Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women’s soccer league in the United States. The remaining games were initially streamed in the United States exclusively by go90, and through the NWSL website internationally. Lifetime also streamed the game of the week in the United States via its website, and internationally in the NWSL website and iOS app. The company also formed a joint venture with the league known as NWSL Media to oversee the league’s marketing and broadcast rights, and Lifetime became a league-wide kit sponsor for all players. Division II women’s league, but a separate organization has applied for Division II sanctioning for WPSL PRO, set to launch in 2026. If sanctioned, the as-of-yet unnamed second division intends to launch in 2026 with reserve sides of eight current NWSL teams-Bay FC, Kansas City Current, North Carolina Courage, NJ/NY Gotham FC, Orlando Pride, Racing Louisville FC, Seattle Reign FC, and the Washington Spirit. This was a non-issue for Utah Royals FC, which won no trophies before folding and having its player-related assets transferred to the franchise now known as the Kansas City Current. All 14 current NWSL sides, plus the two 2026 expansion teams, are expected to field reserve sides in the new second division within that league’s first four years, and teams without NWSL affiliations will also be welcome at some point.
The 2023 NWSL Shield winners San Diego Wave FC defeated the NWSL Champion’s NJ/NY Gotham FC to win the 2024 Challenge Cup, the first under the current format. This marked the first time that the NWSL had a weekly broadcast window throughout the entire season. CBS Sports did not renew its rights beyond 2023 during its exclusive negotiating window. CBS Sports will air at least 10 regular season matches, one quarter-final, one semi-final, and the championship. On February 20, 2019, the NWSL announced that A&E Networks had pulled out of its broadcasting agreement with the league one season early. You can enjoy some mouth-watering red prawn ravioli or contemporary sushi while gazing out at the world like a king. The NWSL stated that matches would stream internationally on its website as part of an agreement with Endeavor Streaming, while also reaching agreements with TSN (Canada), DAZN (Brazil, Japan, UK, and 12 European territories), and Tigo (Central America).
On June 6, 2023, Tigo also added free Spanish-language streams of two regular-season NWSL matches per week, the NWSL Challenge Cup playoffs, and NWSL playoffs in the United States and Canada. Go90 shut down in July 2018; the remaining games not aired on television were moved back to the NWSL website for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs. In 2024, the Challenge Cup became a single-game super cup contested by the previous season’s NWSL Shield holder and NWSL Champion. The Portland Thorns earned 12 points, the maximum possible, and won the Fall Series and the associated trophy, the Community Shield (named Verizon Community Shield for sponsorship reasons). Despite the heavy defeat, Balotelli was named as part of the Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament due to his performances. This defeat, as well as 0-1 home loss in a Bundesliga match against Schalke 04, eventually led to the sacking of Bayern manager Jürgen Klinsmann. In June 2014 it was reported that Inverness had opted not to offer Greenhalgh a further contract, with manager John Hughes stating that he could not guarantee Greenhalgh first-team football.
The agreement was extended into 2016 under another one-year contract, covering three regular season matches and the three playoff matches, once again on FS1. On April 18, 2013, NWSL signed a one-year agreement with Fox Sports 2 to televise six regular season games, the semifinal, and championship games. On May 19, 2017, the league announced that they would additionally stream games on the NWSL website and app in the U.S. Sports website and apps. Chicago Red Stars reached their own television deal with the regional sports network NBC Sports Chicago. On March 11, 2020, the NWSL entered into a three-year media agreement with CBS Sports and Amazon-owned streaming service Twitch. In addition, the league names an annual NWSL Best XI team and NWSL Second XI team, which are voted on by players, owners, general managers, coaches, media, and fans. Throughout the season, the league awards Player of the Month, Team of the Month, and Player of the Week awards to individual players, which are voted on by the media. At the end of each season, the league presents seven annual awards for outstanding achievements, six of which are voted on by players, owners, general managers, coaches, media, and fans.