The 2023 NWSL Championship pits OL Reign against Gotham FC. The league is guaranteed to crown a new champion, as neither franchise has ever won the title before.

In honor of this year’s championship match, Just Women’s Sports takes a look back at the nine previous winners.

2022: Portland Thorns FC

The Thorns won their league-leading third championship, fending off the Kansas City Current in the title game.

After finishing second in the league standings with a 10-9-3 record, Portland received a first-round bye as a result, then beat the expansion San Diego Wave in the semifinals. The 2-1 victory included a goal from Rocky Rodriguez and a stoppage-time winner by Crystal Dunn, who had only recently returned from maternity leave.

The 2-0 win over Kansas City in the final included a memorable goal (and celebration) from Sophia Smith as well as an own goal in the 56th minute. Smith – who became the youngest player to win league MVP that year – also was named Finals MVP.

2021: Washington Spirit

The Washington Spirit won their first title after finishing the regular season in third place with an 11-6-7 record. Ashley Hatch won the league’s Golden Boot that year with 10 total goals.

Hatch provided the stoppage-time winner for Washington in its first-round match against the North Carolina Courage. In the semifinals, goals from Trinity Rodman and Ashley Sanchez sent OL Reign packing in a 2-1 win. The Spirit faced the Chicago Red Stars in the championship, with Kelley O’Hara providing the stoppage-time winner.

Note: The NWSL did not hold a regular season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, teams competed in the first iteration of the Challenge Cup tournament, which was won by the Houston Dash.

2019: North Carolina Courage

The Courage won the second of their back-to-back titles after also winning the Shield in both seasons. They finished the regular season with 49 points and a 15-4-5 record while also gathering an astounding +31 goal differential – more than double that of second-place Chicago. Lynn Williams was once again the team’s leading scorer with 12 goals.

The Courage beat the Reign, 4-1, in the semifinals thanks to goals from Heather O’Reilly, Debinha and Crystal Dunn, as well as an own goal from the opposing team. And then they topped the Red Stars, 4-0, in the championship game, with Debinha, Dunn, Jessica McDonald and Sam Mewis all getting in on the scoring.

2018: North Carolina Courage

North Carolina won the title and the Shield after finishing the regular season with a 17-6-1 record, 15 points ahead of the second-place Thorns. Goals from Jessica McDonald and Sam Mewis in the semifinal round propelled the team to a 2-0 win over Chicago.

The Courage went on to beat Portland, 3-0, in the final off a McDonald brace and a goal from Debinha. Lynn Williams finished as the team’s leading scorer with 14 goals, while McDonald ranked first in the league in assists.

2017: Portland Thorns FC

Portland’s second NWSL title came four years after its first. The team was led in goals by Christine Sinclair, who had eight on the season. The Thorns finished second in the league in the regular season with a 14-5-5 record, two points behind the North Carolina Courage.

A 4-1 win over the Orlando Pride in the semifinals set up a clash with the Courage in the championship, which Portland won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Lindsey Horan in the 50th minute.

2016: Western New York Flash

The Western New York Flash won the title in 2016 after finishing the regular season fourth in the NWSL standings and barely sneaking into the playoffs. They beat out the Reign for the final playoff spot by two points, finishing with a 9-5-6 record – winning just one more game than Seattle. Lynn Williams was the leading scorer for the team and the league with 11 goals.

The playoffs that season featured extra time in every single game played, with New York beating Portland in the semifinals, 4-3, thanks to a stoppage-time winning brace from Williams.

The Flash would go on to face the Washington Spirit in the final, which finished in a 2-2 tie after regulation and extra time off goals from Williams and Sam Mewis and Williams for New York and a Crystal Dunn brace for Washington. The Flash took home the title with a 3-2 win in the penalty shootout.

2015: FC Kansas City

For the second year in a row, the Reign won the Shield and FC Kansas City won the NWSL title, with the Seattle club finishing as the runner-up. Kansas City finished third in the regular season with a 9-5-6 record, led by Crystal Dunn who had 15 goals.

They beat Chicago in the semifinal, with a brace from Rocky Rodriguez propelling them to a 3-0 win. Rodriguez would play hero again in the championship game, scoring the game’s lone goal in a 1-0 win for Kansas City. This marked the Reign’s last appearance in the NWSL championship until 2023.

2014: FC Kansas City

FC Kansas City won the first of their two NWSL titles in 2014, finishing the season second in league standings with 41 points and a 12-5-7 record. The Reign were far and away the best team of the regular season with 54 points and a +30 goal differential.

Kansas City beat Portland, 2-0, in the semifinal round, setting up a championship showdown between the two best teams of the regular season. Rocky Rodriguez netted a brace to give Kansas City the 2-1 win.

2013: Portland Thorns FC

Portland’s winning history in the NWSL dates back to the first-ever league championship, with star players including Christine Sinclair, Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath gracing the field for the club.

The Thorns beat FC Kansas City in the semifinal round and then Shield winners Western New York Flash, 2-0, in the championship match to take home the title off goals from Heath and Sinclair.

