The long-awaited 2026 EuroLeague Women championship is finally here, and the matchup is one that many of us had been secretly hoping for ever since groups were drawn last year. It’s one of the biggest rivalries in pro sports—Fenerbahçe vs. Galatasaray—and this season, they just so happen to have the two best women’s basketball teams in Europe.
Fenerbahçe Opet has looked for all the world like the favorite to win yet another EuroLeague Women title, with a star-studded roster and an impeccable resume
filled with dominant group play victories. Fenerbahçe went 11-1 during the regular season and made short work of their play-in opponents, Spar Girona, to advance to their fourth EuroLeague Women championship game in the past five years.
Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring, meanwhile, has had their most successful EuroLeague Women season since winning it all back in 2014. At 10-2, Galatasaray turned in the second-best record in group play, and they defeated Basket Landes in the play-ins and Casademont Zaragoza in the semifinals to advance to the title game.
As any international sports fan will tell you, having Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray compete in Sunday’s championship game makes it mean even more. The Turkish clubs have been bitter rivals for decades, and with incredibly dedicated and passionate fanbases on both sides, you can expect this year’s EuroLeague Women championship to be treated as much more than just a basketball game.
Incidentally, while the EuroLeague Women finals will feature the two best teams in Turkey, the third-place game will feature the two best teams in Spain. Casademont Zaragoza, the hosts this year’s EuroLeague Women playoffs (or “Final Six”), will take on Spar Girona, and they, too, are plenty familiar with each other. The crowd should be particularly raucous with the game being played on Spanish soil.
So who will be crowned EuroLeague Women champions? It all comes down to this. Both the title game and third-place game will be streamed live and for free on FIBA’s EuroLeague Women YouTube channel. Make sure you don’t miss it!
Sunday, April 19
Spar Girona vs. Casademont Zaragoza
- When: 11 a.m. ET
- Where: Pabellón Príncipe Felipe in Zaragoza, Spain
- How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
- Players to watch: Mariam Coulibaly, Justė Jocytė, Chloe Bibby, Arica Carter (Spar Girona); Carla Leite, Helena Pueyo, Stephanie Mawuli (Casademont Zaragoza)
- Matchup details: It’s easy to wonder if Zaragoza could be playing for a championship instead of third place, had they not dug themselves an early 20-point hole against Galatasaray in the semis. Nevertheless, they’ve already made it farther in the competition than ever before, and there will be plenty of diehard Zaragoza supporters in the house to will their team to that goal. Despite finishing a game below Girona in EuroLeague Women group play, Zaragoza has the edge in domestic league games, owning a 2-0 head-to-head record in the Liga Femenina Endesa. Girona will need a bounceback game from their star player, Coulibaly, who was uncharacteristically quiet in their semifinals loss to Fenerbahçe; otherwise, it might be hard for them to find consistent offense, and with the way Zaragoza defends (10.6 steals per game), a low-scoring game would put the hosts at an advantage. We’ll see if Zaragoza can end their magical season on a high note or if Girona will spoil the party for the home crowd.
Fenerbahçe Opet vs. Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring
- When: 2 p.m. ET
- Where: Pabellón Príncipe Felipe in Zaragoza, Spain
- How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
- Players to watch: Breanna Stewart, Gabby Williams, Emma Meesseman, Julie Allemand, Iliana Rupert, Sevgi Uzun (Fenerbahçe Opet); Marine Johannès, Dorka Juhász, Elizabeth Williams, Awak Kuier, Kamiah Smalls (Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring)
- Matchup details: This is the exact matchup pundits were hoping for, and not just for the social media engagement. These are the two most talented teams in EuroLeague Women, and they were well-represented in the league’s end-of-season awards: Juhász was named EuroLeague Women MVP, Williams was named Defensive Player of the Year, and a total of seven Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray players made the All-EuroLeague Women Teams. That being said, Fenerbahçe is going to be favored comfortably, especially if the foot injury Juhász suffered in the semifinals keeps her out of this game. If that’s the case, the one advantage Galatasaray has over Fenerbahçe—their size—will be diminished. It’s also worth noting that Fenerbahçe is a perfect 5-0 against Galatasaray in domestic league play, most recently sweeping them in the KBSL Finals, so they’ll be expected to win yet again here in EuroLeague Women.
