The 2024–25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup is the first season of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup, the annual continental women's football club competition organized by CONCACAF.[1]
Format
On 12 March 2024, CONCACAF announced the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup. The tournament will feature eleven teams from seven CONCACAF member associations. The winner of a preliminary round match between a club from Canada and El Salvador will join the remaining nine teams in the group stage. In the group stage, teams will be split into two groups of five teams. Teams will face each other in a single round-robin format, with each team playing two matches at home and two matches away in August, September and October 2024. The top two clubs from each group will advance to the knockout stage, played at a centralised location in May 2025. The knockout stage will feature semi-finals, a third place play-off and a final to determine the champions of the competition. The tournament is intended to provide a pathway for a future FIFA Women's Club World Cup which FIFA has committed to launching in the future.[1][2]
Association team allocation
CONCACAF allocated spots to seven of their member associations, based on eligibility criteria. Each association has one spot in the tournament, with the exception of Mexico and the United States, which have three.[1]
Distribution
The following is the access list for the 2024–25 season.[1]
Access list for 2024–25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup
Round
Teams entering in this round
Teams advancing from previous round
Preliminary round (2 teams)
1 team from Canada
1 team from El Salvador
—
Group stage (10 teams)
1 team from Costa Rica
1 team from Jamaica
3 teams from Mexico
1 team from Panama
3 teams from the United States
1 winner from the preliminary round
Knockout phase (4 teams)
—
2 group winners from the group stage
2 group runners-up from the group stage
Teams
Teams will qualify through their domestic leagues based on sporting merit. The qualification criteria, confirmed on 24 April 2024,[3] were proposed by each member association and ratified by CONCACAF.[1]
Qualified teams for 2024–25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup
The draw for the group stage was held on 6 June 2024 at 20:00 EDT (UTC−4).[2][4][5] A team was randomly drawn from Pot 1, consisting of the two Preliminary Round teams, to determine the host of the Preliminary Round match. Then, the ten Group Stage teams (the nine direct qualifiers for the Group Stage plus the as-then-unknown winner of the Preliminary Round) were drawn into two groups of five. The Group Stage draw began by randomly selecting a team from Pot 2 and placing them into Group A and then selecting the remaining team from Pot 2 and placing them into Group B. The Group Stage draw continued with the same procedure done for the remaining pots.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows.[2]
Schedule for 2024–25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup
Phase
Round
Match date
Qualifying
Preliminary round
13–15 August 2024
Group stage
Matchday 1
20–22 August 2024
Matchday 2
2–5 September 2024
Matchday 3
17–19 September 2024
Matchday 4
1–3 October 2024
Matchday 5
15–17 October 2024
Knockout stage
Semi-finals
22 May 2025
Third place play-off
25 May 2025
Final
Preliminary round
The qualified teams from Canada and El Salvador will participate in the preliminary round, with the winner joining the remaining nine teams in the group stage.[5]
In the knockout stage, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time is played (two periods of 15 minutes each). If still tied after extra time, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out.
^ abcde"CONCACAF launches region's first official women's continental club competition with annual W Champions Cup". CONCACAF. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
^ abc"2024/25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup Draw Scheduled for June 6; match-dates confirmed". CONCACAF. 16 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
^"CONCACAF announces qualification criteria for Confederation's 2024/25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup". CONCACAF. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
^ ab"2024/25 Concacaf W Champions Cup official draw details announced". CONCACAF. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
^ ab"Draw delivers groups for inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup". CONCACAF. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.