The final stage of the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026™ will showcase some of the biggest clubs in the world, including Arsenal and Gotham FC.
One women’s football icon who will be keeping a close eye on the groundbreaking tournament, which takes place in London in late January/early February, is FIFA Women’s World Cup™ champion and three-time Olympic gold medallist Heather O’Reilly.
The former USA midfielder played for National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) club Gotham FC ― then known as Sky Blue FC ― from 2009-11 before a brief but successful spell with the Londoners in 2017/18.
In the climax of the showpiece event, Concacaf champions Gotham FC will face CONMEBOL counterparts Corinthians while UEFA Women’s Champions League holders Arsenal take on CAF conquerors ASFAR. Both games will take place at Brentford Stadium on Wednesday, 28 January prior to the final and third-place match at Arsenal Stadium on 1 February.
O’Reilly, who was recently elected to the US National Soccer Hall of Fame, is particularly looking forward to seeing the best women’s clubs around the world testing themselves against each other for global bragging rights.
“I crave any opportunities where you have the best playing against the best and there’s not a ton of competitions that’s pitting the best of the rest of the world against each other,” O’Reilly tells FIFA. “When I went to Arsenal, there was always a very competitive sense of, ‘Who has the best league – is it in the United States or is it in Europe?’ And this is a way to find out so I think it’s a really interesting competition.”
O’Reilly believes Arsenal and Gotham can be considered the favourites to lift the coveted trophy.
“Between them, it could be a really competitive match [if they reach the final],” O’Reilly adds. “I think a lot of times you see a lot of these kinds of matches taking place in the summer in a pre-season tour and the European sides are in their off-season but in this competition, Arsenal will be very played-in and Gotham will be the team that is a little bit rusty.
“Both of these teams have a good chance to win and I would say Arsenal maybe has a little bit of an edge in terms of their chances to win, in my opinion.”
For O’Reilly the standout players from both teams are Gotham’s Spanish striker Esther Gonzalez and Arsenal superstar Alessia Russo. “I think it’s a battle of the strikers,” she adds.
The American, who is now the head of women’s football at Italian club Como, admits she has a soft spot for the Arsenal players who were at the club during her time in north London, namely Kim Little, Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and Lotte Wubben-Moy. “When Leah is healthy, she is one of the best leaders in football. She is a standout personality in the global game.”
Showing split loyalties, she adds that she is also close friends with Gotham FC’s general manager Yael Averbuch, who played for the North Carolina Tar Heels, like O’Reilly. “I’m rooting for her as well,” she adds. “And Juan Carlos Amoros is a really good coach. He is very detail-orientated and leaves nothing to chance so he will do everything that he can do to lead the team to success.”
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Women’s Champions Cup is that it will pit teams against each other with contrasting styles of play. “I think overall the United States gets pegged for being very direct, very transitional,” O’Reilly notes. “And I think that’s true to an extent in that we look vertical as soon as possible a little bit more than in Europe.
“But I always get a bit defensive [about that]. I don’t think the US national team would be so successful if all we did all year was direct kick-and-run football. It’s more sophisticated than that. I am really looking forward to the potential of Arsenal playing against Gotham because it would sort of show the world that that simplification of the [NWSL] is a little bit unfair.”
O’Reilly believes the Women’s Champions Cup and a future Women’s Club World Cup will do wonders for the women’s club game worldwide.
“Being from North America myself, I’m interested in more opportunities to play more teams from around the world because I think we’ve always looked over with a little bit of envy at the Champions League and how brilliant of a competition it is,” she says.
“So to be able to create something similar is really exciting and we really saw that with teams in the men’s side enjoying that last summer [in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™]. Any time footballers have something to play for, it’s going to be so competitive.
“I think it’s amazing… the more club competitions that are visible, the more girls will get involved in football and that will only make the world a little bit better.”