More NWSL stars are jumping ship, as both the San Diego Wave and North Carolina Courage saw respective key players Delphine Cascarino and Denise O'Sullivan sign with WSL clubs over the last few days.

Former Wave forward Cascarino inked a deal through the 2029/30 season with the London City Lionesses on Monday, one day after San Diego announced they had mutually parted ways with the French international despite her contract running through 2026 with an option for the 2027 NWSL season.

"I'm really happy to be here," said the 28-year-old in a statement. "London City is the only independent women's club in the WSL, which excites me."

North Carolina midfielder and captain O'Sullivan made a similar move on Saturday, as the Ireland international signed with Liverpool following more than eight seasons and a club-record 186 appearances for the Courage.

The last-place WSL team reportedly shelled out a club-record transfer fee of approximately £300,000 to roster the 31-year-old two-time NWSL champion and three-time Shield-winner, who called Liverpool "a new challenge" that will see her "only a 40-minute flight away" from her family in Cork, Ireland.

Though the NWSL departures of Cascarino and O'Sullivan mark a kind of homecoming for the European standouts, they are just the latest to exit the US league, after USWNT star Sam Coffey joined WSL-leaders Manchester City last week.

"England — for men and women — is the country of football," noted Cascarino. "It's always been a goal of mine to play in this league."

New York Sirens forward Taylor Girard made PWHL history this week, earning a record four-game suspension for leaving the bench to join a line skirmish at the end of Sunday's 2-1 win over the Montréal Victoire.

The brawl occurred at the the final buzzer of the PWHL's record-breaking Takeover Tour stop in Washington, DC, with eight players — four Sirens and four from the Victoire — subsequently issued 10-minute misconducts in addition to Girard's infraction.

As the sole player not originally on the ice to join the skirmish, Girard was the only player to receive an additional 20-minute charge.

Even more, Girard's actions immediately triggered a four-game suspension, as the PWHL Rulebook dictates that exact punishment for "the first player to leave the players' bench illegally during an altercation or for the purpose of starting an altercation from either or both Teams."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

The four-game ban marks the longest punishment in PWHL history, doubling the two-game suspension that Seattle Torrent defender Aneta Tejralová received for an illegal check to the head last month.

With the PWHL on break after January 28th as 30% of the league's rosters compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics, the four-game suspension means that Girard — who sits second on New York's scoring sheet with five goals on the season — will not be available for the No. 2 Sirens until March 5th.

The WTGL is stocking up on golf stars, as TMRW Sports' newly announced offseason league begins to build its debut roster in partnership with the LPGA.

World No. 1 golfer Jeeno Thitikul (Thailand) signed on to participate in WTGL's inaugural season this week, alongside No. 5 Charley Hull (England), No. 6 Lydia Ko (New Zealand), No. 25 Brooke Henderson (Canada), and No. 79 Lexi Thompson (USA).

"WTGL will be a global stage to showcase LPGA stars, and this first wave of committed players represents that opportunity with some of the world's best," said TMRW Sports founder and CEO Mike McCarley in Monday's press release.

Set to launch next winter, the WTGL looks to build off the popular, second-year men's Tomorrow's Golf League (TGL), with the competition integrating both a physical and virtual golf environment inside Palm Beach Gardens at Florida's SoFi Center.

"These players will thrive in WTGL's competitive environment as fans will witness their skill and connect more deeply with their personalities through the unprecedented access the league delivers," said McCarley, noting that TGL golfers remain mic'd up throughout the team event.

The WTGL is also earning stamps of approval from several women's sports greats, as the Alex Morgan co-founded Trybe Ventures — an investment group that includes Morgan's fellow former USWNT stars Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach — became the new league's lead capital partner last week.

The WSL is cashing in on the women's game, with two UK clubs surpassing €25 million in annual revenue for the first time, according to the Deloitte Football Money League report on the 2024/25 season that dropped this week.

Reigning UWCL champions Arsenal topped the list for the first time after taking in €25.6 million last season, followed closely by WSL title-holders Chelsea FC's €25.4 million.

Meanwhile, Perennial European contender FC Barcelona (€22 million) dropped to third after leading the group in 2023/24, outpacing WSL titans No. 4 Manchester City (€12.9 million) and No. 5 Manchester United (€12.8 million).

Due to a lack of revenue data, the yearly study did not include major women's leagues in the US, Sweden, or Australia, giving the rankings a European bent as the total sum crossed the €150 million mark for the first time — a 35% increase over the previous season's Top-15 Money League clubs.

Commercial income was the biggest revenue driver for many top clubs, with sponsorship deals and brand partnerships leading the charge.

Arsenal also benefitted from increased revenue on the men's side, allowing the women's team to up its investment while avoiding running at a loss.

How to watch the top Deloitte Football Money League clubs in action

Deloitte Football Money League leader Arsenal will take on No. 5 Man United while revenue runners-up Chelsea will face the WSL-leading Man City in the 2025/26 Women's League Cup semifinals on Wednesday.

The concurrent clashes will kick off at 2 PM ET, streaming live on YouTube.