Photo Credit: EM Dash-Imagn Images
The National Women’s Soccer League announced full scheduling and broadcast details for the 2026 regular season on Thursday. The longest NWSL season ever at 30 matches will be contested across 27 match weeks, meaning each team will play three times midweek. The season kicks off March 13 and runs through Decision Day on Nov. 1. The NWSL Championship is slated for Saturday, Nov. 21 on CBS.
The Friday, March 13 opener pits the Spirit against the Thorns on Amazon Prime. That will be a rematch of their semifinal last November, won by the Spirit. The next day, expansion side Boston Legacy FC will host NWSL Champion Gotham in the club’s first ever match. The Legacy opener will be broadcast live on ABC.
Denver Summit FC, the other expansion team, opens later on March 14 away to Bay FC. The Summit home opener is March 29 against the Spirit.
The Week 1 matches will be the first competitive ones between NWSL clubs after the Challenge Cup was moved to June. That match, between Gotham and Shield winners Kansas City Current, is set for June 26 in Columbus. That will be the only NWSL match in June, as the rest of the month is earmarked for the league’s mandatory, one-week break, followed by another break to accommodate the group stage of the Men’s World Cup.
The World Cup will have other affects on the NWSL schedule. Seattle Reign FC will play their first three home matches at ONE Spokane Stadium in Spokane, Washington. The Reign’s usual home stadium, Lumen Field, will be “undergoing preparations to host the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup,” per a press release from the team. The three Spokane matches are scheduled very close together, with Kansas City visiting on March 25, Louisville on March 28, and Denver on April 4. Lumen Field will host its first game on April 26 when the Utah Royals come to town.
Gotham FC will host all but two of its games at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, NJ. Its nationally-televised matchup against the Reign will be played at Icahn Stadium, a 5,000-seat track and field and multipurpose facility located on Randalls Island in Manhattan, New York City, on July 18. Gotham’s home match against the Washington Spirit on July 15 will be hosted at a to-be-determined site.
The Legacy will split their time between two different stadiums this season as the team’s permanent home, White Stadium, isn’t expected to be ready until 2027. Eight of the Legacy’s home games will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., and seven will be played at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
The Summit will host visitors at three different stadiums. The vast majority of the Summit’s 15 total home games will be played at Centennial Stadium in Centennial, CO; however, the stadium set to seat 12,000 people and host the club through 2027 will not be ready for the start of the 2026 season. As a result, when the San Diego Wave and Orlando Pride come to the mile-high city on April 25 and May 16, respectively, they will be hosted at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO. Additionally, the team’s opener against the Spirit will be played at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. The first match at Centennial Stadium is scheduled for July 3 against Kansas City.
The other 12 teams will play all 15 home games at one consistent venue. That includes the Stars, who will play the season at Northwestern Medicine Field on the campus of Northwestern University. The team played one match there in 2025 and drew its largest crowd of the season.
The league also announced television partners for all of 240 matches plus the Challenge Cup and playoffs. The league’s newest partner, Victory+, will debut with a Week 1 doubleheader on Match 15, when the Reign will visit the Pride at 4 pm ET and the Stars at Angel City at 7pm. Victory+ will maintain a steady presence every Sunday besides one but will not be part of the playoffs. Neither will ION, which returns for a third season airing Saturday night double and triple-headers. ESPN and CBS plus Prime are the league’s other broadcast partners.
