Overview
The top women's league in the United States — fourteen clubs, a 26-game season, and a knockout playoff for the NWSL Championship.
The National Women's Soccer League is the top professional women's soccer competition in the United States and the longest-surviving women's league the country has had. Fourteen clubs play a 26-game season from March to November, with eight reaching a single-elimination playoff.
Expansion has been rapid and expensive — Bay FC and Utah Royals joined in 2024, Boston Legacy and Denver are due in 2026 — and expansion fees have risen from a few million dollars to well over a hundred million. The league has no promotion or relegation and operates a salary cap with allocation money.
2026 Standings
Regular season, single table. Table order as published in the feed (points, then the competition's tiebreakers). 16 teams. Captured 6 October 2026 from the ESPN public standings feed.
| # | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gotham FC | 27 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 35 | 21 | +14 | 55 |
| 2 | San Diego Wave FC | 27 | 16 | 3 | 8 | 40 | 28 | +12 | 51 |
| 3 | Washington Spirit | 27 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 49 |
| 4 | Utah Royals | 27 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 44 | 35 | +9 | 46 |
| 5 | Kansas City Current | 27 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 48 | 38 | +10 | 44 |
| 6 | Angel City FC | 27 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 45 | 29 | +16 | 43 |
| 7 | Portland Thorns FC | 27 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 45 | 39 | +6 | 43 |
| 8 | North Carolina Courage | 27 | 13 | 3 | 11 | 50 | 39 | +11 | 42 |
| 9 | Seattle Reign FC | 27 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 33 | 32 | +1 | 40 |
| 10 | Denver Summit FC | 27 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 45 | 37 | +8 | 38 |
| 11 | Orlando Pride | 27 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 36 | 43 | -7 | 33 |
| 12 | Houston Dash | 27 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 34 | 39 | -5 | 30 |
| 13 | Boston Legacy FC | 27 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 36 | 46 | -10 | 29 |
| 14 | Bay FC | 27 | 7 | 5 | 15 | 28 | 42 | -14 | 26 |
| 15 | Racing Louisville FC | 27 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 36 | 52 | -16 | 24 |
| 16 | Chicago Stars FC | 27 | 5 | 2 | 20 | 15 | 63 | -48 | 17 |
Season Format
Recent Champions
Most recent first. Seasons still in progress are marked.
History
Two earlier attempts at a women's professional league in the United States — WUSA from 2001 and WPS from 2009 — each folded after three seasons. The NWSL launched in 2013 with federation support that paid the salaries of allocated national-team players, an arrangement that gave it the stability its predecessors lacked.
In 2021 players came forward with accounts of abuse and coercion by coaches across multiple clubs. The Yates report of 2022 found systemic failures, several coaches were banned for life and owners were forced out; the players' union negotiated the league's first collective bargaining agreement the same year.
The league has grown quickly since: a media deal worth around $240 million over four years began in 2024, attendances have roughly tripled from pre-2020 levels, and the salary floor and cap have risen sharply.
Governance
The league is governed by its club owners under Commissioner Jessica Berman, in post since 2022, and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation. Players are represented by the NWSL Players Association.