CONCACAF W Champions Cup

This article won’t be an analytics piece; it’s more of an opinion piece. Club América won the tournament this year, beating both Gotham FC (4-1) and Washington Spirit (5-3).

Before I get into the importance of this tournament, I think that I need to clarify my view of the NWSL. In sports in general, many of the best leagues around the world are pretty uncontested in their place, e.g. the NFL, the NHL, or MLB. Yes, there may be leagues in other countries, but it’s a foregone conclusion that the best talent plays in these leagues. Because these leagues are more or less cartels, they focus on parity, so that all owners involved can benefit. However soccer, in general, is worldwide and has largely taken a more capitalist approach. There is no draft, or help to the lower teams, and consequently, we get the idea of “big” clubs, like Chelsea or Barcelona. However, the NWSL has the opportunity to be the best of both of these models: a league based on parity that is also the top league in the world. A league that achieves that status by legitimately providing the best opportunities, not because it’s stifling all other competition. That would make it unique in all of sports. I suppose my economic ideas are based on my love of sport: I’d like to see everything decided by fair competition.

The major threat to the NWSL being the best league in the world is Europe, and the main factor there is the UEFA Champions League. The WSL might provide the best competition as a single league, but I don’t think that it would have the draw if the top clubs didn’t also have Champions League. Alyssa Thompson didn’t go to Chelsea to play against Leicester in front of 3,992 people (attendance from 5/3/26). She went to play against teams like Lyon and Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the Champions League. And there is a mystery to it, as well as the glory. You know that you’re going to play a big team, but you don’t know who it’s going to be. Europe has the existing infrastructure to make this work. Even in leagues that aren’t that competitive, like France, there will still be a powerhouse like Lyon. If each league can field just one or two top quality teams, than the Champions League is a success.

The NWSL doesn’t have anything like that, with the W Champions Cup having only been held twice now, and in US sports in general, there isn’t a tradition of international competition. CONCACAF also doesn’t have that same infrastructure in place. Liga MX Feminil is a younger league than the NWSL, beginning play in 2017, but only removing age limits in 2020 and allowing foreign players in 2021. In Canada, the Northern Super League is only in it’s second season, and wasn’t even eligible for the most recent edition of the W Champions Cup. It’s pretty amazing how far Liga MX Feminil has come already, and we’re also already seeing dividends from that in the US, with current NWSL players like Mia Fischel (Tigres) and Ayo Oke (Pachuca) having spent time in Mexico.

So, back to this year’s tournament. In their semifinal and final combined, both Scarlett Camberos and Geyse had 6 Goal Contributions each. These are two players known by a lot NWSL fans, and during their time in the league, Camberos had 5 Goal Contributions in 29 matches (1,604 minutes), while Geyse had 4 Goal Contributions in 17 matches (899 minutes). I’ve watched plenty of performances from both players, and neither ever struck me as an elite talent. However, they are both good enough to score goals when they are consistently left wide open in the box. And both Gotham and Washington proceeded to do exactly that. Even when América had a 2 v 4, somehow none of those 4 Gotham defenders managed to mark Camberos. In 10 league games this year, Gotham has only conceded 5 goals, yet they gave up 4 to América. Washington has conceded 8 in 10 games, yet they gave up 5 goals. There is a clear discrepancy here, and just watching the goals, you see lackluster tackling, poor awareness, and a clear lack of effort. There was so much sloppy defending from both NWSL teams that my only conclusion can be that neither of them were taking the opponent or the competition seriously.

I’m not actually upset that América won, but to me, there is no question that both Washington and Gotham are stronger teams. On paper, both clearly have better players, and I would rather see América win because they outplayed the competition, not because those teams put in a half-hearted effort. Because really, the only conclusion that I can make from these performances is that the clubs, the players, their fanbases, and the league don’t particularly care about this tournament. And I get why. Right now, today, the W Champions Cup isn’t a big trophy. Especially in the early stages, when we see a lot of travel to play teams in Jamaica or Costa Rica that are barely professional. And when a player like Berger or Rodman gets hurt in this competition, the feeling is always, “Why are we even risking our best players in a meaningless tournament?”

I think that this is the wrong perspective though. We shouldn’t look at what the W Champions Cup is, we should look at what it could be and what it needs to be to provide the necessary competition to Europe. This tournament can be a catalyst for growth, raising the talent level of the entire region, adding an important financial element, and creating a sporting element that will make all the leagues in the region better and more attractive.

First, on the aspect of the talent level, I see this as a case of a rising tide lifting all boats. Stronger leagues throughout the region will provide more opportunity for players to develop, but also a deeper pool of players for NWSL teams to build their rosters from. I am positive that there are players in this region that have the innate talent, but aren’t reaching the highest level due to coaching, simply getting enough high level reps, and/or playing against the best competition, and the sport of soccer is worse off for that. Bunny Shaw, for example, played college soccer in the US, and actually hadn’t played striker before that. If she hadn’t got that scholarship, though, what would have happened?

