NWSL releases 2026 schedule with 30-game regular season, expansion teams debut
The league's 14th season begins March 13-15 with two new clubs, Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC, joining 14 existing teams for an expanded 30-match regular season.
January 15, 2026
The National Women's Soccer League announced its full 2026 schedule on January 15, marking the league's 14th season with two expansion franchises joining the competition.
The 2026 regular season will feature 16 teams playing 30 matches each—an increase from the 26-match seasons of 2024 and 2025. Each team will play 15 home and 15 away matches. The season kicks off the weekend of March 13-15, with the Washington Spirit hosting the Portland Thorns on Friday, March 13, in the season opener. The regular season concludes on November 1 with Decision Day, when all teams compete simultaneously. The playoffs begin the weekend of November 6-8, with semifinal matches scheduled for November 13-15 and the 2026 NWSL Championship set for November 21.
Boston Legacy FC, one of the two expansion clubs, will open its inaugural season against reigning NWSL champion NY/NJ Gotham FC on March 15 at 12:30 p.m. at Gillette Stadium, with the match televised on ABC. The club will play 30 regular-season matches with 15 home and 15 away games. Seventeen of Boston's matches, including the home opener, will be nationally televised. Boston will host Denver Summit, the other expansion club, on May 3 at 3 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
Chicago Stars FC will begin its 2026 campaign on the road against Angel City FC on March 15 before returning to its new home at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. The Stars' home opener will feature Kansas City Current on March 22 at 1 p.m. CT. Orlando Pride will open at home against Seattle Reign FC on March 15 at 4 p.m. ET at Inter&Co Stadium. Single-match tickets for Orlando start at under $18, with half-season packages available starting at $99 for eight matches.
Bay FC will host expansion club Denver Summit FC on March 14 at PayPal Park for its home opener. San Diego Wave FC will kick off its fifth season on March 14 at 5:45 p.m. PT against Houston Dash at Snapdragon Stadium. Utah Royals FC will open on the road at Kansas City Current on March 14, with the Royals hosting San Diego Wave on March 22 for their home opener.
Kansas City Current, the 2025 NWSL Shield winners, will open at home against Utah Royals on March 14 at 3 p.m. CT at CPKC Stadium. Washington Spirit will host 15 home matches at Audi Field, the most in club history. Gotham FC will begin its championship defense against Boston Legacy at Gillette Stadium on March 15 at 12:30 p.m. ET, with the home opener against North Carolina Courage on March 21 at 6:30 p.m. ET at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
The NWSL will break all matches from June 1 to June 28 during the FIFA Men's World Cup. The league will broadcast 220 matches on national platforms throughout the season as part of its four-year domestic media rights agreements with CBS Sports, ESPN, ION and Prime Video. Matches will air across multiple outlets including ABC, CBS Sports Network, ION, Prime Video, ESPN, Victory+ and NWSL+.
Single-match tickets for various clubs went on sale or will go on sale at different times in mid-January. Chicago Stars single-match tickets will go on sale January 30. Kansas City Current will offer early access to Current Club members beginning January 16 at 10 a.m. CT, with general public sales starting January 20 at 10 a.m. CT. Washington Spirit single-match tickets became available to members on January 15 at 3 p.m., with general public sales and group tickets following on January 22.