NEW YORK (August 5, 2026) – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) today announced the competition framework for the 2027 season, the league’s 15th anniversary campaign. The 2027 schedule has been thoughtfully constructed to balance the league’s competitive priorities with a landmark international calendar, preserving a full regular season and a balanced home-and-away competition while creating dedicated space for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The 2027 NWSL Challenge Cup, presented by e.l.f., will be contested on Saturday, February 6, one week before the start of the regular season. Remaining a single-match competition between the reigning NWSL Champion and the previous season’s Shield winner, the Challenge Cup will be played at a neutral site to be announced at a later date and will stream live on Prime Video. Should one club capture both the Championship and NWSL Shield, presented by CarMax, the Challenge Cup will feature a rematch of the previous season’s NWSL Championship.
The regular season will kick off on Thursday, February 11 in Los Angeles, strategically placed to coincide with Super Bowl weekend and maximize the league’s visibility during one of the biggest moments on the American sports calendar.
Comprising a balanced 30-match schedule in which each club will play every opponent home and away, the schedule footprint has been formatted to avoid staging contests during FIFA windows, reducing conflicts with international duty and allowing clubs to compete with their full rosters. The framework will include a league-wide pause during the FIFA Women’s World Cup and will also feature a CBA-mandated week off during the week of June 7-13. The league remains committed to balancing international competition with the demands of the domestic calendar while maintaining a schedule that supports player health, competitive fairness and the continued growth of the league.
The 2027 season will pause during the FIFA Women’s World Cup, a tournament expected to feature many of the NWSL’s standout players competing on the world’s biggest stage, before domestic competition resumes at the end of July.
The final weekend of the regular season will conclude with Decision Day on October 31, when all postseason berths will be finalized.
The opening round of the 2027 NWSL Playoffs will take place November 5-7 ahead of the semifinal round on November 13-14. The league will conclude its 2027 campaign with the NWSL Championship on November 20.
The 2027 season will also mark the fourth and final year of the league’s landmark domestic media rights agreements. More than 120 matches will once again be distributed across nationally available platforms, including CBS Sports, ESPN, Scripps-owned ION and Prime Video. The remaining regular season matches will be available on NWSL+, the league’s domestic distribution platform, with further broadcast details to be announced alongside the full schedule.
Additional details regarding the 2027 calendar, including the complete regular season schedule, Challenge Cup host site and broadcast assignments, will be shared at a later date.
