Auckland United women on world stage
- Dave Worsley
- Sep 9
- 2 min read
A huge opportunity for New Zealand's Auckland United women's team to compete on the world stage and gain significant prize money too.
FIFA has announced that the inaugural edition of the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup™ will be held in China PR. and it will feature Auckland United.
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Thes game-changing competition will see the six continental club champions vie to become the first team to capture the prestigious title, marking a new era for international women’s club football.
The tournament starts with Round 1 on Wednesday, 8 October at the Wuhan Sports Centre Stadium as local side Wuhan Jiangda WFC, the AFC Women’s Champions League titlists, against visitors Auckland United FC, the winners of this year’s OFC Women’s Champions League.
Auckland United have several players with A-League or international expereince such as Chole Knott, Ava Collins, Ava Pritchard, Zoe McMeeken and recently retained the Kate Sheppard Cup
In May the Ben Bate coached United side won the OFC Women's Champions League 1-0 over Heraki United FC to gain their spot in the FIFA Women's Champions Cup.
Whoever comes out on top in the bout between Wuhan Jiangda and Auckland United will advance to Round 2 to face the winners of the CAF Women’s Champions League, who will be determined in November. That encounter will be contested in December this year at a venue to be announced.
For the final phase of the tournament, which includes the semifinals, the third-place play-off and the final, the four best women’s football clubs in the world will meet in a centralised location, which will be revealed in due course.
The matches in the final phase are set to be staged from 28 January to 1 February 2026.
In the first semi-final, the Round 2 winners will come up against Arsenal WFC, the holders of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
In the other semi, Concacaf champions Gotham FC, of the United States, will take on the team who prevail in next month’s CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina.
Throughout the competition there will be significant prize money awarded.
