Gotham FC just announced an official debut in the borough of Queens, with the club officially set to play Washington Spirit at Citi Field at 8:00 pm on Wednesday, July 15.
They're calling it The Queens Classic, a catchy name for a one-off match held in the borough's baseball stadium, the usual home of Major League Baseball's New York Mets, and the sometime home of Major League Soccer's New York City FC.
ESPN will nationally broadcast the Gotham-Spirit match, which will be the first meeting between the two I-95 rivals since the 2025 NWSL Championship match, won 1-0 by Gotham last November.
The match will take place four days before the men's FIFA World Cup final, scheduled for July 19 at 3:00 pm ET across the Hudson River in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Gotham is now set for an extended showcase in New York City during the week of the World Cup final, as they'll also host Seattle Reign FC on Saturday, July 18 at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island at high noon 12:00 pm ET.
So Gotham will play back-to-back NWSL matches inside the limits of New York City proper. That's significant growth, considering the Concacaf W Champions Cup match vs CF Monterrey Femenil Gotham hosted at Icahn Stadium last summer was the franchise's first-ever time playing in New York City.
This summer's marquee match against Washington Spirit will be Gotham's first time ever playing in Queens. Which might be significant, since there's a certain soccer-specific stadium opening in 2027 directly across the street from Citi Field.
Might this be whetting the New York City soccer populace's appetite for more Gotham matches in Queens to come, perhaps across Seaver Way, once New York City FC's stadium is complete? The "if" and "when" of all that remains to be sorted out or announced, but for now, you will have a chance to watch Gotham's star-studded squad in Queens this summer.
Gotham will attempt to ride the wave of expected summer soccer momentum and try to pack out the 42,000-seat Citi Field for one of its most-anticipated fixtures of the 2026 season.
Their attendance at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, improved during the 2025 season, but this will be a chance for the club to make a statement inside New York City while the entire soccer world's attention is fixated on Gotham's NY/NJ region.
