Buckle up, charge your devices (you’re going to need them in order to watch all these games), and fire up the group chat for the 2026 National Women’s Soccer League season.
This offseason felt short — they always do.
The High Impact Player rule and Trinity Rodman’s new contract with the Washington Spirit filled the void created by the absence of matches, along with several other blockbuster moves like Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey to Manchester City, midfielder Croix Bethune to the Kansas City Current, and midfielder Claire Hutton to Bay FC.
The league has reached 16 teams with two expansion franchises, the Boston Legacy and Denver Summit, itching to make their mark this season. The 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup kicks off this summer across the U.S. (and specifically in several NWSL markets), Mexico, and Canada, and there are already demands of a World Cup qualifying year ahead of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The schedule is also more densely packed for club and country, so think more midweek games than usual and inevitable questions about player availability.
These circumstances only increase the need for strict player safety measures, some of which the league has revised this year. There is clearly no shortage of administration items to sift through, but it’s unlikely to dilute NWSL’s signature sporting chaos.
Here are the top storylines to know ahead of the 2026 season.
Trinity Rodman signed a three-year deal with the Washington Spirit, making her the highest-paid player in NWSL. (Erin Chang / Getty Images)
The future of the High Impact Player rule
Rodman’s free agency and eventual re-signing with the Spirit were the storyline heading into last year’s offseason.
A quick recap: Rodman and the Spirit reached an initial contract agreement late last year, which was rejected by the NWSL. The league accused Rodman of circumventing the salary cap and the NWSL Players Association promptly filed a grievance against the league on her behalf. To help keep Rodman, and to attract and retain top players, the league created the High Impact Player rule, which allows teams $1 million in extra spending for players who fall within a criteria set by the league. The NWSLPA argued that such a rule needed to be collectively bargained and filed another grievance against the league over the implementation of the rule. Both grievances remain pending.
By January, the Spirit had re-signed Rodman as the first player to utilize the HIP rule in her negotiated contract. She also became the highest-paid player in the NWSL.
The future of the HIP rule remains in limbo as the league and NWSLPA remain at odds. The union’s grievance could head to arbitration if the matter remains unresolved between the two sides – meaning the rule’s future will ultimately be up to a third party.
The league has maintained its decision to implement the HIP rule rather than raise the salary cap was strategic. “We have raised the salary cap. We quadrupled the salary cap in the last three years,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said Wednesday. “If we want to, which we do, specifically attract and retain top talent, we believe that having a targeted, tailored mechanism to do that will allow for us to better achieve and more quickly achieve that objective.”
With the HIP rule, teams can exceed the salary cap by $1 million in funds designated for “high impact players” – and while Rodman was the first player announced to be signed through the new mechanism, she likely won’t be the last. With the current transfer window closing next week, and a summer window forthcoming, this season will be a test case for the new rule.
Trinity Rodman, Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson led the U.S. women’s national team at the 2024 Olympics, earning the name “Triple Espresso.” (Brad Smith / Getty Images).
The return of Triple Espresso
The 2025 NWSL season was decaffeinated, so to speak, by the absences of Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson, who were both on maternity leave, and the sporadic appearance of Rodman as she managed an ongoing back injury. From a marketing and entertainment standpoint, the league’s inability to capitalize on the attacking trio’s star power following a gold medal run at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris was a major blow — but 2026 is already brewing something different.
On March 7, Wilson returned to the pitch for the first time since giving birth to her daughter, Gianna. The 25-year-old exercised her player option with the Portland Thorns in December, signaling her commitment to the club that made her a No. 1 draft pick six years ago. This season, the Thorns will surely feel the loss of Coffey, who signed with Manchester City in the offseason, but there’s no doubt that Wilson will offer more than a consolation.
The 2022 MVP and 2023 Golden Boot winner is primed to make an emphatic comeback — not only because that tends to be her primary setting, but because of the personnel around her in Olivia Moultrie, Reilyn Turner, and Pietra Tordin.
Rodman started all three games of the SheBelieves Cup with the U.S. women’s national team earlier this month, but the Spirit winger is still getting her touch back. As long as she stays healthy, she’ll be getting plenty of that with the Spirit this season, who are no doubt looking to make this their championship year after back-to-back finalist finishes to the Orlando Pride in 2024 and Gotham FC in 2025. Rodman and Wilson could share the same field on NWSL opening weekend, too, as the Thorns visit D.C. to take on the Spirit on March 13.
Of the three, Swanson will be the last to make her grand return. The Chicago Stars forward gave birth to her daughter, Josie, last November and is still steadily working her way back to full match fitness.
