The National Women’s Soccer League released the 2027 season schedule framework in August, giving a glimpse of the coming year. The format will allow for a full regular season while including a long break for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.
To accommodate the tournament, the season will have the earliest kickoff date in league history: Angel City FC will host the season opener on Thursday, February 11 in Los Angeles.
The Challenge Cup, a match between the previous season’s championship winners and the NWSL Shield winners (team with best record), will be held the weekend prior on Saturday, February 6.
“Our calendar continues to provide all of our players, including national team players, with an actual off season,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said during a midseason press conference. “Knowing that these players, particularly the ones who compete for both club and country, are increasingly having to compete on a year-round basis without any meaningful time off, protecting time for rest and recovery and preparation for big tournaments and league competition is essential to sustaining elite performance and to our broader strategy of continuing to prioritize the pool of players in the pipeline that will feed the quality of the talent in our game.”
The proposed schedule would result in the shortest offseason the league has had thus far. Preseason would begin between January 2 and January 7, according to an ESPN report, just six weeks after the 2026 championship.
2027 NWSL Key Dates:
First game: February 11
Decision Day: October 31
CBA Break: June 7 - 13
International Break (World Cup): June 24 - July 25
Playoffs: November 5 - 13
Championship: November 20
The complete schedule will be announced at a later date.
What This Means For Boston
The earlier start to the season could present challenges for teams based in colder climates. NWSL vice president of strategy Carlin Hudson told ESPN that the league always schedules around weather.
“I don't think we want to build a schedule that inherently sets us or players up for a challenging game,” she told ESPN.
Earlier this year, some Boston Legacy players echoed the NWSL Players Association’s concerns about a proposed calendar flip and whether facilities would be able to provide safe conditions during winter weather. The NWSLPA’s apprehension took weather-related disruptions and teams’ operational flexibility into account, issues that may arise with the earlier season.
BLFC’s mid-March start in Foxboro avoided any extreme weather events. At worst, fans had to endure some chilly days, but nothing that a New Englander isn’t already accustomed to.
The New England Revolution and Rhode Island FC weren’t so lucky. This year’s MLS and USL home openers scheduled for March 7 at Gillette Stadium and Centreville Bank Stadium were postponed due to delays and safety concerns caused by the historic blizzard in late February. Rhode Island suffered the brunt of the storm: the nor’easter dumped more than three feet of snow over the area, which resulted in weeks of cleanup.
Now that the Pawtucket venue will serve as the Legacy’s home for the 2027 season, one can only hope that the region will not be subject to more record-breaking weather events.
BLFC has been using the Revs training grounds this season, but the Swans will have their own performance center by the end of November if all goes to plan.
Construction for the Brockton facility is well underway, and a heated, full-size natural grass field designed for training in different weather conditions as well as a half-grass field, will be installed in October. The grounds will also house a bubble dome, which is expected to be complete in January 2027, though the team did not specify whether it would be ready by the start of preseason.
The Legacy will be able to take advantage of the new digs before spending some time in a warmer location for part of its winter training.
“This time away is an important part of our preparation, providing an opportunity for team bonding, focused on season preparation and training in favorable weather conditions,” BLFC said in a statement.
Details on next year’s location will be announced once those plans are finalized.
