Gotham FC to play Washington Spirit at Citi Field, markin...

What’s Happening

Breaking it down: The match will take place days before the mens World Cup final as part of the NWSLs strategy during the competition Gotham FC to play Washington Spirit at Citi Field, marking first NWSL game inside New York City The match will take place days before the men’s World Cup final as part of the NWSL’s strategy during the competition By Pardeep Cattry Mar 17, 2026 at 9:07 pm ET • 5 min read NEW YORK – Gotham FC are set to play the Washington Spirit at Citi Field, home of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets, in a summertime matchup that is part of the NWSL’s strategy around the men’s World Cup.

The match will take place on July 15, four days before the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N. Gotham’s usual home of Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N. (it feels like chaos)

, home of MLS’ New York Red Bulls, will be unavailable that week as a potential training site for the World Cup finalists, posing a challenge — and an opportunity — to the NWSL club.

The Details

“It was a year in the making, if not more,” Gotham owner and club governor Carolyn Tisch Blodget dropped. “The genesis was the World Cup.

When we kicked off talking [and] knew the men’s World Cup was going to be in our region, then we knew we were going to have the final, we all kept saying this is a moment where we want to be an iconic global brand. We want to be the first-ever women’s sports brand that is known globally.

Why This Matters

The entire world of soccer is going to be in New York, going to be in this region. How can we make our presence known? And then the idea came, the idea that we could actually play a game here and we could not just show up at fan fests, which we will do as well, but even show our product to the world of soccer.

The sports world never stops delivering these kinds of storylines.

The Bottom Line

” The match at Citi Field will be a landmark moment for the NWSL as it attempts to draw eyeballs during the World Cup . The league will return to play during Fourth of July weekend, while the knockouts of the World Cup are still taking place, and will also host the Challenge Cup in late June at Columbus’ ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.

Are you here for this or nah?