As the level of the NWSL rises, it is also going to become harder for players to make the jump straight from college. The USL and an upcoming second tier for the NWSL will help close that gap, but I think there is more of an advantage to playing in another top tier league. Playing in another country would be somewhere in between these, giving players the experience of playing in front of larger crowds and dealing with the pressure of chasing trophies. With the W Champions Cup, that would also give players and scouts an idea of how they would fair against NWSL teams.It will create a more dynamic ecosystem, and that will be good for everyone.

This is also a business, and money cannot be overlooked. Right now, the prize money is not significant, or may not even exist, as I couldn’t actually find any discussion of it. This is something that can grow quickly, though. The biggest source of money for sports is in broadcast rights, and a regional tournament like this can sell rights to at least 7 participating countries (Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, and the US). Right now, Mexico and the US are going to be the biggest markets, but even a nominal amount from the other five countries can increase that pot significantly. As that prize money grows, it will provide an incentive for at least one club from each of those countries to field competitive teams. There is such an obvious lack of investment in women’s football and we’ve all heard this story before, but I believe that if CONCACAF were to invest $5 million in prize money, they would make all of that back and more in broadcast rights, once everyone really starts making the tournament a priority. And I’m sure they could find that money somewhere in the budget if they wanted to.

There is also the matter of the Club World Cup. Winning CONCACAF is the only pathway to qualify for the FIFA’s worldwide tournament, and that does have some money behind it. The most recent edition saw the winner’s take home $2.3 million, while the runner’s-up got $1 million. The current CBA has all tournament prize money split evenly between players and clubs, meaning that winning the Club World Cup, would give an extra $44,230 bonus to each player (assuming a 26 player roster) that is totally exempt from the salary cap. Again, currently that’s not a lot, and that’s only for the winners. But this provides an additional source of revenue, which is maybe the most important aspect. We all want to see players earning more, and clubs being profitable, and this is a way to accomplish that. And we have seen time and again that clubs are willing to invest more when there is a financial reward.

A major criticism of involvement in the tournament is the increase in games, and I don’t want to diminish that. There is a real concern about load management, but I think that this is not usually the case for the majority of players. Most players are not joining their national team during international breaks. At least half the players are not starting every match. Adding an additional competition creates the opportunities for more game time for more players. Coaches do absolutely need to handle their rotations well, but doing so will help them create the depth in their squad to rest their starters more often. It’s easier to bring in a player off the bench, and not worry that it will upset the dynamic of the team, if that player is getting regular minutes, regardless of the competition.

And again, taking the international perspective, most players at clubs in Costa Rica, Panama, or even Canada, are not dealing with this at all. Those players need more matches, and matches against higher level competition is going to help them grow even more. I believe that this is a way that these players can both improve and get noticed on the world stage. Coaches need to protect their top players from injury, but I don’t believe we should change the competition, or limit the opportunities of others, in order to reduce games for the 2 to 5% of players that this would affect.

I would also argue that it’s not just players that would be helped. Everyone complains about the quality of referees. While an important step would be upgrading their contract from PRO2 to Senior Match Officials, creating more opportunities helps them too. It is currently not really possible to make a living full time as a PRO2 referee, and the more that that can be professionalized, the better quality we will see. Giving more referees an extra pay check, as well as additional experience in handling knockout style games, is going to make them better. Just like with any skill, the more experience they get, the better they can be. I also think that this can be an incentive: referees wanting to be considered among the best, so that they can earn these Champions Cup spots.

It is important that the NWSL supports this, and unfortunately CONCACAF has been making that really hard. The first edition of the tournament was announced without even consultation with the NWSL regarding their calendar. It also doesn’t help that the semifinal and final are always held in Mexico (so far). Also, having the tournament span two different NWSL seasons makes it harder to really follow. But the NWSL wants to expand it’s reach, and this is a very direct way to do that. To really become globally recognized, the first step should be conquering your own region.

I also think that there is also a real risk in the the NWSL ignoring global competitions. When the supposed best team in the NWSL goes to the Club World Cup and loses to Corinthians, that makes it harder to attract the best players and coaches from the rest of the world. Anyone in other countries who is not familiar with the usual quality of an NWSL match is going to think that we are a pretty shoddy league if they only saw these international competitions. Adding that continental tournament element will also make it less attractive for players to go play in Europe, and more attractive for European players to come here.

So for that reason, I think that everyone who supports an NWSL team should get behind this tournament. And those of us whose club didn’t make it should be cheering for the NWSL teams that are there. We should focus on the potential here. When I picture what the W Champions Cup could be, I see so much possibility for growing the game, in terms of both football and business. I think that everyone in the CONCACAF region would like to have something like the Champions League, but that doesn’t just happen overnight. That needs to be built, and that means that everyone from the fans to federation needs to start taking this tournament seriously.

Angel City has the final game before the break on Sunday, May 31st, at BMO vs. the North Carolina Courage at 4p Pacific. The game is broadcast on Victory+.