NWSL Pauses June 2026 Season for Men's World Cup in Seven Cities

The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) will pause its 2026 season for nearly the entire month of June to accommodate the FIFA men's World Cup, which will be hosted across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico and runs from June 11 to July 19. Seven of the NWSL's 16 markets—Boston, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle—will host World Cup matches, with several training facilities potentially serving as base camps for visiting teams. The NWSL season will expand to 30 matches per team, up from 26, with the addition of two new teams from Boston and Denver, ensuring a balanced home-and-away schedule and added home games to boost revenue and media coverage. The 2026 Challenge Cup will begin earlier than usual on February 20, followed by a regular season kickoff on March 13. NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman noted that initial plans to play through the World Cup were reconsidered due to stadium and facility demands from FIFA, prompting the league-wide break to avoid scheduling conflicts and logistical challenges. Despite the June pause, the league will resume matches during the World Cup knockout stages while also incorporating a collective bargaining agreement–mandated break and avoiding FIFA international windows to maintain competitive integrity.