It helps that Swanson, like Wilson, will be returning to the same club, though the Chicago Stars looks pretty different now, not only in name (they were still known as the Red Stars when she stepped away) but roster and coaching staff. There’s high potential for her partnership with fellow U.S. forward Jameese Joseph to pay dividends as Chicago looks to make up for the goals once provided by Brazilian international Ludmila, who has since moved to the San Diego Wave.
All in all, think of this less as three shots of espresso in a single drink, and more like a double shot in the morning followed by a single-shot, mid-season boost when Swanson’s back.
Angel City defender Savy King returned to soccer for the first time since suffering a cardiac incident. (Angel City FC)
Crucial updates to player safety procedures
The league has updated its competition rules for the season, including notable changes to the league’s game-day heat safety and serious injury protocols, with the NWSL “emphasizing clearer communication chains, improved coordination among matchday personnel and additional operational guidelines.”
These changes – several pages worth of instructions for various emergency scenarios – were a clear response to two moments last year that rocked the NWSL.
In May, 20-year-old Savy King collapsed on the pitch due to a rare, undetected heart abnormality. The Angel City defender suffered a cardiac event and required life-saving measures. She was revived on the pitch before being transported to a hospital, where she underwent a successful surgery to correct the issue. King is expected to return to the pitch this weekend when the Los Angeles team hosts the Chicago Stars.
Last year, the league decided to allow the match to be played to its conclusion despite the scary moment on the field. The NWSL Players Association swiftly called on the league to change its protocols to abandon any match when life-saving measures are required.
The league has now defined “serious injury” as one that “significantly incapacitates or otherwise poses an immediate and significant health risk to the individual, such as a heart attack or cardiac arrest, a seizure episode, or a severe and traumatic physical injury (e.g., open compound fracture or spine injury with potential paralysis).”
The NWSL indicated that while every incident will be taken case-by-case, if life-saving measures are taken the “presumption” is the league will either postpone and reschedule the match, declare the game final if enough minutes have been played or cancel. This remains, like all final match decisions, at the league’s discretion.
Additionally, in August, the NWSL came under fire again after a match in Kansas City between the Current and Orlando Pride was delayed by 3.5 hours due to extreme heat. Kickoff was set for just after 3 p.m. local time, with sources telling The Athletic that they had flagged concerns for a midday kickoff months earlier. The match proceeded, resulting in a scoreless draw and requiring more than a dozen people to be treated for heat-related illness. The Pride’s star forward, Barbra Banda, also suffered a season-ending injury during the game.
The league’s updated rules outline scenarios that could trigger a match delay, postponement or cancellation. In case of a match delay, teams are allowed warm-up periods ranging from five minutes for a 10-minute delay to a 20-minute warm-up for a delay greater than 60 minutes – though these are considered “maximum” durations. If head coaches and referees agree, they could shorten the time for warm-ups.
Every home team must have “a detailed weather delay plan” in case of lightning or severe weather. The league also outlines an extensive “NWSL Game Day Heat Safety Policy” that lists the steps teams must take in cases of extreme heat.
The rules indicate all teams must designate one senior member of their gameday staff to be their “heat policy contact” responsible for communicating with the league and any officials. There is also mention of hydration or cooling breaks, and a cooling tub or similar cold immersion method must be set up and accessible to players ahead of every match, as mandated by the league’s “emergency action plan.”
NWSL will pause for 13 days of the World Cup to accommodate for sharing space with the cross-continental tournament. (Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
The impact of the men’s World Cup
The NWSL – like the rest of the country – is hoping to capitalize off the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup being in the United States, Mexico and Canada this summer. The league has already announced a 13-day pause in the summer to coincide with the tournament’s group stage.
“Our specific focus for the 2026 season is to make sure that our games and our product are in front of people who love elite soccer, agnostic to whether it is men or women, knowing that the NWSL is the best league in the world,” Berman said on Wednesday. “We will use that as an opportunity to create discoverability for the NWSL. The ways we’re going to do that.
Berman referenced this year’s Challenge Cup – the annual match between the current NWSL Champions and NWSL Shield winners. The match is being staged in Columbus, Ohio, a non-World Cup host state, and considered a “neutral” site for the league. The league also made the decision to return to play during the men’s World Cup to capitalize off interest in the sport.
“We will actually be able to watch and attend NWSL games during the men’s World Cup, beginning with the weekend, which coincides with the knockout rounds,” Berman said, “There will be less games happening on the men’s World Cup side, and gives us an opportunity to occupy some of that space when there are still going to be millions of people paying attention to soccer in this country and globally.”
