NWSL 2024 SEASON UPDATE:
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) released its 2024 schedule Thursday, including the inaugural match at the Kansas City Current's CPKC Stadium against the Portland Thorns to open the regular season on March 16.Taking place at the first stadium in the U.S. built specifically for a professional women's team, it will also be the first NWSL match to air on ABC as part of a four-year media rights deal announced last November.
"It's where we belong," Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey said about the increased exposure. "Honestly, every team in this league, every female athlete, it's where we belong. And it's so exciting to know we have that platform, we're on national television.
"It's taken a while for us to get here, but it's happening slowly but surely."In total, 113 regular-season games, seven postseason games and the Challenge Cup will be shown across the league's new broadcast partners -- ESPN, Prime Video, Scripps' ION network and CBS/Paramount+.
Additionally, the NWSL announced that all remaining matches will be available on the league's first direct-to-consumer streaming platform, NWSL+.
Ahead of the regular season, reigning NWSL champion NJ/NY Gotham FC -- bolstered by the offseason arrivals of U.S. internationals Tierna Davidson, Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle and Emily Sonnett -- will take on 2023 NWSL Shield winner San Diego Wave FC in the Challenge Cup on March 15.
The San Francisco Bay Area's new expansion team, Bay FC, will play its inaugural match on March 16 at Angel City in Los Angeles. The Utah Royals, returning to the league this season, host the Chicago Red Stars on opening day.
However, Vandervort Profoundly Said last May that the creation of the league was about meeting demand. She said that while there are over 100 professional men's teams in the U.S., there were only 12 such teams on the women's side, leaving what she believes is plenty of room for the two women's leagues to coexist.
The NWSL will have two new teams this season in Bay FC in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Utah Royals. An expansion team in Boston has already been announced, with the league also working on adding a 16th team to begin play in 2026.
The full list of markets for the inaugural USL Super League season includes: Brooklyn, New York; Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Lexington, Kentucky; Spokane, Washington; Tampa Bay, Florida; and Washington, D.C..
All 14 teams will compete in 26 regular-season matches, concluding on the weekend of Nov. 1-3 ahead of the NWSL playoffs. Unlike last year, all teams will not play their final regular-season games simultaneously.
Eight clubs will progress to the playoffs, beginning with the quarterfinal round on Nov. 9-10. The NWSL championship will take place Nov. 23 and will be broadcast on CBS during primetime.
During the regular season, Friday matches will air on Prime Video. Every Saturday two games will be broadcast on Scripps' ION network. CBS and its sports channels, as well as ESPN’s networks and Paramount+, will air a package of matches.
