Wuhan Jiangda WFC v Auckland United FC
FIFA Women’s Champions Cup Round 1
Wednesday, 8 October 2025 | Wuhan Sports Centre Stadium, Wuhan (China PR)
Kick-off times
16:00 (Wuhan) | 21:00 (Auckland)
In the shadows of the mighty Yangtze River, history will be made on 8 October as the first match in the newly-launched FIFA Women’s Champions Cup™ takes place in Wuhan, China PR.
It’s a clash of the continental conquerors from Asia and Oceania, with Wuhan Jiangda set to host Auckland United in a one-off fixture in the central Chinese city.
With the victors earning the right to face the yet-to-be-determined CAF champions in December’s second round there is plenty at stake as these continental powers do battle at a venue that hosted matches of both China and New Zealand at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup™.
Live stream information
Fans can watch all the live action from Wuhan worldwide for free on FIFA+ as Wuhan Jiangda WFC and Auckland United FC battle for a berth in Round 2.
Watch Wuhan Jiangda v Auckland United on FIFA+
How the teams qualified for Round 1
Wuhan, the 2023 Chinese Women’s Super League champions gained direct entry to the group stage of the maiden edition of the AFC Women’s Champions League courtesy of that domestic success. Having suffered a 2-1 opening defeat at the hands of Abu Dhabi Country Club, a victory over Sabah was central to them reaching the quarter-finals.
A win, on penalties, against Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies and then a 2-0 victory over Vietnamese outfit Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC in the semis, set up a clash with Australia’s Melbourne City FC that would determine the destination of the continental crown.
Trailing 1-0 deep in the second half of regulation time, national team star Wang Shuang popped up with a dramatic equaliser in the eighth minute of stoppage time. Wuhan then went on to prevail 5-4 in the shoot-out to both claim the Champions League title and qualify for the Champions Cup.
Only founded in 2020, it’s been a remarkable rise for an Auckland side who enter the global showcase as back-to-back domestic and continental champions.
Having romped through the group stage at this year’s OFC Women’s Champions League with three straight wins, 24 goals scored and only one conceded they then brushed aside Solomon Islands’ Henderson Eels 6-1 in the semis.
For the second straight edition they then eased past Papua New Guinea’s Hekari United 1-0 in the final to secure their ticket to the Champions Cup.
Team news
The Chinese Women’s Super League 2025 concluded on 28 September, with Wuhan conceding a 2-1 defeat against Zhejiang, their eighth of the 22-match season. Consequently, the Chinese title holders finished 5th in the league, five points behind newly crowned champions Beijing WFC. The Wuhan outfit will now start their defense of the Asian crown in November. They’ve been pitted against Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi, India’s East Bengal FC and Iran’s Bam Khatoon FC in the group stage.
Having finished second in the New Zealand’s Northern League, Auckland qualified for the ten-team National League Championship and made a flying start, with a thumping 8-0 win over Canterbury Pride in their opening fixture on 27 September. A first-half hat-trick from the star of the OFC Women’s Champions League final, Chloe Knott showed that she is very much the player that Wuhan will need to contain.
What they said
“Just to be in this tournament is such a privilege and in terms of this kind of a club competition there’s been nothing like it before. It’s really exciting. Everyone in our team is either studying or working and we know that [Wuhan] are going to be training full-time whereas we’re working 40-hour weeks and training twice a week. We’re doing everything that we can on our end though to prepare and no player goes into a game without the intention to win it. It’s going to be a huge step up from anything that we’ve experienced in our league but hopefully we can give them a good challenge.”
Chloe Knott, Auckland United midfielder
“We have a very good spirit and a very good mind. Our team is very united. This match [against Auckland United] is not only for the club; we want to be acknowledged by more people. We want to promote the development of Chinese women’s football in a very high-level competition match. We believe we can achieve good results in the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup. Relatively speaking, we don’t know much about them. This proves that both teams need such a high-level platform to be seen by everyone. The competition is not only about the level of competition. I think it is more about being able to participate in such a competition in order to be seen and remembered by everyone.”
Wang Shuang, Wuhan winger
Wuhan Sports Centre Stadium
Opened five years before the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Wuhan Sports Centre Stadium hosted six matches at the global showpiece, including four Group D matches that featured either China or New Zealand. It was also the venue where the hosts’ tournament came to an end as they fell 1-0 to Norway in front of more than 50,000 supporters in the quarter-finals.
Attracting more than five million annual visitors, the wider venue has also hosted concerts and other large-scale events. Wuhan Sports Centre Stadium is also the home ground of the Chinese Super League club, Wuhan Three Towns.
What’s next
The winners of this clash will advance to the second round of the tournament in December where they will face the yet-to-be-determined winners of the CAF Women’s Champions League.
