The 2026/27 UWCL league phase is set. This morning’s 18-team draw paved the path toward the Champions League final in Warsaw.
2024/25 winner Arsenal received the toughest route, pulling defending champion Barcelona, UWCL giant OL Lyonnes, and rising star Paris FC.
2025/26 WSL champion Manchester City also returns to the European tournament. It sets off on a collision course against contenders PSG and Bayern Munich.
The UWCL drama began a little early, as Inter Milan eliminated two-time winners Wolfsburg 5-4 on aggregate in this month’s qualifiers. It marks the second time in four years the German powerhouse hasn’t made the group-stage cut.
“Straight after the game, you just feel very empty and, to some extent, lost for words,” said Wolfsburg manager Stephan Lerch.
“It was a very emotional game and, of course, it hurts immensely to go out in such unfortunate circumstances.”
The WSL is back, as the UK league kicks off its 2026/27 season with one particular club striving to challenge perennial titans Manchester City, Chelsea, and Arsenal.
Fueled by US-based billionaire owner Michele Kang, London City is touting a big-name roster and even bigger plans for its second top-flight campaign.
The Lionesses enter the weekend on an additional high, after signing a record four-year front-of-jersey deal with Nike — said to be the largest in women’s soccer history.
LCL will put its new talent to the test this afternoon, taking on a Manchester United team looking to better last season’s fourth-place finish.
Man United made moves of its own, swapping out former manager Marc Skinner with Spain’s Eva Olid before adding defender Rebeca Bernal — the WSL’s first-ever Mexican national — from the Washington Spirit.
“My ambition is attacking football, Olid said. “I focus the gameplans on how we can hurt the teams. All teams have weaknesses we can exploit.”
London City faces Man United today at 2 PM ET (Paramount+).
The Spirit still has the Shield in its sights, as No. 2 Washington trails No. 1 Gotham by just five points going into this Sunday’s clash with No. 5 Portland.
The Spirit broke a four-game winless skid in last weekend’s 1-0 win over No. 14 Bay FC, with Paige Metayer driving home a Trinity Rodman rebound.
The Thorns enter on a five-match unbeaten streak, after stealing a point from the Bats last Friday behind Sophia Wilson’s game-tying strike.
Both clubs will look a little different, as Washington defender Rebeca Bernal completed a transfer to WSL side Manchester United this week while Portland added a ringer to its staff.
The Thorns hired USWNT legend and longtime captain Becky Sauerbrunn as a technical consultant for the rest of the 2026 season.
“As a player, I loved watching film, talking tactics and details, working with a backline, and this opportunity affords me all those things with a lot less running,” the 41-year-old said.
Washington takes on Portland on Sunday at 4 PM ET (CBS).
The Barclays WSL returns Friday, and US fans finally have one destination when it comes to where to watch every match: CBS Sports.
The network secured a four-year exclusive deal in May to stream all 183 matches for the 2026/27 season on Paramount+. Select games will also be airing on CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network. That gives the league its broadest US platform to date.
Where to Watch WSL Games This Weekend
London City Lionesses host Manchester United in the curtain-raiser Friday at 2:00 PM ET, with pregame studio coverage beginning at 1:30 PM ET. Chelsea then face Aston Villa Saturday at 7:30 AM ET.
But Sunday's slate is even fuller with Brighton vs. Arsenal, Tottenham vs West Ham, and Charlton Athletic vs Liverpool all kicking off at 7:00 AM ET. Crystal Palace will take on Everton at 9:00 AM ET.
And last season's WSL champion Manchester City close out the jam-packed weekend against Birmingham City at 9:30 AM ET.
CBS Sports Hosting NWSL Doubleheader
The network is also broadcasting a high-statkes NWSL doubleheader on CBS Sunday starting at 2:00 PM ET, pairing Denver Summit FC vs NY Gotham FC with Portland Thorns vs Washington Spirit.
Former USWNT stars Kelley O'Hara and Crystal Dunn will lead the analyst team across the weekend.
No. 1 Gotham is revving its engine, as the defending NWSL champion reportedly re-signed USWNT midfielder Rose Lavelle through 2029 despite “aggressive offers” from competing clubs.
Lavelle was set to become one of the NWSL’s highest-profile 2027 free agents. Gotham — already nearing the salary-cap max — is likely using the new High Impact Player rule to seal the deal.
“I think every team wants to sign Rose Lavelle,” Gotham President of Soccer Operations Yael Averbuch West told The NY Post in July. “So absolutely, we’re working every day on it.”
