Concacaf is set to expand the women’s national team competition calendar over the next four years as it strives for continued growth and development of the women’s game in the region.
In an effort to build on the successful delivery of the inaugural Women’s Gold Cup, as well as the recently added Women’s Club Competition, which is currently ongoing, Concacaf is set to introduce additional competitions, some of which will serve as qualifiers for major tournaments between 2025 and 2029.
Concacaf, in a release on Monday, revealed that the revamped women’s national team ecosystem will provide a consistent calendar of competitions for all Concacaf federations, providing their women’s national teams with regular opportunities to compete on the regional and global stage.
Tournaments will include a new qualifying tournament in 2025 that will serve as the preliminary round of the 2026 Concacaf Women’s Championship, which will serve as the qualification path to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. There will also be the introduction of an inaugural Concacaf Women’s Nations League in 2028 and a second edition of the Women’s Gold Cup.
Concacaf president and FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani said the additional competitions augur well for women’s football in the region.
“These tournaments will provide a tremendous boost to women’s football in CONCACAF with a consistent calendar of competitions now in place for 2025 to 2029, which delivers all 41 of our federations with opportunities to grow and thrive on and off the pitch. We are now five years on from the launch of our CONCACAF W women’s football strategy, and much progress has been made,” Montagliani said.
“From establishing new competitions to celebrating six of our national teams qualifying for and competing at the last FIFA Women’s World Cup, and of course the delivery of countless coaching and development programs that have provided women and girls across our region with opportunities to engage with the sport.
“We know there remains much more work to do and we are committed to continuing to support our member federations to develop every level of women’s football in CONCACAF,” he added.
The new qualifying tournament will be played during the FIFA Women’s International Match Windows of October and November 2025 and February and April 2026.
'Bunny' Shaw at the double as City blank Paris FC 3-0 to secure Champions League group stage play
After missing out on the first leg due to visa issues, Jamaican international Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw once again showed her class in second leg action, as she scored a brace that propelled Manchester City to a 3-0 win over Paris FC and into the Women’s Champions League group stages.
Gareth Taylor said Manchester City are back “where they belong” after they finally ended their disappointing streak in Europe’s top club competition and reaching the, by completing a comprehensive 8-0 aggregate victory over Paris FC.
Shaw found the target in the 31st and 65th minutes, after Chloe Kelly (2nd) opened the scoring in a lopsided contest at the Joie Stadium, as City wrapped up a comprehensive 8-0 aggregate scoreline.
Taylor’s confident-looking side were not involved in Europe at all last season and had been eliminated by Real Madrid in the qualifying rounds of the two campaigns before that. They will now contest the last-16 stage of the competition for the first time since 2020-21, when the knockout format was still in use, and will harbour realistic ambitions of going deep into the competition on the evidence of their strong showing over the two legs of this second-round tie.
“It’s a big honour for us. This is where we want to be. The qualification process is really tough. I’m not the only coach, I’m sure, who has sat, over the past couple of years, with a squad that felt capable of not just being in the Champions League, but actually doing something within it,” Taylor said in a post-game interview.
“Man City is a big club. We feel like we belong there, because we are a big team and we have huge ambitions, but of course the club recognises how difficult it is to be there because of the qualification process. I never felt safe, even at 5-0. A lot of things can go wrong in football. Nothing is a formality,” he added.
Kelly put City in front when she pounced on a loose ball and slotted home inside five minutes.
She then turned provider for Shaw with a weighted cross that the towering Jamaican lashed home for her first goal of the season.
Shaw then registered her second from the penalty spot after she was taken out inside the 18-yard box.
Manchester City, who were semi-finalists in 2017 and 2018, can now look forward to the group-stage draw on Friday and Taylor is cautiously optimistic about their chances there.
“I think getting out of the group stages is going to be our next objective, and once we get out of the group stages, anything can happen. We just want a crack at it, that’s what we want,” he said.
Tottenham 3-0 Qarabag: Postecoglou's side win Europa League opener despite early red card
Ten-man Tottenham recovered from an early setback to start their Europa League campaign with a commanding 3-0 victory over Qarabag.
Despite Radu Dragusin's early red card, goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Sarr and Dominic Solanke helped Ange Postecoglou's side to a third straight win in all competitions.
Just seven minutes had elapsed when the hosts were reduced to 10 men as last-man Dragusin dragged down Juninho after he was caught in possession.
However, Spurs responded brilliantly to take the lead just five minutes later, with Solanke stealing possession and feeding Johnson, who applied a neat first-time finish.
The hosts survived a scare before the break when Juninho steered wide from Elvin Cafarquliyev's cross but doubled their advantage seven minutes after the restart when Mateusz Kochalski helped a corner into the path of Sarr, who instinctively volleyed home.
Qarabag squandered a great opportunity to halve the deficit just before the hour mark when Toral Bayramov's penalty hit the crossbar after Yves Bissouma tripped Cafarquliyev.
Tottenham capitalised in the 68th minute as Kochalski parried Son's shot into Solanke's path and he put the game beyond the visitors, who were denied a consolation later on when Juninho's header was disallowed for offside.
Data Debrief: Spurs soar despite Dragusin's historic early bath
It had the potential to be a difficult night for Tottenham when Dragusin was shown a straight red card - Spurs' earliest in a major European match.
The defender also became the first Tottenham player to be sent off on his European debut.
Spurs recovered to take control of the contest, though they survived a scare when Bayramov hit the bar with Qarabag's first missed penalty in the Europa League after six consecutive successful kicks.
Napoli 5-0 Palermo: Five-star hosts cruise into Coppa Italia last 16
Cyril Ngonge scored twice in an electrifying performance, as Napoli breezed into the Coppa Italia last 16 with a crushing 5-0 win over Serie B Palermo on Thursday.
Ngonge struck first in the seventh minute with a left-footed drive that bounced in front of Salvatore Sirigu before squirming under his body into the net, leaving the goalkeeper shaking his head in disbelief.
Sirigu was at fault again five minutes later when Ngonge lashed another left-footer from a difficult angle, the ball flying across the face of the goal before nestling in the side netting to make it 2-0.
Palermo gave the hosts a scare as Matteo Brunori struck the post 29 minutes in, but Napoli were too big, too strong and too quick for their second-tier visitors, with Juan Jesus nodding home from a corner to make it 3-0 just before the break.
The visitors' hopes of a comeback were shattered when they were reduced to 10 men just before the hour mark. Aljosa Vasic was given a straight red card for dangerous play after catching Billy Gilmour in the face.
David Neres slotted home the fourth in the 70th minute, pressing to help win the ball back before coolly knocking into the net.
Scott McTominay then came off the bench to score with his first touch, rifling home a pass from fellow substitute Romelu Lukaku seven minutes later to complete the rout.
Data Debrief: A perfect performance
Conte's first game in charge was in the first round of this competition, and the Partenopei edged their way through with a penalty shootout win over Modena.
It was a totally different performance this time around though. They had 16 shots, seven of which were on target, accumulating just 1.55 expected goals.
Ngonge's part was perhaps the most impressive - he scored with both of his shots, with those chances equalling just 0.09 xG, though he just could not snatch a hat-trick in the second half to round off a brilliant game.
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