NWSL Reveals Important 2025 Schedule Dates

The National Women’s Soccer League 2025 season will begin March 7 with the Challenge Cup in Orlando, Florida, and feature 190 matches and revised summer competition format before an eight-team playoffs in the fall.

The Challenge Cup at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando features a rematch of the 2024 NWSL Championship between the Orlando Pride and the Washington Spirit. The Cup features a meeting between the previous campaign’s winner of the NWSL Shield and the reigning NWSL Champion; Orlando won both of those titles last season, including the title game against Washington.

The 26-match regular season schedule kicks off March 14 and will be played over 25 weeks, finishing November 2. The scheduling process for the 2025 campaign is underway. The full league schedule and accompanying broadcast details will be released at a later date.

The schedule will be been formatted to avoid staging NWSL matches during FIFA windows to allow the league’s top players to compete for both club and country. The league will pause play for a CBA-mandated break from June 23–29 and during July while the UEFA Women’s Euros and Copa America Femenina are staged. During this break from the regular season, NWSL clubs will have flexibility to compete in matches against other professional women’s teams including international opponents.

The opening round of the 2025 NWSL Playoffs will take place November 7–9 before the semifinals on November 14–16. The league will conclude its 2025 campaign with the 2025 NWSL Championship on November 22.

More than 120 matches will be distributed across various platforms, including Friday night matches on Prime Video, Saturday night doubleheaders on ION and a package of regular season matches on CBS Television Network and streaming live on Paramount Plus. ESPN will air a package of matches across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. The 2025 NWSL Championship will air in primetime on CBS for the fourth consecutive year.