September 2-4, 2025 
Group Stage Week 3: September 16-18, 2025 
Group Stage Week 4: September 30 – October 2, 2025 
Group Stage Week 5: October 14-16, 2025 

The full schedule for the Spirit will come at some point later. For now, we get to learn who the Spirit will play as they make their debut in this continental tournament.

2025-26 Concacaf W Champions Cup Draw

Location: Concacaf Headquarters, Miami

Event time: 8:00pm ET

Available streaming: Concacaf YouTube Channel,  Paramount+