Historic Milestones
November 21, 2012 - The National Women’s Soccer League is founded with eight clubs, including the Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Kansas City, Portland Thorns FC, Seattle Reign FC, Sky Blue FC, Washington Spirit and Western New York Flash.
January 9, 2013 – Initial player allocation
January 18, 2013 – NWSL hosts its first College Draft
February 7, 2013 – NWSL Supplemental Draft
April 13, 2013 – The first NWSL match is played as FC Kansas City hosts Portland Thorns FC. Renae Cuéllar scored the first goal in league history for Kansas City in the 1-1 draw.
August 31, 2013 – Portland Thorns FC defeat the Western New York Flash, 2-0, in the first NWSL Championship.
December 11, 2013 – Houston Dynamo (MLS) awarded an NWSL expansion franchise
December 12, 2013 – Houston Dash team name and branding announced
January 10, 2014 – 2014 NWSL Expansion Draft
January 17, 2014 – 2014 NWSL College Draft
April 12, 2014 – 2014 NWSL season begins
August 30, 2014 – FC Kansas City defeats Seattle Reign in the second NWSL Championship
January 16, 2015 – 2015 NWSL College Draft
April 10, 2015 – 2015 NWSL season begins
October 1, 2015 – FC Kansas City defeats Seattle Reign FC in the 2015 NWSL Championship
October 20, 2015 – NWSL announces Orlando Pride as the league’s 10th team
November 2, 2015 – 2015 NWSL Expansion Draft
January 15, 2016 – 2016 NWSL College Draft
April 16, 2016 – 2016 NWSL season begins
October 9, 2016 – Western New York Flash defeat the Washington Spirit in the 2016 NWSL Championship
January 9, 2017 – Western New York Flash announce sale, relocation/rebrand to North Carolina Courage
January 12, 2017 – 2017 NWSL Draft
April 15, 2017 – 2017 NWSL season begins
October 14, 2017 – Portland Thorns defeat North Carolina Courage in the 2017 NWSL Championship
November 16, 2017 – Real Salt Lake (MLS) acquires the rights to an NWSL franchise, FC Kansas City folds, transfers contracts to Utah Royals FC
January 18, 2018 – 2018 NWSL Draft
January 28, 2018 – Boston Breakers cease operations
Marh 24, 2018 – 2018 NWSL season begins
September 22, 2018 – North Carolina Courage defeat Portland Thorns in the 2018 NWSL Championship, becoming the first team in league history to win the Shield and Championship in the same season
January 10, 2019 – 2019 NWSL Draft
January 30, 2019 – Seattle Reign FC rebrands as Reign FC
April 13, 2019 – 2019 NWSL season begins
October 22, 2019 – Louisville awarded expansion rights
October 27, 2019 – North Carolina Courage defeats Chicago Red Stars in the 2019 NWSL Championship, becoming the first team in league history to win the Championship on their home field
January 16, 2020 – 2020 NWSL Draft
March 6, 2020 – Reign FC rebrands as OL Reign
May 27, 2020 – 2020 NWSL regular season and playoffs canceled due to COVID-19, announces first Challenge Cup
June 27, 2020 – 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup begins
July 8, 2020 – Racing Louisville FC name/branding announced
July 21, 2020 – NWSL awards expansion rights to Los Angeles investor group
July 26, 2020 – Houston Dash defeat Chicago Red Stars in 2020 Challenge Cup Final
August 25, 2020 – NWSL announces Fall Series
September 5, 2020 – Fall series begins
October 17, 2020 – Portland Thorns win Fall Series
October 21, 2020 – Los Angeles expansion club announces Angel City FC name
November 18, 2020 – NWSL announces 2021 Challenge Cup will be a tournament taking place before the regular season
December 6, 2020 – Utah Royals cease operations, transfer player assets to new club Kansas City Current
January 13, 2021 – 2021 NWSL Draft
April 6, 2021 – Sky Blue announces name change to NJ/NY Gotham FC
April 9, 2021 – 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup begins
May 8, 2021 – Portland Thorns defeat Gotham FC in 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup Championship
May 15, 2021 – 2021 NWSL season begins
June 8, 2021 – San Diego awarded expansion rights
October 30, 2021 – Kansas City announces Kansas City Current name
November 9, 2021 – San Diego expansion club announces San Diego Wave FC name
November 20, 2021 – Washington Spirit defeat Chicago Red Stars in the 2021 NWSL Championship
December 16, 2021 – 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft (Angel City and San Diego)
December 18, 2021 – 2022 NWSL Draft
March 9, 2022 – Jessica Berman named NWSL Commissioner
March 18, 2022 – 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup begins
April 29, 2022 – 2022 NWSL season begins
May 6, 2022 – NWSL announces partnership with UKG, sponsoring 2023 Challenge Cup and expanding bonus pool to $1 million
May 7, 2022 – North Carolina Courage defeat Washington Spirit in 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup Championship
October 29, 2022 – Portland Thorns defeat Kansas City Current in 2022 NWSL Championship
January 12, 2023 – 2023 NWSL Draft
March 11, 2023 – Utah awarded expansion rights
March 25, 2023 – 2023 NWSL season begins
April 4, 2023 – Bay area awarded expansion rights
April 19, 2023 – 2023 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup begins
June 1, 2023 – Bay FC name/branding announced
September 9, 2023 – North Carolina Courage defeat Racing Louisville FC in 2023 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup Championship
September 19, 2023 – Boston awarded expansion rights
November 9, 2023 - NWSL announces landmark media partnerships with CBS Sports, ESPN, Prime Video and Scripps Sports
November 11, 2023 – NJ/NY Gotham FC defeats OL Reign in the 2023 NWSL Championship
December 15, 2023 – 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft (Bay and Utah)
January 9, 2024 – OL Reign rebrands as Seattle Reign FC
January 12, 2024 – 2024 NWSL Draft
March 15, 2024 – San Diego Wave defeats Gotham FC in newly-reformatted UKG NWSL Challenge Cup
March 16, 2024 – Kansas City Current open CPKC Stadium, the first stadium purpose-built for a women’s professional sports team