JERSEY CITY, N.J. (July 13, 2026) – Reigning NWSL champion Gotham FC anticipates a record-setting crowd for The Queens Classic at Citi Field, presented by CarMax on Wednesday, July 15 at 8 p.m. ET when it hosts the Washington Spirit in a rematch of the 2025 NWSL Championship set under the lights. ESPN will carry the national broadcast.<\/p>\n
More than 40,000 fans have already secured their seats for the first women\u2019s professional sporting event at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, as the club aims to set the New York City attendance record for a women\u2019s sporting event.<\/p>\n
Fans can expect a full afternoon and evening of entertainment beginning with an expanded Footy Fest presented by CarMax from 2:30-7:30 p.m The festival will be hosted by World Cup champion, former U.S. Women\u2019s National Team midfielder and editor-in-chief of the Women\u2019s Game, Sam Mewis.<\/p>\n
Starting at 3 p.m., Gotham FC will stage a FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122 Semifinal Match Watch Party, presented by Dove, and in collaboration with U.S. Soccer and the FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122 New York New Jersey Host Committee.<\/p>\n
A live recording of Welcome to the Party, presented by Yoggies and hosted by U.S. Women\u2019s National Team legends Julie Foudy and Abby will take place from 6-6:45 p.m. with one of the most decorated players in the women\u2019s game and Chelsea defender, Lucy Bronze.<\/p>\n
The first 7,500 fans through the gates will receive a commemorative Rose Lavelle bobblehead featuring her beloved dog, Wilma Jean, celebrating the reigning NWSL Championship MVP courtesy of CarMax.<\/p>\n
The Queens Classic will also feature a memorable Torch Lighting ceremony, Gotham FC\u2019s signature prematch tradition. Footy Fest host and CarMax ambassador Mewis will be joined by Welcome to the Party hosts Foudy and Wambach, four-time WNBA Champion and five-time Olympic gold medalist Sue Bird and 7-time NBA All-Star, New York native and CarMax ambassador Donovan Mitchell. The ceremony will culminate with journalist, activist and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, Gloria Steinem.<\/p>\n
New York-based sibling band Infinity Song will perform the national anthem, and return at halftime to excite the record-breaking crowd ahead of the second half. Pregame programming will also include spotlights like the Lendistry Small Business of the Match, the Aligne Fan Fit of the Match, trivia presented by Flamingo, the CarMax Kids coin toss and the match ball delivery representing Elevate Play, presented by Bank of America.<\/p>\n
Following the match, fans can vote for the CarMax Player of the Match through Gotham FC’s social media channels. As supporters exit Citi Field, Dove and Khloud, the fast-growing functional snack brand, will distribute complimentary products, including Khloud Protein Popcorn.<\/p>\n
Other gameday activations include:<\/p>\n
Footy Fest, presented by CarMax
Footy Fest will be located on the road next to Citi Field\u2019s Seaver and Stengel Entrances. Along with host Sam Mewis and Welcome to the Party\u2019s live show, activations include:<\/p>\n
Live music from DJ Been Blackin\u2019 and DJ RiaThe NWSL Summer of Soccer busBeer Garden (for ages 21 and over)Bank of America\u2019s Fan Band giveaway, famously sported at FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122 matches across North AmericaDove\u2019s Bead Bar, Confidence Wall and a sign-making station, hallmarks of Gotham FC\u2019s home prematch celebrationsGruns, the official foundational nutrition partner of Gotham FC, product sampling alongside Barry, the Gruns mascotPanini\u2019s Create Your Own Trading Cards, the brand\u2019s first activation with Gotham FCRWJBarnabas Health Mini Pitch
The TYLENOL\u00ae Zone, featuring the Precision Kick and One Touch experiencesAdditional sampling, tabling and giveaways from Lendistry, Dove, Yoggies, Travel + Leisure and more<\/p>\n
The Queens Collective
The Queens Collective, a networking event for women leaders, professionals and rising voices from across the New York region, will take place from 5:30-7 p.m., and feature an exciting lineup of mentors and special guests. To RSVP, visit https:\/\/www.gothamfc.com\/events\/the-queens-collective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JERSEY CITY, N.J. (July 13, 2026) – Reigning NWSL champion Gotham FC anticipates a record-setting crowd for The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294550,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-294549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}