The will kick off its season earlier than ever before next year to work around the Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman gave a wide-ranging midseason State of the League address Wednesday during which she discussed next season’s schedule, the impact of the men’s World Cup and other topics impacting the league.
The league’s 15th season will open on Feb. 11, more than a month earlier than this season. The annual Challenge Cup match will be played on Feb. 6. The NWSL will pause from June 24 to July 25 during the Women’s World Cup as many of the league’s players will be on national teams that qualify for the tournament. The playoffs will start on Nov. 5 and the league championship will be played on Nov. 20.
鈥淲e know that major tournaments inspire millions of people to follow the sport, and our schedule allows us to be part of the lead-in and the lead-out of that big moment,” Berman said.
The league is intentionally launching the season during Super Bowl weekend and will be 鈥渨orking closely with ESPN to make sure that the NWSL is woven into the weekend stories, and we鈥檙e very excited about that,鈥� Berman said. ABC/ESPN is a broadcast partner of the NWSL, and ABC is broadcasting the 2027 Super Bowl.
There has been speculation the NWSL may at some point shift to a season that would align with its international counterparts, although the players’ union has objected to such a move and the league will remain on a spring to fall schedule through at least 2030.
The men’s domestic league, Major League Soccer, will shift its season to a summer to spring calendar next year. Berman said the MLS move presents both benefits and challenges because many teams share stadiums.
鈥淩ight now, being on a spring to fall footprint with MLS, we both have our playoffs at the same time, and what that means is that there are holds across lots of dates with uncertainty,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ith us being on different calendars, that鈥檚 no longer going to be the case. We鈥檙e going to have visibility into weeks that might otherwise have been reserved but not confirmed, and that will be helpful.鈥�
World Cup bump
Berman said the league appears to be benefitting from the so-called World Cup bump, with increased viewership and engagement following the men’s tournament this summer. The league’s 鈥淪umer of Soccer鈥� event tour and marketing campaign aimed to capitalize on the men’s tournament to boost the NWSL’s profile.
Berman touted the campaign for growth on social media platforms Instagram and YouTube. The league had nearly 40 million impressions on social media with the Summer of Soccer tour hashtag, #NWSLOnTour.”
Average attendance to date is 11,174 per game, the second-highest behind 2024, which had an average of 11,249.
鈥淲e鈥檙e close to to beating that, and we hope we鈥檒l have a strong second half of the season, where we can celebrate this being our highest-attended year on an average basis,鈥� Berman said.
FIFA fallout
FIFA President Gianni Infantino鈥檚 failed plan to to private investors has brought increasing scrutiny of his leadership.
CONCACAF and its 41 member associations, including the United States, previously rejected Infantino’s proposal. Whether U.S. Soccer would take a position on Infantino’s future won’t be discussed until a September board meeting, CEO JT Batson told reporters on Tuesday. Berman sits on the board.
“I鈥檒l start by saying we wholeheartedly support the position that U.S. Soccer and CONCACAF took as it relates to not being supportive of that proposal, and are pleased that it was withdrawn,” Berman said. “As it relates to future state conversations about the future of FIFA and leadership, I鈥檓 eager to have discussions with our fellow board members to listen and learn and better understand the optionality that might exist and the process.”
___
AP soccer:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