Gillette Stadium will host some Boston Legacy game this season. (Dan Mullan / Getty Images)
Some teams will be forced out of their 2026 homes because of the FIFA competitions as those stadiums transform into World Cup venues.
Boston Legacy will be playing its inaugural season primarily at Gillette Stadium, while its future home at White Stadium remains under construction. With Gillette being a World Cup host venue, Legacy will be playing seven of their 15 home matches this season at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, a roughly 30-minute drive from Gillette and hour-long drive from Boston’s city center. Similarly, Seattle Reign will be playing their first three home matches in Spokane, nearly 300 miles west of Seattle, while Lumen Field undergoes renovations ahead of the World Cup.
In Kansas City, the Current will also be sharing their facilities with the Netherlands men’s national team, who will be using the team’s training facility as their official team headquarters for the duration of the World Cup.
The hope is that playing in new local markets near NWSL clubs will help expand the league’s reach this summer, as it does what it can to benefit from the visibility of FIFA’s marquee event.
“I hope when we look back on the season, that the challenges it created will dwarf in comparison to the opportunities that it created because of the benefit and the halo effect of the Men’s World Cup more broadly, and our strategy around the summer of soccer is going to be a key area of focus for us,” Berman said.
Qualifying for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil has already started. (Pablo Porciuncula / Getty Images)
Managing 2027 World Cup qualifiers
The 2026 NWSL season will conclude with the championship on Nov. 21, and then, almost immediately after, the final stage of Concacaf 2027 World Cup qualifiers is set to take place between Nov. 24 and Dec, 5. For any qualifying Concacaf international (which includes the U.S. and Canada), this is going to be a really tricky turnaround for those that go deep into the NWSL playoffs. Legs will be tired.
Concacaf is not the only confederation squeezing games into FIFA windows around the club calendar. The Women’s African Cup of Nations was postponed and rescheduled for July 25 — August 16. That could mean a huge chunk of missed NWSL games for top African stars like Barbra Banda (Zambia) and Temwa Chawinga (Malawi).
Asian qualification is already underway at the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup, in Australia, and will conclude on March 21. So NWSL players who have travelled to compete, like Japanese Utah Royals duo Mina Tanaka and Miyabi Moriya, will miss the start of the new season.
UEFA, OFC and CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers are scheduled to take place in traditional FIFA windows and are littered throughout the NWSL season but shouldn’t cause players to actively miss matches. However, long flights and extra matches are certain to cause fatigue. International players will likely be rotated and given extra care around FIFA windows.
Filipa Patão joined Boston Legacy after time spent coaching Benfica in Portugal. (Christian Kaspar-Bartke / Getty Images)
New coaches join the league
Not only do seven teams have a new head coach (five if you exclude the expansion sides), but all seven have never coached in the NWSL before: Emma Coates (Bay FC), Filipa Patão (Boston Legacy), Martin Sjögren (Chicago Stars), Nick Cushing (Denver Summit), Chris Armas (KC Current), Mak Lind (NC Courage), and Robert Vilahamn (Portland Thorns).
That is a significant increase from 2025, when there were just three new head coaches – and that is if you include Alexander Straus, who arrived midseason at Angel City. Even then, one of those three (Fabrice Gautraut with the Houston Dash) had been in the NWSL for a few years as an assistant.
Curiously, these seven new coaches have two main migration patterns.
One is Europe, and in particular Sweden. Sjögren and Lind both come directly from the Swedish women’s Damallsvenskan league, while Vilahamn arrives in the U.S. after a stint with Tottenham Hotspur in the English Women’s Super League, having left Damallsvenskan side BK Häcken in 2024 for Spurs.
In the Bay, Coates is making a return to coaching senior club soccer for the first time in 10 years. Her last job was leading the England women’s U-19 and then U-23 age groups from 2022 to 2025. For expansion side Boston, Patão left her native Portugal after five years and five consecutive league titles with Benfica in Lisbon.
The other migration pattern is from Major League Soccer to NWSL. While Cushing has a wealth of previous experience with Manchester City women, as head coach from 2013-2020 and then as interim in 2025, he spent four seasons in MLS with NYCFC. First as the team’s assistant (2021-22), then as head coach (2022-2025).
Armas, the only American hired by an NWSL team this offseason, also arrives in the NWSL after being a head coach in MLS. The former U.S. men’s national team player most recently coached the Colorado Rapids (2023-25). He was in the English men’s Premier League as an assistant at Leeds United (2023) and Manchester United (2021-22), and before that was in MLS as head coach of Toronto FC (2021) and New York Red Bulls (2018-20). He has no prior experience in the women’s professional game.