NWSL to Keep Calendar for Rest of Decade After Player Pushback

The NWSL is sticking with its spring-to-fall calendar through 2030.

The league said on Wednesday that it will not change to the international calendar for at least the next five years. Earlier this week, the league’s board of governors tabled a planned vote on a calendar flip following opposition from players.

“Following extensive evaluation and close collaboration with key stakeholders, we have made the deliberate decision to maintain our existing competition calendar for this period,” the league said in a statement. “This decision reflects our confidence in the strong momentum and growth the league has achieved under its current structure, and our commitment to providing stability for everyone invested in the NWSL’s success.”

The NWSL and MLS play from spring through fall, opposite major leagues in Europe. Because the offseasons don’t align, players coming to or leaving the U.S. leagues have to play overlapping seasons and miss time with one of their clubs.

Late last year, MLS voted to flip its calendar in 2027 following years of discussions. Leaders have touted the move as an opportunity to better attract top talent and have stronger playoffs without stars departing for Europe.

The calendar commitment matches the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the players, which was reached in 2024 and runs through 2030. (The CBA can be reopened to renegotiate revenue sharing, but only if the league’s ownership structure changes or there is a major spike in revenue.)

NWSL players have been broadly opposed to playing during the winter. Before the vote was canceled, Gotham FC player Midge Purce told Front Office Sports that the NWSL is not prepared to support cold-weather markets the same way MLS is, and that she finds it “really frustrating that the players aren’t being considered” more in these discussions. 

“I’m trying really hard to hold my tongue about specific stories where we haven’t been supported really well and how it becomes an actual detriment for player health and safety,” Purce said.

After ESPN reported earlier this month that the league would vote on a calendar shift at its late-April meetings, the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association said the majority of players opposed the idea, citing a lack of league-wide facilities standards to handle cold weather.

On Wednesday, NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke said in a statement that the league made the “right decision to provide stability and certainty” with the calendar over the next several seasons.

“Throughout this process, players made clear that any discussion about the calendar must prioritize player health and safety, infrastructure (including training and match facilities), and professional standards necessary to compete at the highest level,” Burke said. “The NWSLPA remains committed to working with NWSL to foster the conditions necessary for its continued growth.”

A fall-to-spring calendar is not entirely off the table in the future, the NWSL made clear.

“We remain thoughtful about the long-term evaluation of our calendar— and will continue to assess future opportunities with the same rigor and broad stakeholder alignment that guided this decision,” the league said. “Any change of that magnitude would be communicated with ample notice.”

But for now, spring-to-fall is the status quo for the next several seasons, until CBA negotiations pick back up.