Club América Femenil, commonly known as América Femenil or simply América, is a Mexican professional women's football club based in Mexico City. It competes in the Liga Femenil and has been the women's section of Club América since 2016. The team plays its home games at the Estadio Azteca, with estadio El Nido, situated within their training grounds, serving as an alternative venue.
Regarded as one of the most competitive sides in Liga Femenil, Club América Femenil is one of only five clubs to have obtained the Liga MX Femenil title, achieving this feat three times, and the only Mexican women’s football club to win a continental trophy.
América Femenil main rival is Guadalajara. The matches between the two are known as El Clasico Nacional, and it is regarded as one of the most intense rivalries in Liga Femenil.
History
Founding and first league tournament Club América Femenil was founded on December 5, 2016, on the same day that Liga MX Femenil was announced. Former Mexico women's national football team manager, Leonardo Cuellar, was appointed as the first manager of the team in February 2017. In preparation for the first season of the Liga MX Femenil in the second half of 2017, the team participated in a preparation tournament, the 2017 Copa MX Femenil. The club first league match in history was a 1–0 victory against Tijuana on July 29, 2017.
In its first Liga MX Femenil tournament (Apertura 2017), América ended the regular phase of the tournament in 1st place with 35 points, but the team was eventually eliminated in the semi-finals of the playoffs by national rivals and eventual champions Guadalajara, in the first instance of the Clásico Nacional femenil between the two institutions.
First title América won its first league title in history by winning the Apertura 2018 tournament. During this tournament, América ended the regular phase in 3rd place with 35 points in the general standings and second in its group. In the playoffs, The team eliminated Toluca (5–3) in the quarter-finals, and Pachuca (1–0) in the semi-finals to reach the final against Tigres. América eventually won the final against Tigres on penalties (1–3) at Estadio Universitario after a 3–3 draw on aggregate (2–2 at the Estadio Azteca, 1–1 at the Estadio Universitario).
2019 to 2023 For the Clasura 2019 tournament, América once again had a great regular phase, ending in second place in the overall standings with 38 points, but was unable to achieve a second consecutive title after being eliminated by Tigres in the semi-finals of the playoffs.
Leo Cuellar decided to step down from the position of manager after 4 years in charge on March 27, 2021, after a 2–4 defeat at home against Guadalajara. Previous to this defeat, the team was coming from a string of very bad results and an overall irregular performance throughout the Guardianes 2021 tournament that put the team at risk of not qualifying to the playoffs for the first time. The club appointed Cuellar's assistant, Hugo Ruíz, as interim for the rest of the tournament. América ended-up qualifying to the playoffs by ending up in 8th place during the regular phase, nonetheless América's participation in the Guardianes 2021 tournament ended after being eliminated in the playoffs's quarter-finals by eventual champions Tigres.
On June 4, 2021, Craig Harrington was appointed by the club as the new manager of the team.
On July 18, 2021, the club announced the signing of American player Stephanie Ribeiro, the first foreign player to play for the team.
With Harrington as the new manager and with foreign players in the roster for the first time (Sarah Luebbert and Stephanie Ribeiro), América was able to have a better campaign during the Apertura 2021 tournament than in the previous Guardianes 2021 tournament. In this Apertura 2021 tournament, América ended the regular phase in 5th place with 31 points. In the playoffs, the team defeated national rivals Guadalajara in the quarter-finals (2–1), but they were once again eliminated by then current champions Tigres in the semi-finals with an aggregate score of 5–2.
After América's elimination against Pachuca in the quarter-finals of the playoffs of the Clausura 2022, the club decided to dismiss manager Craig Harrington on May 8, 2022, after just two tournaments due to the results that the team achieved throughout the regular season and in the playoffs of the Clausura 2022. For this Clausura 2022 tournament, América ended in fourth place during the regular season with 37 points.
On May 28, 2022, the América Femenil U-17 team became champions of the first Liga MX Femenil U-17 tournament (Clausura 2022) by winning the final against Santos on penalties at the Estadio Azteca after an aggregate scoreline of 3–3.
On June 17, 2022, the club announced Spanish manager Ángel Villacampa as the new manager of the team ahead of the Apertura 2022 tournament.
The team played its first international match against a European team when it faced Frauen-Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen on July 5, 2022, at the Estadio Azteca. This match was also the first time that a Liga MX Femenil team played against a European team. The match ended in a 1–0 victory for América with a goal from Janelly Farías.
In August 2022, the club participated on its first international competition, the 2022 The Women's Cup. During this tournament, América defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 on the quarter-finals to advance to the semifinals. On the semi-finals América was defeated 2–1 by OL Reign. América ended up winning third place of the tournament by winning the third place match 5–4 against A.C. Milan.
