Women’s World Cup Forces NWSL To Start Season Earlier In 2027

The National Women’s Soccer League 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.

“We 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 “working closely with ESPN to make sure that the NWSL is woven into the weekend stories, and we’re very excited about that,” 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.

“Right 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,” she said. “With us being on different calendars, that’s no longer going to be the case. We’re going to have visibility into weeks that might otherwise have been reserved but not confirmed, and that will be helpful.”

Berman said the league appears to be benefiting from the so-called World Cup bump, with increased viewership and engagement following the men’s tournament this summer. The league’s “Summer of Soccer” 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.

“We’re close to beating that, and we hope we’ll have a strong second half of the season, where we can celebrate this being our highest-attended year on an average basis,” Berman said.

Reporting by the Associated Press.