The NWSL announced the framework for the league’s 12th season on Monday, officially kicking off the 2025 campaign on March 14th, with a new champion crowned on November 22nd.

Similar to the 2024 season, the league’s 14 teams will each play 26 matches — 13 home, 13 away —across 25 weeks, ending on November 2nd. A league total of 190 games will determine the eight contenders set to battle their way through November's playoffs.

The 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup will precede the regular season by one week. The match typically pits the reigning Shield winners against the current champion, but since Orlando earned both those 2024 honors, the Pride will instead host 2024 runners-up Washington in the March 7th contest.

Before any athlete takes the pitch, however, they must report to preseason training camps. Instead of a specific date, the NWSL mandates a kick-off window beginning January 15th and ending February 5th.

There are no official preseason matches, but considering six teams — Angel City, Bay FC, Houston, Portland, San Diego, and Seattle — have already committed to participating in mid-Februrary's 2025 Coachella Valley Invitational, expect those clubs to recall their rosters sooner rather than later.

International play extends NWSL summer schedule

Though 2025 lacks a major international contest like the Olympics or a FIFA World Cup, several confederations do have competitions on this summer's docket. The list includes UEFA's 2025 Euro and Conmebol's Copa América tournament.

As such, immediately after the league's CBA-mandated week-long pause at the end of June, the NWSL will suspend play for the month of July. This window will subsequently allow international players to compete for their respective countries without significantly impacting their NWSL club's season.

Within that break, however, clubs will be free to schedule friendlies against other professional teams, both domestic and abroad. This will follow a similar format as Chelsea and Arsenal's 2024 US tour, where the WSL sides went up against Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit, respectively.

New CBA affects 2025 season

Due to last August's newly inked CBA, both the waiver wire and trade windows have been eliminated. This means player contracts are now guaranteed, and trades can occur anytime before the October 9th roster freeze, so long as the athlete consents to the trade.

Two eight-week transfer windows dot the 2025 schedule. The first opens on January 28th, with the second set to start alongside the 2026 free agency period on July 1st.

Where to watch the NWSL in 2025

The complete 2025 match schedule, including full broadcast details, is yet to come. However, the NWSL’s 2023 landmark media deal means over 120 matches have already been claimed by various domestic broadcasters.

Friday games will again air on Prime Video, and Saturday double-headers will remain on ION. Both CBS and ESPN platforms will have significant match packages spanning the regular season, and all remaining games will be available on the league's direct-to-consumer streamer, NWSL+.

All broadcasters except ION have picked up various match rights to November's playoffs, with CBS scoring rights to the title match for the fourth year in a row.

Additionally, the NWSL is currently in international distribution rights negotiations, with the league taking aim at growing its audience outside the US.

Key 2025 calendar dates

• January 15th: Preseason camps may begin
• January 28th: Primary transfer window opens
• February 5th: Final day for clubs to begin preseason camps
• March 7th: 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup
• March 14th: 2025 NWSL regular season kick-off
• March 24th: Primary transfer window closes
• June 23rd-29th: CBA-mandated break
• July 1st: Secondary transfer window opens; 2026 free agency period begins
• July: League-wide pause for international competitions
• August 25th: Secondary transfer window closes
• October 9th: NWSL roster freeze
• November 2nd: Final day of the 2025 NWSL regular season
• November 7th-9th: 2025 NWSL quarterfinals
• November 14th-16th: 2025 NWSL semifinals
• November 22nd: 2025 NWSL Championship

Despite a few shocking upsets in the early rounds of the 2025 NCAA soccer tournament, the ACC has retained its status as the conference to beat, with the powerhouse sending three teams to this season's College Cup semifinals on Friday.

With two tickets to Monday's national championship match on the line, four-time title-winners and No. 3-seed Florida State will take on College Cup debutants TCU in Friday's first semi, with the No. 2 Horned Frogs booking their semifinals spot by ousting fellow SEC standout No. 1 Vanderbilt 2-1 last Saturday.

The nightcap, on the other hand, will be an all-ACC affair, as No. 2 Duke continues their hunt for a first-ever national title against the tournament's overall No. 1 seed, Stanford.

The three-time NCAA champ Cardinal has been unstoppable, outscoring their opponents 21-5 across the tournament's first four rounds to set up a season-first matchup with the Blue Devils.

The 2025 College Cup will take place for the first time at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, home of the NWSL's Kansas City Current.

