National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)

The National Women's Soccer League is contested by 16 clubs from across the United States in the 2026 season, with no Canadian clubs. The competition runs from March to October as a regular season, followed by an end-of-season playoff competition called the NWSL Championship Playoffs. The league awards two trophies — the NWSL Shield for the club with the best regular-season record, and the NWSL Championship for the winner of the playoff final. The two trophies recognise different achievements, similar to the MLS model on the men's side.

The competition was founded in November 2012 and first contested in 2013. It replaced the older Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, which had folded after the 2011 season — itself a successor to the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA, 2001-03). The NWSL is the third major US women's professional soccer league but the first to achieve sustained financial stability. The competition is run by the league office and is governed by a collective bargaining agreement with the NWSL Players Association. It operates within the US professional soccer system, and its clubs can qualify for Concacaf club competition.

The 2026 regular season is a 30-match schedule for each club across the 16-team competition, with 15 home matches and 15 away matches. Three points are awarded for a win and one for a draw. The club finishing top of the regular-season standings is awarded the NWSL Shield, an annual trophy first introduced in 2013. The Shield recognises consistency across the league season, while the NWSL Championship is decided later through the playoffs.

The regular season runs across the American spring, summer, and early autumn, with matches typically played on weekends. The single-table format means there are no conferences within the NWSL — all 16 clubs compete in one table. The schedule is built around international windows, with league breaks or reduced schedules used when major national-team commitments require players to leave their clubs. The league's prize money, salaries, and player protections have grown significantly across the modern era, especially under its collective bargaining agreements.

The top eight clubs from the regular-season standings qualify for the NWSL Championship Playoffs. The first round is the quarter-finals, with single-match knockout ties played at the higher-seeded club's home ground. The semi-finals are also single-match knockout ties. The NWSL Championship final is a single match, usually played at a predetermined venue announced in advance. The 2025 NWSL Championship was held at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, where Gotham FC beat Washington Spirit 1-0.

The NWSL Championship winner is the recognised league champion — the more high-profile of the two NWSL trophies. The two trophies can be won by different clubs across the same season, as has frequently happened. North Carolina Courage completed the Shield-and-Championship double in both 2018 and 2019, while Orlando Pride completed the third such double in NWSL history in 2024. The Championship's neutral-venue final follows the wider North American sports playoff model.

The Concacaf W Champions Cup is the top continental club competition for women's football in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. It was launched in 2024 as a counterpart to the men's Concacaf Champions Cup. NWSL places are allocated through qualification criteria approved for each edition, so the exact route can vary rather than being a fixed rule attached permanently to the Shield winner, Championship winner, and Championship runner-up.

The NWSL also runs the NWSL Challenge Cup, a preseason super cup contested by the previous season's NWSL Champion and Shield winner. The Challenge Cup was originally conceived during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to replace the cancelled regular season, with all NWSL clubs competing for the trophy. From 2024 onwards, the Challenge Cup became a preseason match between the two title-holders, or a Championship rematch if the same club won both the Shield and Championship. The competition is held in February or March, immediately before the start of the regular season.

American women's soccer's professional history began with the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), launched in 2001 after the United States' 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup win. WUSA folded after three seasons in 2003 due to financial difficulties. Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) launched in 2009 with seven clubs but also folded after three seasons. The NWSL was launched in 2012 with a different financial structure, including direct funding support from the US Soccer Federation, the Canadian Soccer Federation, and the Mexican Football Federation for player salaries.

The league has grown significantly across the modern era. The early NWSL operated with eight or nine clubs across multiple seasons before expanding to 16 clubs for the 2026 season, when Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC joined the league. The competition has produced significant USA national team players and has been a major driver of the wider development of women's soccer in the United States. The 2026 NWSL season is the 14th edition of the league, with expansion to 18 clubs planned for 2028 and continued growth in attendance, media rights, and commercial profile.