NWSL

The National Women’s Soccer League is the top-flight professional league for women in the United States. It was founded on November 21, 2012, and is the successor to Women’s Professional Soccer (2007-2012), which was a successor to Women’s United Soccer Association (2001-2003) — the world’s first women’s soccer league in which players were paid as professionals.

The NWSL kicked off with its 2013 season featuring eight teams, four of which were former participants in the WPS (Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, Sky Blue, Western New York Flash). The league saw FC Kansas City and Boston Breakers fold and introduced three expansion teams – Houston (2014), Orlando (2016), and Salt Lake City (2018) – across seven years. In 2020, Utah Royals FC (Salt Lake City) sold its ownership and relocated to Kansas City following a controversy involving owner Dell Loy Hansen. Moreover, Louisville was introduced as the fourth expansion team in 2021. The NWSL's 10th year anniversary celebrated the introduction of two more expansion teams - Angel City FC (2022) and Sacramento (2022).

The NWSL typically runs from March to October and runs alongside the NWSL Challenge Cup, the USA’s annual women’s league cup competition. The league follows a round-robin format, with each club facing every other team twice during the regular season, once at home and once away. The team with the most points at the end of the regular season is awarded the regular-season title, the NWSL Shield.

The NWSL’s top performers during the regular season move on to the playoffs to determine the winner of the NWSL Championship. The number of playoff spots has increased over the years. Prior to 2021, only four clubs could qualify for the playoffs. In 2021, this figure increased to six and will likely increase again as the league continues to grow. The playoff teams face off in a single-elimination tournament until there is one side left.

From 2013 to 2016, most National Women's Soccer League games were accessible via YouTube and individual team websites. In 2013, the NWSL signed an agreement with Fox Sports 2 to televise six regular-season games, the semifinals, and championship games. In 2014, they partnered with ESPN to televise nine games but returned to Fox Sports for 2015 and 2016, with FS1 televising a handful of games while Fox Sports GO live-streamed select fixtures. In 2017, they secured a three-year deal with A&E Networks, with Lifetime broadcasting 22 regular-season matches and three post-season ties.

A&E Networks ended its broadcasting agreement in 2019, giving the league more control over media and sponsorship agreements. CBS Sports and Twitch became partners in 2020 — however, Twitch’s deal ended in 2022. This agreement secured thrilling action on CBS and CBS Sports Network for fans in the USA. Thanks to this three-year deal, Paramount+ acquired live streaming rights for most of the games, with select fixtures, including the NWSL Challenge Cup Final, NWSL Playoffs, and the NWSL Championship, aired live on CBS and streamed simultaneously on Paramount+.