Photo credit: EM Dash-Imagn Images
The National Women’s Soccer League announced the full schedule and broadcast details for the 2026 regular season on Thursday. The longest NWSL season ever, with 30 matches, will be spread over 27 matchweeks, meaning each team will play three times during the week. The season starts on March 13 and runs through Decision Day on November 1. The NWSL Championship is scheduled for Saturday, November 21 on CBS.
In the opener on Friday, March 13, the Spirit will take on the Thorns on Amazon Prime. That will be a rematch of their semi-final last November, won by the Spirit. The following day, Boston Legacy FC will host NWSL champion Gotham in the club’s first-ever match. The Legacy opener will air live on ABC.
Denver Summit FC, the other expansion team, opens at Bay FC later on March 14. The Summit’s home opener is March 29 against the Spirit.
The Week 1 matches will be the first competitive matches between NWSL clubs after the Challenge Cup was moved to June. That match, between Gotham and Shield winners Kansas City Current, will take place on June 26 in Columbus. That will be the only NWSL match in June, as the remainder of the month is reserved for the mandatory one-week break in competition, followed by another break due to the group stage of the Men’s World Cup.
The World Cup will have other implications for the NWSL schedule. Seattle Reign FC will play their first three home games at ONE Spokane Stadium in Spokane, Washington. The Reign’s usual home stadium, Lumen Field, will “undergo preparations to host the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup,” according to a team press release. The three games in Spokane 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 games at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, NJ. The nationally televised game against the Reign will be played on July 18 at Icahn Stadium, a 5,000-seat athletics and multi-purpose facility on Randalls Island in Manhattan, New York City. Gotham’s home game against the Washington Spirit on July 15 will take place at a location to be determined.
The Legacy will split their time between two different stadiums this season, as the team’s permanent home, White Stadium, is not expected to be ready until 2027. Eight of Legacy’s home games will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and seven will be played at Centerville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
The Summit will receive visitors in three different stadiums. The vast majority of Summit’s fifteen home games are played at Centennial Stadium in Centennial, CO; However, the stadium will seat 12,000 people and house the club until 2027 won’t be ready for the start of the 2026 season. As a result, the San Diego Wave and Orlando Pride, when they come to the mile-high city on April 25 and May 16, respectively, 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 game at Centennial Stadium is scheduled for July 3 against Kansas City.
The remaining twelve teams will play all fifteen home games at one consistent location. That includes the Stars, who will play the season at Northwestern Medicine Field on the campus of Northwestern University. The team played one game there in 2025 and drew its largest crowd of the season.
The league also announced television partners for all 240 matches plus the Challenge Cup and play-offs. The league’s newest affiliate, Victory+, will debut a Week 1 doubleheader in Game 15, when the Reign visit the Pride at 4:00 PM ET and the Stars in Angel City at 7:00 PM. Victory+ will maintain a regular presence every Sunday, but will not be part of the play-offs. Neither does ION, which returns for a third season with double and triple-headers on Saturday evening. ESPN and CBS plus Prime are the league’s other broadcast partners.
Home openers:
Washington Spirit vs. Portland Thorns – March 13 – 8:00 PM ET – Audi Field – Prime Video
Boston Legacy vs. Gotham FC – March 14 – 12:30 PM ET – Gillette Stadium – ABC
Kansas City Current vs. Utah Royals – March 14 – 4:00 PM ET – CPKC Stadium – ION
Bay FC vs. Denver Summit – March 14 – 6:30 PM ET – PayPal Park – ION
North Carolina Courage vs. Racing Louisville – March 14 – 7:00 PM ET – First Horizon Stadium – NWSL+
San Diego Wave vs. Houston Dash – March 14 – 8:45 PM ET – Snapdragon Stadium – ION
Orlando Pride vs. Seattle Reign – March 15 – 4:00 PM ET – Inter&Co Stadium – Victory+
Angel City vs. Chicago Stars – March 15 – 7:00 PM ET – BMO Stadium – Victory+
Racing Louisville vs. Washington Spirit – March 20 – 8:00 PM ET – Lynn Family Stadium – Victory+
Portland Thorns vs. Seattle Reign – March 20 – 10pm ET – Providence Park – Prime Video
Houston Dash vs. Boston Legacy – March 21 – 4:00 PM ET – Shell Energy Stadium – ION
Gotham FC vs. North Carolina Courage – March 21 – 6:30 PM ET – Sports Illustrated Stadium – ION
Chicago Stars vs. Kansas City Current – March 22 – 2:30 PM ET – Northwestern Medicine Field – ESPN2
Utah Royals vs. San Diego Wave – March 22 – 7:00 PM ET – America First Field – Victory+
Seattle Reign vs. Kansas City Current – March 25 – 9:00 PM ET – ONE Spokane Stadium – NWSL+
Denver Summit vs. Washington Spirit – March 28 – 2:00 PM ET – Empower Field at Mile High – CBS
The NWSL will once again conclude the season with a decision day with all 16 teams playing on Sunday, November 1 at 5:00 PM ET. To close out the regular season, Bay FC will host San Diego Wave at PayPal Park; Gotham FC welcomes Utah Royals to Sports Illustrated Stadium; the Portland Thorns will travel to Shell Energy Stadium to play the Houston Dash; Angel City takes 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 welcome the 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.
