Gotham FC’s 3 games in 6 days across nearly 3,000 miles: ‘We’re ready for it’

Gotham FC’s 2-0 win at the Seattle Reign on Monday night elevated the New Jersey-based club to third in the National Women’s Soccer League table.

Midfielder Delanie Sheehan’s snap off a rebound in the first half and forward Esther Gonzalez’s powerful strike in the 85th minute propelled Gotham closer to a spot in the playoffs. It also set the tone for their chaotic week ahead.

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

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

“These weeks are always very tough,” Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amoros said following his team’s win on Monday night. “We go three games in a week and we have to come back now from Seattle. At least the next two are home.”

The issue of player workload has been a concern this year in the men’s and women’s games. The increase in competitions even led to rumblings that players may be “close” to striking over workload complaints, with Manchester City midfielder Rodri telling reporters on Tuesday: “If it keeps this way we will have no other option. It worries us.”

It’s hardly a low-stakes game for Gotham on Thursday, either. Amoros pointed out that a win could secure his team’s ticket to the Champions Cup semifinals. A successful run in that tournament could also see Gotham qualify for the first Women’s FIFA Club World Cup in 2026.

Having so many games in such little time has become the norm for Gotham, who are likely to end the year as the NWSL team with the most games played. On Monday, the defending NWSL champions became the first team in the league to play at least one match on all seven days of the week in a single season across all competitions, according to Opta. This increase in games is a testament to the growing interest in women’s club soccer and the growing competitions available for teams to compete in.

7 – With Monday night’s match against Seattle, @GothamFC will become the first #NWSL team to play at least one match on all seven days of the week in a single season (all competitions). Scattered. pic.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 is 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 regular 2024 season (San Diego Wave) and 10 more games than the five teams with the least scheduled matches in that same window (Orlando Pride, Chicago Red Stars, Seattle Reign, Utah Royals, Houston Dash).

The case for Gotham is unique. The team’s successes have yielded invitations to more competitions than most. Gotham, for example, competed in the invitational Women’s Cup in Colombia as part of their own preseason training in February, as well as the newly formatted Challenge Cup against San Diego Wave in March, featuring the 2023 NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship winners in a single game. Gotham featured in the Summer Cup, the joint competition launched by the NWSL and Liga MX Femenil during the Summer Olympics window, and will contest the tournament’s final next month against the KC Current.

Before the start of the NWSL season, commissioner Jessica Berman spoke to The Athletic about players as being “squeezed” by the crowded international calendar. The league did not have an opportunity for any direct influence over FIFA’s international match calendar, Berman said. Since then, the commissioner, along with other stakeholders in women’s soccer, has advocated for more involvement in these decisions that directly impact player welfare.

The increases in competitions like the Champions Cup can be directly tied to FIFA’s goal of launching an inaugural Women’s Club World Cup. While CONCACAF has described the Champions Cup as the “sole path” for qualifying for the Club World Cup, not much else has been said about FIFA’s plans besides a potential date. Details also remain scarce regarding the expanded men’s Club World Cup, due to take place in the United States next summer.

Other international women’s competitions have also entered the fold this season, broadening the scope of competition for 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 competition’s knockout stages. Chelsea and Arsenal also had preseason tours in the U.S., picking up games against NWSL clubs as well as each other, before their own seasons began.

For matches like these in international windows, teams had to tap deep into their networks for replacement players to step in for those still out on national team duties. For a team like Gotham, which had eight players competing in the Olympics, that could mean reaching out to unlikely candidates. Veteran player Heather O’Reilly almost suited up for Gotham this season at 39 years old amid a string of injuries on the team immediately following the Olympics, while Mak Whitham was signed to a historic contract aged only 13.

Despite the crowded calendar, Gotham players will say their priority is to take the season game-by-game. Midfielder Yazmeen Ryan, whose assist to Esther helped seal Gotham’s win on Monday, said their 2-0 win “set the momentum” for the week ahead.

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

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