NWSL announced the framework of the 2023 season last year in November. The 11th season of the women’s league will commence on 25th March and end on 11th November, as per the framework. However, USWNT star Megan Rapinoe has taken a dig at the NWSL for delaying the schedule on her Instagram story. 

Last year they announced the schedule on 16th March, and the NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman during this year’s NWSL draft, said the timetable would come earlier this year. The clubs have already started preparations for the new season, with preseason camps awaiting the schedule. 

Megan Rapinoe takes a dig at NWSL for delaying the schedule

OL Reigns star Rapinoe, who is preparing for the new season with the club, has hit out at NWSL for delaying the schedule for this season. She took a dig at NWSL on her Instagram story, which shows a milk pack with the words, “Missing NWSL Schedule. Please call the players if found,” on it.

NWSL will consider the FIFA Women’s World Cup scheduled this year. The tournament will take place in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20. They want to limit regular season games during the period to let top players focus on the preparation for the World Cup. 

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The season will end on 11th November this year. It will be two weeks more than the last season because of the World Cup. All the teams will play a 22-game schedule this year, the same as last season. There will be a few changes this season for the Challenge Cup, which was played in the preseason for the last two years. 

Changes in the 2023 NWSL season

The principal change in the 2023 season will be the NWSL Challenge Cup format. It will be the fourth edition of the Cup that commenced in 2020. The first edition completely replaced the NWSL season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In the next two seasons, 2021 and 2022, they held the Cup in the preseason. However, from this season, the Challenge Cup will go concurrently with the regular season. It will consist of a six-week tournament that will run from April to September. Also, it will have three groups of four teams playing two round-robin games.

The four teams from the group stages will play in the semifinals on September 6, ahead of the final on September 9. It will also be the first-ever women’s professional soccer tournament to achieve pay equity. 

With 22 regular season games and six round-robin games in Challenge Cup, each team will play 28 games before the playoffs and Challenge Cup semifinals. But, what is missing is the schedule for the season, and Megan Rapinoe has already taken a dig into the missing schedule. 

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Let us know your thoughts on the missing schedule with the season commencing next month.