Could NWSL mirror MLS calendar shift?

Months after Major League Soccer announced that it would shift its calendar to a fall-to-spring format, the NWSL could be on the verge of doing the same.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Kassouf, the league’s board of governors could vote on a shift “later this month.” It’s not the first time this has been discussed, though.

The NWSL’s board has debated changing the season footprint for at least three years, and a flip of the calendar was narrowly voted down in late 2024, ESPN previously reported. Intense debate over the topic has continued within league circles.

MLS’s switch, though, could have changed the minds of some NWSL owners. That said (speculating here), the league may be keen to see a “proof of concept” from before going all-in on a calendar change of their own.

Per Kassouf, this could take “years to implement,” so it’s probably not going to happen before the NWSL Atlanta club gets off the ground. In fact:

The NWSL’s new collective bargaining agreement … (added) an entire section (27.9) accounting for a schedule format change. That section requires the league to provide no less than one year’s notice to the NWSL Players Association if it intends to switch to a fall-to-spring format.

Even if the vote does pass later in the month, again, the NWSL may want to bide its time to see how MLS clubs handle the change before committing. We also don’t know if NWSL Atlanta representation will be part of the vote as well. Either way, we’ll keep you posted on what becomes of the vote, if anything.

Be sure to bookmark our NWSL Atlanta hub for the latest news and information leading up to the club’s launch in 2028.