Of the 240 regular season games, fourteen will be broadcast nationally on the major networks: three on ABC and eleven on CBS. As part of the new agreement with Victory+, 58 games will be broadcast on the free streaming platform. To complete the broadcast schedule, there are just 28 games on NWSL+, 25 on Prime Video, 25 on CBS Sports, 31 on ESPN, ESPN2 and the ESPN app, while 60 will air on ION.
Playing on national television
Boston Legacy vs. Gotham FC – March 14 – 12:30 PM ET – Gillette Stadium – ABC
Denver Summit vs. Washington Spirit – March 28 – 2:00 PM ET – Empower Field at Mile High – CBS
Portland Thorns vs. Kansas City Current – March 28 – 4pm ET – Providence Park – CBS
Kansas City Current vs. Gotham FC – April 4 – 4:00 PM ET – CPKC Stadium – CBS
Gotham FC vs Bay FC – April 25 – 1:00 PM ET – Sports Illustrated Stadium – CBS
Kansas City Current vs. Portland Thorns – May 24 – 1:00 PM ET – CPKC Stadium – CBS
Gotham FC vs. Seattle Reign – July 18 – 12:00 PM ET – Ichan Stadium – ABC
Top of Denver vs. Portland Thorns – July 18 – 2:00 PM ET – Centennial Stadium – CBS
Bay FC vs. North Carolina Courage – July 18 – 4pm ET – PayPal Park – CBS
Denver Summit vs. Gotham FC – September 6 – 12:00 PM ET – Centennial Stadium – CBS
Portland Thorns vs. Washington Spirit – September 6 – 4pm ET – Providence Park – CBS
Kansas City Current vs. Denver Summit – September 26 – 12:30 PM ET – CPKC Stadium – CBS
Gotham FC vs Angel City – October 4 – 12:00 PM ET – Sports Illustrated Stadium – ABC
Washington Spirit vs. Gotham FC – October 17 – 12:30 PM ET – Audi Field – CBS
Rivalry matches
Portland Thorns vs. Seattle Reign – March 20 – 10pm ET – Providence Park – Prime Video
Boston Legacy vs. Denver Summit – May 3 – 3:00 PM ET – Gillette Stadium – CBS Sports
Angel City FC vs San Diego Wave – May 9 – 8:45 PM ET – BMO Stadium – ION
San Diego Wave vs. Angel City FC – July 11 – 8:45 PM ET – Snapdragon Stadium – ION
Seattle Reign vs. Portland Thorns – July 12 – 4:00 PM ET – Lumen Field – ESPN
Gotham FC vs Washington Spirit – July 15 – 7:00 PM ET – TBA – NWSL+
Washington Spirit vs. Gotham FC – October 17 – 12:30 PM ET – Audi Field – CBS
Playoffs
Quarterfinal #1 – November 18 – 8:00 PM ET – Prime Video
Quarterfinal #2 – November 7 – 12:00 PM ET – CBS
Quarterfinal #3 – November 8 – 12:30 PM ET – ABC
Quarterfinal #4 – November 8 – 3:00 PM ET – ABC
Semi-Final #1 – November 14 – 12:00 PM ET – CBS
Semi-Final #2 – November 15 – 3:00 PM ET – ABC
Championship – November 21 – 8:00 PM ET – CBS
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