A new NWSL season kicks off on Friday, March 18, but it’s not the regular season that gets us underway. There’s still over a month left for that.
The official start to the competitive campaign takes place with the Challenge Cup, a tournament in its third edition. It will serve as the appetizer ahead of the 22-game regular season, which kicks off on April 29, just before the conclusion of the Challenge Cup. The two competitions — the Challenge Cup and the NWSL regular season — will overlap by a week and it will require a match or two to be rescheduled.
The Portland Thorns are the defending holders of the Challenge Cup, defeating NY/NJ Gotham FC in a penalty-kick shootout after a 1-1 draw last year.
Each NWSL team will play a minimum of six matches in the Challenge Cup, with the teams that advance to the final four playing an additional one or two matches.
Coupled with a 22-match regular season which is followed by the NWSL playoffs, it makes for a busy seven-month season in 2022 from mid-March through the end of October.
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What is the NWSL Challenge Cup?
The Challenge Cup is the first event of the season, spanning from mid-March to early May. It is not officially part of the 2022 regular season.
The Challenge Cup sees all 12 teams in NWSL divided into three groups of four teams each based on geography.
After each team plays all its other group opponents twice in a classic round-robin format (six total matches), the three group winners, plus the best second-place team, reach the semifinals on May 4. The winners play in the final on May 7.
NWSL Challenge Cup groups
East Region (4): NJ/NY Gotham FC, NC Courage, Orlando Pride, Washington Spirit
Central Region (4): Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, KC Current, Racing Louisville FC
West Region (4): Angel City FC, OL Reign, Portland Thorns, San Diego Wave FC
This year’s format differs slightly from last season given two new expansion teams (Angel City FC and San Diego Wave) take the league to 12 total clubs.
When the league had 10 clubs, the Challenge Cup consisted of two groups of five teams with the group winners advancing to the championship game.
The Challenge Cup was created in 2020 as the league made its return during the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament returned in 2021 and is now in its third edition.
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How to watch the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup
- Dates: Friday, March 18 to Saturday, May 7
- Matches: 39 matches spread across 16 matchdays
- TV channel: CBS, CBSSN (select matches)
- Streaming: Paramount+, fuboTV
The entire Challenge Cup tournament will be available to watch on CBS streaming platform Paramount+.
Select Challenge Cup matches will also air on CBS and CBS Sports Network (CBSSN), and those channels are streamed on fuboTV, which is available to new users on a free trial.
When does the 2022 NWSL regular season start?
The 2022 NWSL regular season kicks off on April 29 with all 12 teams in action on opening weekend between April 29 and May 1.
Each team will play a balanced 22-match regular season which wraps up on Oct. 2.
Six teams advance to the NWSL playoffs with the top two teams earning opening-round byes. The NWSL single-game championship will be played on Oct. 29 at a venue to be determined by the league.
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