The NWSL Just Keeps Getting Better

Courtesy of @nwsl

The National Women’s Soccer League started its 13th season last week, and it is only getting bigger and better. The first game day of the 2025 season was on Friday, March 14th, with games carried over all weekend.

The Orlando Pride stayed on top. 

Last season, the Pride won it all. Orlando’s team landed top of the table after the 2024 season and won the NWSL Championship. And they are starting off the new season still on top.

After the first weekend of matches, the teams that look dominant are Orlando Pride, after their 6-0 win over the Chicago Stars, the Washington Spirit, after beating the Houston Dash 2-1, and the Kansas City Current, after defeating the Portland Thorns team 3-1. 

Courtesy of Nike

With every new season, comes new kits. The 14 teams this season get bright, fresh kits for the 13th season. According to Nike, the 2025 kits “complement the league’s primary uniforms, together drawing inspiration from the colors and landscapes of each club’s home city.”

This is the second season Nike made kits with no white shorts for the NWSL. Nike is starting to phase them out due to players’ period concerns. Nike’s step forward is an example of positive change in women’s sports. The bright kits only add to the NWSL’s bright future, as things are getting bigger and better.

Courtesy of @nwsl

As the NWSL keeps growing, more teams are set to join. Bay FC joined the league and the Utah Royals returned to the league in 2024, now putting the NWSL at an all-time high of 14 teams.

In 2026, Boston will be the next team to join the NWSL. It was recently announced that Denver will also join the NWSL in 2026 as the sixteenth team.

Between the years 2020 and 2022, the San Diego Wave, the Angel City FC, the Utah Royals, and Racing Louisville joined the NWSL for only $2 million each. Now, in 2026, Denver’s new team costs $110 million. This record expansion fee is the largest ever paid in U.S. women’s sports history.

As new teams from all over the United States join the NWSL, the fandom and viewership are set to increase. The NWSL and women’s sports continue to grow.

Courtesy of Just Women's Sports

In 2028, Denver is set to be the second team to kick off in a stadium built for a women’s team. The first team to do it was the Kansas City Current in 2024 with the NWSL.

The 16th expansion team plans to create a purpose-built stadium with 14,500 seats on a 3.5-acre park. The blueprints also incorporate the ability to expand beyond the stadium’s initial 14,500 seats, with the team interested in eventually extending the capacity closer to 20,000 fans.

“This announcement is a game-changer for the NWSL and a bold statement about where women’s sports are headed,” said league commissioner Jessica Berman.

Courtesy of Aaron Idelson with Unwell

Alex Cooper’s beverage brand “Unwell Hydration” signed with the NWSL as the new Official Hydration Partner of the NWSL. The “Call Her Daddy” podcast star and the NWSL are trying to reach the target audience of young women.

This is just one of many women’s sports connecting with women-run brands. As the NWSL grows, so do their sponsorships. Brands are finally investing in women’s sports. They are putting the time and money to help grow women’s sports, and it is people and companies like Alex Cooper’s beverage brand that highlight NWSL and women’s sports expansion.

Courtesy of the NWSL

What is next for the bright future of the NWSL? Will there be more expansion teams? 

A bigger salary cap? More sponsorships and investors?

Does the NWSL need to do more to position themselves as the best league in the world? The Women’s Super League in England, with American stars like Naomi Girma and Catarina Macario and International stars like Sam Kerr and Leah Williamson, is some serious competition for the NWSL – along with the Première Ligue in France and the Liga F in Spain. 

Despite not knowing what the future may hold, the NWSL continues to grow and expand into a bigger and better league at a time when women’s sports are on an incline.

Edited by Reese Dlabach