NEW YORK (January 6, 2025) - The National Women’s Soccer League today announced the competition framework for the 2025 season, featuring a 190-match schedule, inclusive of an eight-team playoff, and a revised competition format for the summer window. Additionally, the league has announced the competition calendar and other updates for the 2025 season.
Per CBA rules clubs may hold preseason camps beginning as early as January 15 but no later than February 5 prior to the start of league competition.
The 2025 campaign begins Friday, March 7, with the 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida on Prime Video. Reformatted in 2024 as a single-match competition to open each season, the NWSL Challenge Cup features a meeting between the previous campaign’s winner of the NWSL Shield and the reigning NWSL Champion.
Due to the Orlando Pride claiming both the regular season and playoff titles in 2024, the 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup will serve as a rematch of the 2024 NWSL Championship, presented by Google Pixel, between the Pride and the Washington Spirit.
Orlando Pride Season Ticket Members will receive tickets to the 2025 Challenge Cup as a benefit of being a Season Ticket Member. Information on Challenge Cup tickets will be sent to Season Ticket Members later in January from their Member Experience Specialist. More information on becoming a 2025 Orlando Pride Season Ticket Member can be found here.
Information regarding general public on sale will be available at a later date.
The regular season kicks off on Friday, March 14. Comprised of a balanced 26-match schedule, the campaign will be played over 25 weeks and has 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 the month of July while confederation competitions (UEFA Women’s EURO, Copa America Femenina, etc.) 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, ensuring continued competition for all NWSL players. More details will be released by each NWSL club at a later date.
The regular season concludes the weekend of October 31-November 2.
The opening round of the 2025 NWSL Playoffs, presented by Google Pixel 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, presented by Google Pixel, on November 22.
The scheduling process for the 2025 campaign is underway. The full league schedule and accompanying broadcast details will be released at a later date.
In the second year of the league’s landmark, four-year domestic media rights agreements, more than 120 matches will be distributed across the following partner platforms:
- The NWSL will begin each regular season weekend with Friday night matches on Prime Video.
- Each Saturday night that follows will include a double-header on Scripps’-owned ION network, available over-the-air in 123 million homes.
- A package of regular season matches will air on the CBS Television Network and stream live on Paramount+, with additional matches airing across CBS Sports Network, Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network.
- ESPN will air a package of matches across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes (Spanish). All NWSL matches on ESPN platforms and on ABC will stream live on ESPN+ in English and Spanish. The package also includes English, Spanish and Portuguese-language rights in Latin America.
The remaining regular season matches will be available on NWSL+, the league’s domestic direct-to-consumer streaming platform.
ESPN/ABC will air two quarterfinal matches, while CBS/Paramount+ and Prime Video will each distribute one of the remaining two quarterfinal contests. The semifinals will air across CBS/Paramount+ and ESPN/ABC, with each partner carrying one contest.
The 2025 NWSL Championship, presented by Google Pixel, will air in primetime on the CBS Television Network and stream on Paramount+ for the fourth consecutive year.
The NWSL is in ongoing negotiations with distributors outside of the U.S. regarding international packages for the 2025 season. More details will be available ahead of the start of the season.
In addition to the schedule footprint, the league has released the 2025 competition calendar which is available here.
Key highlights of the competition calendar include:
- Per the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the NWSL Players Association, the waiver wire has been eliminated. All player contracts are now guaranteed.
- Beginning January 15, trade windows will be eliminated. Trades may occur at any time prior to roster freeze. All trades involving players require consent.
- Preseason camps may begin no earlier than Wednesday, January 15 and no later than Wednesday, February 5.
- The primary transfer window opens on Tuesday, January 28 and closes Monday, March 24.
- The 2026 Free Agency period begins on Tuesday, July 1.
- The secondary transfer window opens on Tuesday, July 1 and closes Monday, August 25.
- Roster freeze is Thursday, October 9.
