Gotham FC’s 3 games in 6 days over almost 3,000 miles: ‘We’re ready’

Gotham FC’s 2-0 victory over Seattle Reign on Monday night moves the New Jersey club into third place in the National Women’s Soccer League.

Midfielder Delanie Sheehan’s first-half rebound and forward Esther Gonzalez’s powerful 85th-minute strike pushed Gotham closer to a playoff spot and set the tone for their chaotic week to come.

The game at Lumen Field was the first of Gotham’s three competitive games in seven days, spanning 2,821 miles. After playing in Washington State, the team flew back to New Jersey, where Gotham will face Mexico’s Monterrey on Thursday night in the group stage of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup.

Three days later, the team resumes NWSL action against the Utah Royals.

“These weeks are always very tough,” Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amoros said after his team’s victory on Monday night. “We have three games in one week and now we have to come back from Seattle. The next two are at home.”

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The issue of player workload has been a concern in both the men’s and women’s games this year. The increase in competitions even led to rumours that players were “close” to going on strike over complaints about workload, with Manchester City midfielder Rodri telling reporters on Tuesday: “If it continues like this, we have no other option. It’s a concern for us.”

It’s not a low-stakes game for Gotham on Thursday, either. Amoros pointed out that a win could earn his team a ticket to the semifinals of the Champions Cup. A successful run in that tournament could also see Gotham qualify for the inaugural Women’s FIFA Club World Cup in 2026.

So many games in such a short space of time has become the norm for Gotham, which will likely finish the year as the NWSL team with the most games played. On Monday, the reigning NWSL champions became the first team in the league to play at least one game on all seven days of the week in a single season across all competitions, according to Opta. The increase in games is a testament to the growing interest in women’s club soccer and the growing number of competitions in which teams can compete.

7 – With Monday night’s game against Seattle, @GothamFC will be the first #NWSL team that plays at least one match on all seven days of the week in one season (all competitions). Spread out. photo.twitter.com/ipLh5Zxn21

— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) September 16, 2024

Gotham will have played a total of 39 games through their final NWSL regular-season game on Nov. 1. That’s already eight more games than the team played in their entire 2023 campaign, a season that included a successful championship run. It’s also five more games than the team with the second-most through the end of the 2024 regular season (San Diego Wave) and 10 more games than the five teams with the fewest scheduled games in that same window (Orlando Pride, Chicago Red Stars, Seattle Reign, Utah Royals, Houston Dash).

Gotham’s case is unique. The team’s successes have earned it invitations to more competitions than most. For example, Gotham competed in the Women’s Cup invitational in Colombia as part of its own pre-season training in February, as well as the newly-formed Challenge Cup against the San Diego Wave in March, featuring the winners of the 2023 NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship in a single match. Gotham competed in the Summer Cup, the joint competition launched by the NWSL and Liga MX Femenil during the Summer Olympic window, and will play the tournament final against KC Current next month.

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Before the start of the NWSL season, commissioner Jessica Berman spoke with The Athletics about players being “squeezed” by the busy international calendar. The league had no way to directly influence FIFA’s international fixtures, Berman said. Since then, the commissioner, along with other stakeholders in women’s football, have called for greater involvement in these decisions that directly affect player welfare.

The rise of competitions like the Champions Cup can be directly linked to FIFA’s goal of launching an inaugural Women’s Club World Cup. While CONCACAF has described the Champions Cup as the “only path” to Club World Cup qualification, little has been said about FIFA’s plans beyond a possible date. Details about the expanded men’s Club World Cup, set to take place in the United States next summer, are also scarce.

Gotham is the first team to play every day of the week in a single season. (Photo by Kyle Ross, USA Today)

Other international women’s competitions also got involved this season, expanding the competition for female players in the NWSL. The Summer Cup featured all 14 teams in the NWSL and the top six teams from Liga MX Femenil, though only American clubs qualified for the knockout stages of the competition. Chelsea and Arsenal also had pre-season tours of the U.S., picking up games against NWSL clubs and each other before their own seasons began.

For games like these in international windows, teams have had to dig deep into their networks to find replacement players for those still on the national team. For a team like Gotham, which had eight players play in the Olympics, that could mean reaching out to unlikely candidates. Veteran Heather O’Reilly nearly played for Gotham this season at age 39 amid a string of injuries to the team immediately following the Olympics, while Mak Whitham signed a historic contract at age 13.

Despite the busy schedule, Gotham players will say their priority is to take the season one game at a time. Midfielder Yazmeen Ryan, whose assist for Esther helped secure Gotham’s victory on Monday, said their 2-0 win set “the momentum” for the week ahead.

“Whether it’s a CONCACAF game or an NWSL (game), we’re ready for the next one and on to the next one, and the expectation is that we still win every game and qualify for the semifinals and win the group stage,” Ryan said. “Midweek games can be tough, but we did it a couple of weeks ago, so we’re ready.”

(Top photo: Gotham FC head coach Juan Carlos in May; Elsa/Getty Images)