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San Diego Wave FC vs. Washington Spirit - Game Highlights (1:59)
Watch the Game Highlights from San Diego Wave FC vs. Washington Spirit, 06/23/2025 (1:59)
Jeff KassoufJul 2, 2025, 02:08 PM ET
- Jeff Kassouf covers women's shot for ESPN, focusing connected the USWNT and NWSL. In 2009, helium founded The Equalizer, a women's shot quality outlet, and helium antecedently won a Sports Emmy astatine NBC Sports and Olympics.
The NWSL announced connected Wednesday that it volition not play games adjacent June for the commencement of the 2026 men's World Cup, which volition beryllium predominantly played successful the United States.
"With 7 of the league's 16 markets hosting World Cup programming, the NWSL is proactively adjusting its scheduling model to accommodate expected stadium demands," the league said successful a statement.
"The league remains focused connected preserving competitory integrity and delivering a palmy play portion continuing to research innovative scheduling and operational solutions to navigate the unsocial challenges of this landmark planetary event."
NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman previously told ESPN that the league would not unopen down for the full men's World Cup.
There are 3 weeks of imaginable overlap successful July betwixt the NWSL docket and the men's World Cup.
"Part of the situation we person is to fig retired the literal logistics of however we tally our concern with the backdrop of the men's World Cup successful truthful galore of our markets, and that's the process we are going done close now," Berman told ESPN successful April.
The United States volition besides service arsenic the superior big of the 2031 women's World Cup.
Historically, the NWSL has played during women's World Cups contempt galore teams missing players owed to planetary duty, but that inclination is changing.
The NWSL took a month-long interruption for past year's Olympics and five-week interruption this summertime to coincide with respective continental competitions.
The NWSL volition footwear disconnected the adjacent year's slate of contention connected Feb. 20, 2026, with the Challenge Cup, a gathering betwixt the NWSL Shield victor and the NWSL Championship.
It volition people the NWSL's earliest motorboat successful a calendar twelvemonth and its archetypal competitory lucifer successful February since the league began playing successful 2013.
The regular play volition statesman connected March 13, 2026.
The league volition grow to 16 teams with the summation of enlargement teams successful Boston and Denver.
Each squad volition play a balanced 30-match schedule. Next year's NWSL Championship volition beryllium played connected Nov. 21, 2026.
That crippled volition beryllium played conscionable 3 days earlier the commencement of a FIFA planetary window, which volition see a single-elimination Concacaf W Championship tourney that doubles arsenic 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympic qualifying.
Four Concacaf teams volition suffice straight for the 2027 World Cup astatine that tournament.
The bulk of the U.S. women's nationalist squad roster plays successful the NWSL. Los Angeles is hosting the 2028 Olympics, meaning the U.S. automatically qualifies for the Games arsenic host.
