2026 National Women's Soccer League season
| Season | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 13 – November 1 (regular season) November 6 – November 21 (playoffs) |
← 2025 2027 →
All statistics correct as of November 27, 2025. | |
The 2026 season will be the 14th season for the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2009–2011) and the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003), it will be the 20th overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States.
The league will have 16 teams, with 2 expansion teams Boston Legacy and Denver Summit joining the 14 teams that contested the 2024 NWSL season. All teams will play 30 regular-season matches.[1]
The defending NWSL champion is Gotham FC, and the defending NWSL Shield winner is Kansas City Current.
Teams, stadiums, and personnel
Expansion teams
Boston Legacy and Denver Summit will play their inaugural season.
Stadiums and locations
| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Angel City | BMO Stadium | 22,000 |
| Bay FC | PayPal Park | 18,000 |
| Boston Legacy | Gillette Stadium[2] | 20,000[a] |
| Chicago Stars | Martin Stadium[3] | 12,023 |
| Denver Summit | Unnamed stadium in Centennial, Colorado[4] | 12,000 |
| Gotham FC | Sports Illustrated Stadium | 25,000 |
| Houston Dash | Shell Energy Stadium | 22,039 |
| Kansas City Current | CPKC Stadium | 11,500 |
| North Carolina Courage | First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park | 10,000 |
| Orlando Pride | Inter&Co Stadium | 25,500 |
| Portland Thorns | Providence Park | 25,218 |
| Racing Louisville | Lynn Family Stadium | 11,700[b] |
| San Diego Wave | Snapdragon Stadium | 35,000 |
| Seattle Reign | Lumen Field | 10,000[c] |
| Utah Royals | America First Field | 20,213 |
| Washington Spirit | Audi Field | 20,000 |
- ^ Stadium configuration for soccer seats 20,000 but can expand to full capacity of 64,628.
- ^ Seated capacity; full capacity with standing room is 15,304.[5]
- ^ Lumen Field has a capacity of 68,740; standard configuration for Reign games seats 10,000 but can expand based on demand for individual games.[6]
Personnel and sponsorship
Note: All teams use Nike as their kit manufacturer as part of a league-wide sponsorship agreement renewed in November 2021.[7]
Coaching changes
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Legacy | Preseason | Filipa Patão | June 25, 2025 | [9] | |||
| Denver Summit | Nick Cushing | August 6, 2025 | [10] | ||||
| Bay FC | Albertin Montoya | Resigned | September 8, 2025 | Emma Coates | December 4, 2025 | [11][12] | |
| Kansas City Current | Vlatko Andonovski | Promoted to global sporting director | November 14, 2025 | [13] | |||
| Chicago Stars | Anders Jacobson (interim) | End of interim period | November 23, 2025 | Martin Sjögren | August 13, 2025 | [14] | |
| North Carolina Courage | Nathan Thackeray (interim) | End of interim period | November 23, 2025 | ||||
| Portland Thorns | Rob Gale | Fired | November 25, 2025 | Sarah Lowdon (interim) | November 25, 2025 | [15] |
Regular season
Standings
Tiebreakers
The initial determining factor for a team's position in the standings is most points earned, with three points earned for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. If two or more teams tie in total points total when determining rank, playoff qualification, and seeding, the NWSL uses the following tiebreaker criteria, going down the list until all teams are ranked.[16]
- Greater goal difference across the entire regular season (against all teams, not just tied teams).
- Most total wins across the entire regular season (against all teams, not just tied teams).
- Most goals scored across the entire regular season (against all teams, not just tied teams).
- Head-to-head results (total points) between the tied teams.
- Head-to-head most goals scored between the tied teams.
- Fewest disciplinary points accumulated across the entire regular season (against all teams, not just tied teams).
- Coin flip (if two teams are tied) or drawing of lots (if three or more teams are tied).
Format
Results
Attendance
Average home attendances
Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.
Highest attendances
Statistical leaders
Playoffs
Challenge Cup
Individual awards
- As of November 20, 2025
References
- ^ "NWSL Announces 2026 Schedule Footprint | News | NWSLsoccer.com". NWSL. July 2, 2025.
- ^ "NWSL expansion teams to debut in NFL stadiums". ESPN.com. November 3, 2025.
- ^ "In a Transformational Move, Chicago Stars FC Name Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium the Club's Home for the 2026 National Women's Soccer League Season | Chicago Stars FC". September 3, 2025.
- ^ "NWSL: Denver details plans for temporary stadium". ESPN.com. March 27, 2025.
- ^ Gardner, Hayes (October 14, 2021). "'A world-class city': Next month's NWSL Championship game moves to Louisville". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ Evans, Jayda (December 15, 2021). "OL Reign to play 2022 home games in Seattle at Lumen Field". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
- ^ Carp, Sam (November 22, 2021). "NWSL's Nike extension is league's 'most substantial' sponsorship deal to date". SportsPro. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ "Boston Legacy Football Club Announces Inaugural Front-of-Kit Partnership with Iconic Retailer TJ Maxx". Boston Legacy FC.
- ^ "Boston Legacy FC Names Filipa Patão as First Head Coach". Boston Legacy FC.
- ^ "Denver Summit FC Name Nick Cushing Head Coach". Denver Summit FC. August 6, 2025.
- ^ "Bay FC Announces Sporting Organization Changes as Club Enters Next Phase". September 8, 2025.
- ^ "Bay FC Signs Emma Coates to Lead Club into New Era, Welcomes Gemma Davies as Assistant Coach". December 4, 2025.
- ^ "Kansas City Current Announces Vlatko Andonovski as Sporting Director, Ryan Dell as General Manager - Kansas City Current".
- ^ "Chicago Stars FC Name Martin Sjögren as New Head Coach | Chicago Stars FC". August 13, 2025.
- ^ "Portland Thorns Announce Departure of Head Coach Rob Gale - Portland Thorns". www.thorns.com.
- ^ "2023 Competition Rules & Regulations" (PDF). National Women's Soccer League. Retrieved April 17, 2023.