América returned to a Liga MX Femenil final after four years during the Apertura 2022 tournament. The team ended the regular phase of this tournament in 4th place with 36 points. In the Liguilla, América defeated Tijuana with a 3–0 aggregate score in the quarter-finals, and Guadalajara in the semi-finals with a 6–4 aggregate score. In the final, América faced Tigres once again, just as in the Apertura 2018 final. However, unlike the Apertura 2018 final, Tigres defeated América this time with a 3–0 aggregate score to crown themselves champions. The first match of this final at the Estadio Azteca broke the previous attendance record in the league after 52,654 people attended the game.
During the Clausura 2023, América reached the league final for the third time in history after finishing the regular phase of the tournament in third place with 37 points. In the liguilla, América eliminated Juárez in the quarterfinals, and Tigres in the semifinals. During this run, América's victory against Tigres at the Estadio Universitario was the first time that the team had won at that stadium. Additionally, América also ended Tigres's run of 54 consecutive matches without a loss at their home-ground. In the final, América faced Pachuca for the first time at this stage. América ended up obtaining the league title by defeating Pachuca with a 4–2 aggregate score in the final (1–2 at the Hidalgo and 2–1 at the Azteca). Additionally, the second match of this final broke the league's previous attendance record of 52,654 spectators which occurred during the previous tournament final, after 58,156 fans attended the game at the Estadio Azteca. América's campaign to win the Clausura 2023 league title was also the first time that a team in Mexican football (men & women) had won all their liguilla matches.
Multiple finals lost and historic treble (2023—present)
After the successful Clausura 2023 tournament, América continued to reach the league’s final multiple times over the next two years, but losing all of them. During the Apertura 2023 tournament, América reached the final again, although the team was unable to defeat Tigres to whom they fell by a 3–0 aggregate score. During the Clausura 2024, América reached the final once again after having a very good regular season in which the team ended in the fourth place in the general standings. In the final, América was defeated by Monterrey on penalties after a dramatic second-leg, in which the Nuevo León side was able to send the championship game to penalties after scoring a goal in the last few seconds of the match to tie the aggregate score. América once again reached the league’s final during the Clausura 2025 tournament. During this tournament, América concluded their most successful regular phase campaign in history by ending first in the general standings for the first time. Nevertheless, the team suffered an injury crisis while pursuing the first place in the standings, including multiple ACL injuries. Despite this, América reached the league final, but the team was struck-down once again, this time by Pachuca after being unable to revert at home a 3–0 deficit obtained during the first-leg of the final. América losing streak in finals continued during the Apertura 2025 tournament. Despite América having a rather depleted roster at the time due to injuries from the previous season, the team concluded a good regular season campaign, ending on the third place in the general standings. In the playoffs, América had a rather easy pathway to the final but in the final the team once again fell short, this time against Tigres.
América’s losing streak on finals was finally broken during the Clausura 2026. During this tournament, the team had a very strong regular phase campaign, finishing first in the standings. In the playoffs, América was nearly knocked out early on by Juárez in a tough quarterfinal series that América won with a 4–3 aggregate score. During the semifinals, América swiftly defeated Toluca with a 10–3 aggregate score and in the final against Monterrey, América reversed at home an adversed 0–1 result obtained in the first-leg by defeating Monterrey with a 3–0 score, winning the Clausura 2023 championship and the third league title in the club history.
After winning the league championship, América quickly switched gears to compete against National Women's Soccer League side Gotham three days later in the semifinals of the 2025–26 CONCACAF W Champions Cup. In this match, América convincingly defeated Gotham by 4–1, with Scarlett Camberos and Geyse playing key roles during the match, with the former scoring a hat-trick and the latter giving three assists. In the final, América faced Washington Spirit in an intense match that América ended-up winning by 5–3, with Camberos and Geyse again playing important roles. By winning the 2025–26 CONCACAF W Champions Cup, América became the first Mexican women’s football club to win a continental competition and also qualified to the 2027 FIFA Women's Champions Cup, and 2028 FIFA Women's Club World Cup.
América championship winning streak continued during the 2026 Campeón de Campeonas championship, in which América defeated Tigres on penalties 4–3 to obtain its first Campeón de Campeonas title and third trophy in 2026. Due to the team performances in 2026, America Femenil was named as candidate to win the Women’s Club of the Year award at the 2026 Ballon d'Or—the first Mexican football club to appear in the candidates list of such award, and with team captain Scarlett Camberos also being nominated for the Ballon d'Or Féminin.
Grounds
Club América Femenil plays its home games at the historic 81,700 seats Estadio Azteca, and at an alternative venue named El Nido (previously named Cancha Centenario) that is located at their trainings grounds, which has an estimated capacity for 5,000 people.
América Femenil played its first match in history at the Estadio Azteca on 19 August 2017, in a game against Monarcas Morelia for matchday 4 of the Apertura 2017. The game ended on 5–0 victory for América.