March 13, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) News Release
NEW YORK – Building on a year of unprecedented growth in 2023, the National Women’s Soccer League proudly opens its 2024 season this Friday, March 15, kicking off a historic campaign that will feature more players, more matches and more opportunities to watch the action than ever before.
WE PLAY HERE CAMPAIGN CONTINUES
In addition to the start of the season, the NWSL announced the return of its heralded WE PLAY HERE marketing campaign to kick off the 2024 season on Friday, March 15 with the call-to-action encouraging fans to Keep Up! Building upon the campaign’s 2023 debut, Keep Up continues to lean into the one-of-a-kind athleticism, competition and emotion of professional women’s soccer. It also captures the momentum of the league’s 12th campaign with four new broadcast partners, two new teams, and the unveiling of the first-ever stadium built specifically for women’s professional soccer.
OPENING WEEKEND
This year’s competition slate opens with the 2024 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup featuring a clash of champions in reigning NWSL titleholder NJ/NY Gotham FC and San Diego Wave FC, winner of the 2023 NWSL Shield, presented by CarMax, as the two clubs face off in a season curtain-raiser at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. ET and will stream live on Prime Video in the platform’s inaugural season of league coverage.
Following the Challenge Cup, the 2024 NWSL regular season kicks off in historic fashion on Saturday, March 16 as the Kansas City Current host Portland Thorns FC in a rematch of the 2022 NWSL Championship at CPKC Stadium, the world’s first purpose-built stadium for a women’s professional sports team. Kicking off at 1 p.m. ET, live coverage of the match will air on ABC.
The star-studded match features three 2023 MVP finalists in Portland midfielder Sam Coffey, Portland forward Sophia Smith, who took home the honor in 2022, and Kansas City midfielder Debinha. Smith and Debinha, both 2023 Ballon d’Or candidates, finished first and third, respectively, among all NWSL players in goals last season while Coffey led the league in assists.
Saturday’s action continues with a double-header on NWSL+, the league’s first-ever domestic direct-to-consumer streaming platform. The first match to stream on the platform begins at 4 p.m. ET and features a battle of Brazilian stars as Racing Louisville FC midfielder Ary Borges, who led all NWSL players with three goals during…