JERSEY CITY, N.J. (Nov. 9, 2026) – Gotham FC will host its NWSL semifinal on Sunday at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in Manhattan, the club announced Monday.
The decision comes amid concerns about the quality of the playing surface at Sports Illustrated Stadium, Gotham FC’s home venue.
Kickoff against the Kansas City Current is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, with ABC and ESPN Deportes carrying the national broadcast.
Tickets will go on sale at 3 p.m. ET for Blueprint members. Visit GothamFC.com for more ticketing information.
“For the first time in club history, our players have earned the right to host a semifinal match at home, and our fans have earned the opportunity to be part of that historic moment,” said Gotham FC Governor Carolyn Tisch Blodgett. “Unfortunately, given the field conditions, we have made the extremely difficult decision to relocate our semifinal game to Icahn Stadium. We exhausted every possible avenue before making this decision, and we are deeply disappointed that so many of our fans will now be unable to experience this moment alongside our team. Our players deserve a playing surface that meets the standards of a professional semifinal, and our fans deserve the opportunity to support them. We have worked tirelessly to deliver on both and are disappointed that we cannot. We are grateful to Icahn Stadium for working with us on such short notice to ensure our team has a place to compete for a Championship spot on Sunday.”
“This was an extremely difficult decision, and one we did not take lightly,” said Yael Averbuch West, the president of soccer operations for Gotham FC. “After thoughtful consultation with coach Juan Carlos Amorós, our team captains and our ownership, we felt it was important to prioritize a playing surface that appropriately allows our athletes to perform at their best. Providing our players with a high-quality surface to compete is a responsibility we take very seriously, and we appreciate Icahn Stadium stepping up to ensure this happens. We fully understand and appreciate the impact this has on our fans, and we are equally disappointed that we won’t have the opportunity to play in front of more of our supporters at our home stadium. Unfortunately, we were faced with a difficult situation, and at the end of the day, the game is played on the field. Our responsibility is to provide our players with the best possible conditions to compete, and ultimately, we felt we had to prioritize the playing surface.”
Club captain Tierna Davidson added, “We as a team worked extremely hard to earn a home playoff berth. What we got was a field that is not the standard this club, this league or our fans deserve. The quality of the game is not up for debate, so we’ve made the difficult decision to move to Icahn Stadium on Sunday. A smaller stadium means many of you will not be there, and that is the hardest part of this decision. You have turned every ground where we have played into home, and that does not change on Sunday. We have never needed a perfect setting to make a place ours. Bring everything you have on Sunday, and we will leave it all on the field.”
Gotham FC qualified for its fourth consecutive NWSL semifinals appearance with a 1-0 win over Seattle on Sunday. A Seattle own goal in the fifth minute of the match proved to be the difference.
The top seed in the 2026 NWSL Playoffs, presented by Google Pixel, Gotham FC claimed its first NWSL Shield, given to the league’s regular season champion, while setting a club record in wins, points and shutouts. The reigning NWSL champions are aiming to win the first NWSL trophy treble in league history, having also claimed the 2026 NWSL Challenge Cup – beating Kansas City in that match – over the summer.
Kansas City topped Angel City in a 1-0 extra-time thriller to advance to the semifinals for the third time in the club’s history.
The winner of Sunday’s semifinal will advance to the 2026 NWSL Championship at Audi Field on Nov. 21.