Just a week ago, Marta –Perhaps the most famous name in the women’s game, and a forward for the newly crowned NWSL The champion Orlando Pride — He said “The best league in the world”. Given that Orlando won the Supporters’ Shield for having the best regular season record as well as keeping all three playoff games over 90 minutes, yes, they can probably safely say they are the best team in the National Women’s Soccer League.
But are they the best team in the world? And if they aren’t, does that hurt the NWSL’s claim to being the best league in the world?
is Barcelona Really the best women’s team in the world? I mean, they’re loaded with World Cup winners, and last season, they won the treble (Liga F, Copa de la ReinaWomen’s Champions League). They won 43 of 46 games in 2023–24, suffering just one loss. Or maybe it is ChelseaWho won the great competition. Women’s Super League In England and was the only team to beat Barcelona last season?
I don’t know, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who would love to know. As in, on the pitch, not listening to a bunch of theoretical debating heads. And it’s obviously weird that at the end of 2024, we just don’t know because these teams They hardly ever play with each other.. How about we change that? Like, now?
Get the guys who own the Orlando Pride (brothers Ziggy and Mark Wolf) on the phone with John Laporta in Barcelona, or the Clear Lake crew in Chelsea, and get them to do it. A game, neutral venue, for the right to call yourself the best in the world.
Will its economics work? I’m pretty sure they will, and I can bore you with it later, but guys, it shouldn’t be the primary driver. It should be something much more basic: bragging rights. This is what it was like in 1960, when the first European-South American Cup (later known as the Intercontinental Cup) was played.
In terms of talent distribution, the women’s game today is no different than the men’s game. Then, as now, this was a legitimate bone of contention. FIFA would not sanction it as an official game, so UEFA and CONMEBOL went ahead and did it themselves, with the European Cup winners (Real Madrid) against the Copa Libertadores winners (Panarol). UEFA has a women’s Champions League, but in North and Central America Concacaf has only created one (Concacaf World Cup Champions Cup), so we won’t have a Concacaf Women’s Champion until the end of May.
So we’ll have to wait on that, just like that We are waiting The 16-team FIFA Women’s Club World Cup will be played in January and February 2026. That would be cool, but let’s face it, right now it’s: location TBC, participants TBC, entry criteria TBC, prize money TBC.
(At the moment, it’s all about the Men’s Club World Cup, which takes place in the United States in June. The draw is on Thursday in Miami and that’s right. The excitement has died down.. Clubs are squabbling over prize money allocations, players’ unions are suing over fixture congestion, commercial partners are slow to sign up (they only signed their second sponsor last week), they apparently have TV rights not sold to — Announcement on Wednesday that it will be on DAZN worldwide in “a historic free-to-air deal” — and people don’t understand how Inter Miami managed to qualify (other than the fact that You know who plays for them.).
FIFA has enough to organize the men’s version and try to ensure, at least for the European heavyweights, it’s not just a spectacular summer tour. Yes, we should hold their feet to the fire and demand equal treatment for women, but in the meantime … why wait? Especially when it feels like you’re waiting. Godot. Why don’t leading women’s clubs help themselves?
First, money should not be an issue here. You’re not necessarily trying to build a business right away, you’re just doing what’s right: facing the best in the world. And yes, there is an economic angle. You’ll need to market properly to sponsors and broadcasters, greasing the commercial wheels a bit, but both the Women’s Champions League final (attendance: 50,000) and the NWSL final (attendance: 11,500) were sold out. You should be able to cover your expenses from box office receipts alone, with the rest being gravy. And if you can’t, hey, Orlando is literally owned by billionaires. You think they wouldn’t be happy to spend a few hundred grand for the chance to call themselves the best team in the land?
Can you fit it into the football calendar? Yes, if you really want to, because the fixture list is nowhere near as crowded as the men’s game. You’ll want to do this after the start of the 2025 NWSL season (mid-March) and the end of the European season, before the Euros (June). This is best because one team will be just starting their season while the other is in full swing, but you will always have this problem because they are on different seasons, just like men. The game was in the olden days. Intercontinental Cup. Also, women’s football is already expected to be unreasonably flexible: witness the fact that all dates for the final rounds of the Copa de la Reina are TBD, while the men’s version, the Copa del Rey The dates are set in stone, as if someone retrieved them from Mount Olympus.
Why is this not happening? I’d hate to think it’s because no one thought of it. I’d hate it even more if it’s because one (or both) clubs are afraid of getting snubbed by the other and maybe it’s being revealed that they’re not as good as advertised. is It might hurt their business model a bit.
So come on guys, the Wolf Brothers and LaPorta (or if he’s too busy with other things, Clear Lake). Don’t wait for FIFA or the confederations. Just let it happen.