The World Cup and Olympic champion has been key to the Bats’ surge. She’s tallied four goals in 19 appearances, sparking a nine-game unbeaten run that has Gotham five points clear atop the table.
Lavelle scored the game-winner in the 2025 title match and helped lift the inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup. And she’s subsequently anchoring Gotham’s bid for a first-ever NWSL Shield.
However, she’s currently in concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in August 23rd’s 0-0 draw with Angel City. Her status remains unclear ahead of this weekend’s match with No. 10 Denver.
Gotham visits the Summit on Sunday at 2 PM ET (CBS).
No. 12 Orlando is making changes, as the Pride parted ways with manager Seb Hines amid a season-long skid toward the bottom of the NWSL standings.
Hines led Orlando to both the the NWSL Shield and championship title in 2024, before going on to suffer 12 losses so far this year.
“He will always have a special place in our history for helping lead the Pride to levels it had never reached before,” GM Caitlin Carducci said in a team statement.
The news caps a long tenure for the former Orlando City player, with Hines first joining the Pride as an assistant back in 2018.
Assistant coach Yolanda Thomas will take over as interim manager, looking to salvage the 2026 season behind superstar striker Barbra Banda.
The NSL’s Canadian soccer fans showed out on Saturday, as Montréal’s 1-0 win over Halifax set a new Northern Super League attendance record.
The Roses welcomed over 17,000 fans to Stade Saputo, breaking Toronto’s previous 15,500 high mark set during the NSL’s 2025 debut season.
“It was the 17,077 people in the stands who carried this team to the end,” said interim manager Maryse Bard-Martel. “This is a historic match that the entire organization will remember forever.”
Montréal is becoming a women’s sports hub, with both the PWHL’s Victoire and the WNBA’s visiting Toronto Tempo drawing record crowds in Quebec.
The Roses top the NSL table with 34 points in 18 games, pulling one point ahead of No. 2 Ottawa with seven regular-season matchweeks remaining.
No. 9 Denver is making late-season moves, as Saturday’s 6-1 rout of No. 16 Chicago boosted the Summit to within four points of playoff contention.
Five different Denver scorers found the back of the net, led by forward Melissa Kössler’s fifth and sixths tallies of the year.
The 2026 expansion team claimed the NWSL’s first six-goal result this season in the win, while also setting its own single-season record.
The Summit is attempting to become the first NWSL club to make the playoffs in its inaugural season since the 2022 San Diego Wave.
The team saw a boost from marquee signing Lindsey Heaps, as the midfielder returned from a knee injury after sitting out four matches.
“It was my first time on the bench with her, and she was 50% coach, 50% super fan,” coach Nick Cushing said of the USWNT captain. “She showed me she has a real love and passion for this club.”
Denver puts its momentum to the test on Sunday, hosting No. 1 Gotham at 2 PM ET (CBS).
Chelsea FC opened this week's Champions League qualifiers with a 5-2 win over Real Sociedad on Wednesday. The latest UWCL results give the Blues a comfortable three-goal cushion heading into next week's second leg in San Sebastian.
Chelsea FC's 1st Round Qualifying UWCL Results
Real Sociedad struck first and early through Ainhoa Marín in the seventh minute. Before halftime, though, Naomi Girma pulled Chelsea level with a corner delivery from former Arsenal star Katie McCabe.
From there, the match swung back and forth.
Veerle Buurman put Chelsea ahead early in the second half, then Cecilia Marcos equalized for Real Sociedad four minutes later. Chelsea summer signing Melvine Malard responded in the 67th minute, before veteran Lauren James extended the lead and Malard added her second in the 88th minute to close out the win.
Malard, who joined from Manchester United in July, scored a brace in her competitive debut for the Blues, a positive sign for the rebuilding squad.
Champions League Schedule Kicks Off 2nd Leg
The Champions League schedule now turns to the return leg on September 2nd.
A positive result in Spain would send Chelsea into the league phase after a third-place WSL finish last season. Under Sonia Bompastor, the early returns suggest the new signings are finding their footing fast.
The Legacy has found a home, as Boston’s NWSL club announced it will play all 2027 home matches at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Ongoing delays have derailed a permanent move to Boston’s White Stadium, with the expansion team now targeting a 2028 debut.
“We are deeply grateful to our fans, partners, the City of Boston, and Boston Public Schools for believing in this vision and helping us move it forward,” Legacy controlling owner Jennifer Epstein said.
The Legacy’s plans to partner with the City of Boston to overhaul the 10,500-seat Franklin Park venue dates back to its original 2023 expansion bid.
Rising costs and legal challenges have impacted construction progress, with the team currently splitting its inaugural season between Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium and Pawtucket.