The Women's Cup Explained

The Women's Cup
Organiser:OnSide Entertainment
FXE Futbol
Agrinzonis Management Group
Number Of Teams:4
Current Champions:NJ/NY Gotham FC (1st title)
Most Successful Club:Atletico Madrid
NJ/NY Gotham FC
OL Reign
Racing Louisville FC
(1 title each)
American:yes

The Women's Cup (often stylized as TWC) is an annual club women's soccer invitational tournament originally hosted by Racing Louisville FC in the United States.[1]

History

Launched by OnSide Entertainment, FXE Futbol, and Agrinzonis Management Group in 2021, before the formation of a FIFA-organized club world championship similar to the men's FIFA Club World Cup, The Women's Cup was viewed to provide opportunities for prominent women's club teams from different confederations to compete against one another, and was seen as a stepping stone for the eventual formation of the FIFA Women's Club World Cup, similar to the then-active Women's International Champions Cup.[2]

The inaugural 2021 TWC was a four-team tournament[3] [4] which saw the hosts win in a dramatic shoot-out. TWC expanded to feature six North American, European, and Asian women's soccer teams competing for the championship in 2022.[5] 2023 was the first year to see a staging of The Women's Cup outside of the United States, and 2024 was the first year to see multiple stagings in the same calendar year with the introduction of the "Global Series", with the champions of each tournament slated to play against each other in February 2025 as a "final four".[6] The first 2024 tournament, stylized as TWC Colombia, was played at Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero in Cali, Colombia, and featured four teams: NJ/NY Gotham FC and Racing Louisville FC from the NWSL; and América de Cali and Deportivo Cali of the Colombian Women's Football League. It was held during the NWSL preseason and scheduled as two doubleheaders on February 27 and March 2.[7] This was followed by TWC Louisville and TWC Kansas City, both held in summer.

List of finals

YearHostWinnersScoreRunners-up
2021Louisville Racing Louisville FC2–2[8]
FC Bayern Munich
2022Louisville OL Reign2–1 Racing Louisville FC
2023Madrid Atlético Madrid1–0[9] AC Milan
2024Colombia NJ/NY Gotham FC3–1[10] Racing Louisville FC
Louisville Juventus FC1–0 Palmeiras
Kansas City Kansas City Current1–0 Atlético Madrid

Results by club

ClubWinnersRunners-upThird PlaceFourth PlaceTotal Appearances
Racing Louisville FC1 (2021)2 (2022, 2024 C)1 (2024 L)4
Atletico Madrid1 (2023)1 (2024 K)2
OL Reign1 (2022)1
NJ/NY Gotham FC1 (2024 C)1
Juventus FC1 (2024 L)1
Kansas City Current1 (2024 K)1
AC Milan1 (2023)1 (2022)2
FC Bayern Munich1 (2021)1
Palmeiras1 (2024 L)1
América de Cali2 (2023, 2024 C)2
PSG1 (2021)1
Club América1 (2022)1
INAC Kobe Leonessa1 (2024 K)1
Chicago Red Stars1 (2021)1
River Place1 (2023)1
Deportivo Cali1 (2024 C)1
Colo-Colo1 (2024 L)1
Mamelodi Sundowns1 (2024 K)1
Tokyo Verdy1
Tottenham Hotspur1

Broadcasting

In 2022, matches of the Women's Cup were broadcast via Paramount+.[11]

The 2024 Summer tournaments were broadcast via vizio's WatchFree+ program in the United States and on DAZN in Europe.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Racing Louisville FC to host The Women's Cup for second time in August. Lexie. Ratterman. WDRB. April 12, 2022 .
  2. Web site: Previewing the Women's Cup Tournament - 18–21 August, Louisville, KY. August 17, 2021.
  3. Web site: TWC - About us. thewomenscup.world.
  4. News: Bayern Munich's women's team on the search for fans and commercial development in the US . May 31, 2021 . August 15, 2022 . Off the Pitch . Shahnaz . Mahmud.
  5. Web site: The Women's Cup returns to Louisville in 2022 with expanded format.
  6. https://www.kansascitycurrent.com/news/kansas-city-current-set-to-host-the-womens-cup-at-cpkc-stadi
  7. News: Anderson . Jason . January 16, 2024 . Gotham FC, Racing Louisville represent NWSL at The Women's Cup Colombia . . Pro Soccer Wire . July 25, 2024.
  8. Web site: Racing Louisville FC clinches inaugural Women's Cup. spectrumnews1.com.
  9. Web site: Sports . Pulse . Rasheedat Ajibade: Super Falcons star produces magic as Atletico Madrid defeats AC Milan to win Women's Cup . Pulse Sports Nigeria . en . August 26, 2023.
  10. Web site: Lewis . Michael . A Trophy Already: Gotham FC captures The Women's Cup . Front Row Soccer . March 2, 2024.
  11. Web site: The Women's Cup . Paramount Plus . 7 October 2022.
  12. News: 17 March 2021 . Concacaf plans to launch a women's soccer Champions League after the 2023 World Cup . . . 5 December 2022.