Home openers:
Washington Spirit v. Portland Thorns – March 13 – 8 pm ET – Audi Field – Prime VideoBoston Legacy v. Gotham FC – March 14 – 12:30 pm ET – Gillette Stadium – ABCKansas City Current v. Utah Royals – March 14 – 4 pm ET – CPKC Stadium – IONBay FC v. Denver Summit – March 14 – 6:30 pm ET – PayPal Park – IONNorth Carolina Courage v. Racing Louisville – March 14 – 7 pm ET – First Horizon Stadium – NWSL+San Diego Wave v. Houston Dash – March 14 – 8:45 pm ET – Snapdragon Stadium – IONOrlando Pride v. Seattle Reign – March 15 – 4 pm ET – Inter&Co Stadium – Victory+Angel City v. Chicago Stars – March 15 – 7 pm ET – BMO Stadium – Victory+Racing Louisville v. Washington Spirit – March 20 – 8 pm ET – Lynn Family Stadium – Victory+Portland Thorns v. Seattle Reign – March 20 – 10 pm ET – Providence Park – Prime VideoHouston Dash v. Boston Legacy – March 21 – 4 pm ET – Shell Energy Stadium – IONGotham FC v. North Carolina Courage – March 21 – 6:30 pm ET – Sports Illustrated Stadium – IONChicago Stars v. Kansas City Current – March 22 – 2:30 pm ET – Northwestern Medicine Field – ESPN2Utah Royals v. San Diego Wave – March 22 – 7 pm ET – America First Field – Victory+Seattle Reign v. Kansas City Current – March 25 – 9 pm ET – ONE Spokane Stadium – NWSL+Denver Summit v. Washington Spirit – March 28 – 2 pm ET – Empower Field at Mile High – CBS
The NWSL will once again end the season with a Decision Day featuring all 16 teams playing at 5 pm ET on Sunday, Nov. 1. To end the regular season, Bay FC will host San Diego Wave at PayPal Park; Gotham FC will welcome Utah Royals at Sports Illustrated Stadium; the Portland Thorns will travel to Shell Energy Stadium to play the Houston Dash; Angel City will take on Boston Legacy at BMO Stadium; Racing Louisville will host Kansas City Current at Lynn Family Stadium; the North Carolina Courage and First Horizon Stadium will welcome Denver Summit; Orlando Pride will travel to Lumen Field to face the Seattle Reign, and the Washington Spirit will host the Chicago Stars at Audi Field. All Decision Day games will be broadcast on ESPN platforms.
Out of 240 regular-season games, 14 will be nationally broadcast on the biggest networks — three on ABC and 11 on CBS. As part of the new agreement with Victory+, 58 games will be broadcast on the free streaming platform. To round out the broadcast schedule, just 28 games will be on NWSL+, 25 on Prime Video, 25 on CBS Sports, 31 across ESPN, ESPN2 and the ESPN App, while 60 are broadcast on ION.
Nationally-televised games
Boston Legacy v. Gotham FC – March 14 – 12:30 pm ET – Gillette Stadium – ABCDenver Summit v. Washington Spirit – March 28 – 2 pm ET – Empower Field at Mile High – CBSPortland Thorns v. Kansas City Current – March 28 – 4 pm ET – Providence Park – CBSKansas City Current v. Gotham FC – April 4 – 4 pm ET – CPKC Stadium – CBSGotham FC v. Bay FC – April 25 – 1 pm ET – Sports Illustrated Stadium – CBSKansas City Current v. Portland Thorns – May 24 – 1 pm ET – CPKC Stadium – CBSGotham FC v. Seattle Reign – July 18 – 12 pm ET – Ichan Stadium – ABCDenver Summit v. Portland Thorns – July 18 – 2 pm ET – Centennial Stadium – CBSBay FC v. North Carolina Courage – July 18 – 4 pm ET – PayPal Park – CBSDenver Summit v. Gotham FC – Sep. 6 – 12 pm ET – Centennial Stadium – CBSPortland Thorns v. Washington Spirit – Sep. 6 – 4 pm ET – Providence Park – CBSKansas City Current v. Denver Summit – Sep. 26 – 12:30 pm ET – CPKC Stadium – CBSGotham FC v. Angel City – Oct. 4 – 12 pm ET – Sports Illustrated Stadium – ABCWashington Spirit v. Gotham FC – Oct. 17 – 12:30 pm ET – Audi Field – CBS
Rivalry matches
Portland Thorns v. Seattle Reign – March 20 – 10 pm ET – Providence Park – Prime VideoBoston Legacy v. Denver Summit – May 3 – 3pm ET – Gillette Stadium – CBS SportsAngel City FC v. San Diego Wave – May 9 – 8:45 pm ET – BMO Stadium – IONSan Diego Wave v. Angel City FC – July 11 – 8:45 pm ET – Snapdragon Stadium – IONSeattle Reign v. Portland Thorns – July 12 – 4 pm ET – Lumen Field – ESPNGotham FC v. Washington Spirit – July 15 – 7 pm ET – TBD – NWSL+Washington Spirit v. Gotham FC – Oct. 17 – 12:30 pm ET – Audi Field – CBS
Playoffs
Quarterfinal #1 – Nov. 6 – 8 pm ET – Prime VideoQuarterfinal #2 – Nov. 7 – 12 pm ET – CBSQuarterfinal #3 – Nov. 8 – 12:30 pm ET – ABCQuarterfinal #4 – Nov. 8 – 3 pm ET – ABCSemifinal #1 – Nov. 14 – 12 pm ET – CBSSemifinal #2 – Nov. 15 – 3 pm ET – ABCChampionship – Nov. 21 – 8 pm ET – CBS
