The first Women’s Champions Cup: what is it and should we pay attention?

This week’s newsletter looks at Fifa’s new competition, which takes place in London this week and has a $2.3m prize fund

T

his week London will take centre stage as the inaugural Women’s Champions Cup, the brand-new club competition in women’s football, comes to its conclusion. Four continental champions – Arsenal, Gotham FC, Corinthians and AS Far – will meet in Brentford on Wednesday for a place in the final, which will be held at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

With $2.3m (£1.68m) in prize money and a shiny new trophy on the line, it is far from insignificant for the teams involved. For the wider public, however, there remains a lack of understanding about what it really is and how it came to be introduced into an already crowded football space.

The arrival of this tournament marks Fifa’s first attempt to dip a toe into women’s club football. The quadrennial Women’s Club World Cup, first mooted by Gianni Infantino in 2019, was projected to start this year but was postponed until January 2028.