How to watch the 2025 College Cup semifinals

Friday's 2025 College Cup semifinals will begin with No. 2 TCU vs. No. 3 Florida State at 6 PM ET, with No. 1 Stanford's clash against No. 2 Duke kicking off at 8:45 PM ET.

Both semifinals — plus Monday's 7PM ET championship match — will air live on ESPNU.

Playa Society is honoring the 25th anniversary of the classic sports film "Love & Basketball" this week, with the popular women's basketball outfitter dropping a capsule collection entitled "First Quarter: Ball Better Than You" — an homage to one of the film's iconic quotes.

"This is a love story, about our love for 'Love & Basketball,'" notes Playa Society about the collection. "Our love for [lead character] Monica, who served as the first representation of an unapologetic female athlete in film. Our love for [writer and director] Gina Prince-Bythewood for her persistence in delivering culture and truth. And our love for the energy of it all that inspired Playa Society to fill in the gaps for women in sports."

"I am so humbled by the enduring impact of the film on both ballers and non-athletes, who are inspired by characters who believe in themselves enough to fight for an impossible dream," Prince-Bythewood said of the project.

With New York Liberty teammates and girlfriends Natasha Cloud and Izzy Harrison serving as models, the "First Quarter" collection includes T-shirts, hoodies, and more.

This week's drop is just the first in the works between Prince-Bythewood and Playa Society founder Esther Wallace, with the LA Sentinel describing their collaboration as "blending nostalgia, culture, and women's sports in a way that honors the film while pushing the narrative forward."

How to purchase from Playa Society's "Love & Basketball" collection

All items from the "First Quarter" collection are now available in limited quantities at PlayaSociety.com.

The inaugural North American iteration of World Sevens Football (W7F) kicks off in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, when eight standout clubs will battle for three days for the the largest share of the 7v7 competition's $5 million prize pool.

All eight clubs boast championship backgrounds, including the reigning NWSL Shield-winning Kansas City Current, 2023 NWSL Shield-winners San Diego Wave, Liga MX Femenil Apertura winner Tigres UANL, current Northern Super League Shield-winner AFC Toronto, and more.

This weekend's edition is the second-ever W7F tournament, after the new venture launched with a Europe-centric competition in Portugal last May, crowning Bayern Munich as its debut champions.

In W7F, the 11v11 clubs instead field seven players per side on a pitch half the size of a regulation field, with matches comprised of two 15-minute halves along with smaller goals, no offside rule, and rolling substitutions throughout the games.

All eight clubs will compete in the group stage on Friday and Saturday, with the top four teams advancing to Sunday's knockout rounds.

How to watch this weekend's W7F tournament

The North American debut of W7F kicks off when the NWSL's Kansas City Current faces Brazilian powerhouse Clube de Regatas do Flamengo at 5 PM ET on Friday.

All games, including Sunday's 4:30 PM ET championship match, will air live on HBO Max as well we either TNT or truTV.

The SEC displayed its basketball dominance on Thursday's courts, as the conference won all four of the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge Day 2 matchups to feature at least one Top-25 team.

No. 2 Texas handled No. 11 North Carolina 79-64 while No. 3 South Carolina and No. 13 Ole Miss survived nail-biters against No. 22 Louisville and No. 18 Notre Dame, respectively.

"I thought [our players] got out and made big plays for themselves in the fourth and building the five-point lead," said South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. "It was a turning point for us, whether we were going to succumb to losing the game or fight to get back in it."

No one had a better night than No. 5 LSU, however, as the Tigers faced their season's first Power Four opponent to a 93-77 result over unranked Duke, erasing a 14-point deficit behind six double-digit LSU scorers — led by 18 points from star guard Flau'jae Johnson.

"We scored 93 tonight, and look how poor we played in the first quarter. We were behind. Scoring the ball is not going to be a problem," said Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey. "Our problem is we have to just continue to get better on the defensive end and take care of the ball."

Across the 16 total 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge games, the SEC took 13 victories, with only unranked Syracuse, Virginia Tech, and SMU earning ACC wins — over Auburn, Florida, and Arkansas, respectively — this week.

How to watch Top-25 NCAA basketball this weekend

This weekend's NCAA docket sees the nonconference schedule cool down, with No. 16 USC hosting No. 21 Washington in the only ranked battle.

The Trojans and Huskies will tip off in LA at 8 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on the Big Ten Network.