August 26 – With most women’s leagues cancelled when the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc with schedules worldwide, the National Women’s Soccer League continues to carry the flag for the women’s game announcing that its 2020 season will resume on September 5.
The NWSL has already completed a Challenge Cup competition that saw the league’s teams playing at a centralised venue in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The NWSL fall series will involve 18 matches over seven weeks, with teams in three groups of three playing home and away. The groups have been chosen to minimize travel. The NWSL said that roster and competition rules, as well as format and schedule will be released in the next week.
“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 summer competition was presented by P&G and Secret and had significant broadcast support from CBS. The new competition will see a televised NWSL Game of the Week on CBS Television Network every Saturday in September, and on CBS Sports Network three Saturdays in October. CBS All Access will exclusively stream four games as well as the CBS broadcast coverage in September.
“The 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup on CBS All Access and CBS was very 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 three teams in each regional pod are:
Northeast: Chicago Red Stars, Sky Blue FC, Washington Spirit
West: OL Reign, Portland Thorns FC, Utah Royals FC
South: North Carolina Courage, Orlando Pride, Houston Dash
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