Image C/O NWSL Media Chicago, IL - The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has announced on the heels of their successfully run Challenge Cup Tournament this summer to put together a pod-play system for an 18 match season. The season which will run September 5th through October 17th, will be televised by CBS which saw 653,000 viewers for the Challenge Cup Final. There will be a Game of the Week on CBS each Saturday in September along with three games on CBS Sports Network on Saturdays in October. CBS All Access, which was the home base for a majority of the Challenge Cup games will have four matches in September. CBS All Access recently obtained US broadcast rights for the UEFA Women’s Champions League and is currently showing the remainder of this years tournament which features some marquee NWSL players who were loaned out to European sides until the 2021 season will begin.
“Building on the success of this summer’s Challenge Cup, I am so excited to smartly and safely take this next step on the NWSL’s journey,” said NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird. “The women of the NWSL want to compete and we’ve certainly heard from our fans all over the world looking for more action this year. I’d like to thank the NWSL Player’s Association for their constant collaboration, as well as CBS for continuing to invest in our league’s growth and this unprecedented opportunity to showcase the NWSL to a world-wide audience, week-in, week-out.”
“The 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup on CBS All Access and CBS was successful this summer, driving record numbers for the League across all platforms. We are thrilled to be able to build on that momentum with the return of the NWSL in September,” said Dan Weinberg, EVP, Programming, CBS Sports. “We will once again capitalize on CBS’ multi-platform assets for this outstanding property with games on CBS Sports Network and CBS All Access, as well as four Saturday afternoon games on CBS, creating even more exposure for the League. Together, with our great partners at the NWSL, we look forward to another memorable run of women’s soccer this fall.”
The seven week season will feature three-team pods in which each team will play one another inside their pod to minimize league travel. Full format and schedules will be released within the next week.
The three teams in each regional pod will each play four games. Those pods are:
West OL Reign Portland Thorns FC Utah Royals FC
Northeast Chicago Red Stars Sky Blue FC Washington Spirit
South North Carolina Courage Orlando Pride Houston Dash