👀 We Have an NWSL Schedule

This may be the earliest the National Women’s Soccer League has released a schedule (I think today’s release is a few days earlier than last year’s schedule release). People may think it’s baby steps, but at least they’re going in the right direction, yeah?

So, What Does 2024 Look Like?

Most of the regular season games will be played on weekends (Friday/Saturday/Sunday), with a handful of games played on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Every team will have 13 home and 13 away matches totaling 26 regular season games.

With the schedule weighted toward weekend games instead of the chaotic weekend | midweek | weekend tilt that plagued many clubs, players will have an opportunity to rest and recover between games. It will be interesting to see if/how this affects injuries (fingers crossed that we see fewer of them this season!).

Here a Stream, There a Stream, Everywhere a Stream Stream

This also marks the start of a wide-ranging, four-year domestic television rights agreement that will have league games airing on:

• CBS Sports (including Paramount+)

• ESPN (including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes - According to the league, all NWSL matches on ESPN platforms and on ABC will stream live on ESPN+ in English and Spanish)

• Prime Video (Friday night matches)

• Scripps Sports (ION - includes Saturday night double-headers)

Matches that aren’t airing on any of these networks will be shown on the new (free) NWSL+ streaming platform.

The Challenge Cup Gets a Revamp. Again.

Instead of having a tournament that creeps into the regular season (whether by design or by accident), the 2024 Challenge Cup will be a one-game match between NY/NJ Gotham FC and San Diego Wave at Red Bull Arena on Friday, March 15. This pits the reigning NWSL champions against the NWSL Shield winners in the kickoff to the 2024 season.

Regular season games begin the following day in Kansas City, with the Current hosting the Portland Thorns at their brand-new CPKC Stadium.

North Carolina’s 2024 Docket

The North Carolina Courage will be playing one of those Wednesday night matches on the road in Orlando. The remainder of their 2024 regular season games will be played on weekends, beginning Saturday, March 16, when they host the Houston Dash. They’ll close out the regular season at home on Saturday, November 2, when the Washington Spirit visits Cary.

The two expansion teams, Utah Royals and Bay FC, will visit WakeMed Soccer Park on May 17 and September 13, respectively.