The NWSL Challenge Cup will have a new look in 2024, as the league announced the tournament has been shifted to a single game played between the Shield and Championship winners to kick off the regular season.
The game between the Shield-winning San Diego Wave FC and Championship-winning NJ/NY Gotham FC will take place on March 15 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, kicking off at 8:00 pm EDT and streaming live on Prime Video.
As we prepare for the upcoming changes this season, a look at the history of the NWSL Challenge Cup is in order.
2020
The NWSL Challenge Cup has historically been played in a round-robin tournament format, evolving with league needs and responding to player concerns with each iteration in its four-year history.
Originally serving as a replacement to the 2020 NWSL season in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup was held in Sandy, Utah played exclusively at Rio Tinto Stadium in a bubble environment with no fans present. The Houston Dash would defeat the Chicago Red Stars 2-0 to win the inaugural trophy, the first in Houston Dash history. Rachel Daly was named Tournament MVP. The group stage of the 2020 tournament included nine teams, with the Orlando Pride withdrawing due to violation of league protocol.
2021
The 2021 Challenge Cup was reformatted to take place prior to the NWSL regular season, with teams able to play in their home stadiums. All ten teams in the league participated, broken into two groups of five teams. Each team would play every opponent in their division, with the winners of each division facing off in the Challenge Cup final.
NJ/NY Gotham FC, the North Carolina Courage, Orlando Pride, Washington Spirit, and Racing Louisville FC competed in the East Division, while the Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, Kansas City Current (then known as KC NWSL), Portland Thorns FC, and Seattle Reign FC (then known as OL Reign) competed in the West Division.
Gotham won the East Division with two wins and two draws, and would face Portland in the final, who won the West Division with three wins and one draw. Portland’s best-of-the-league record earned them a home-field advantage, with the final played at Providence Park.
The match went to penalties immediately after regulation time ended with a 1-1 draw, Portland winning 6-5 in seven round of penalties.
The North Carolina Courage’s Debinha was named 2021 Tournament MVP and led the competition in goals scored with 3.
2022
The addition of two new teams, San Diego Wave FC and Angel City FC, in 2022 once again changed the tournament format. Teams were split into three divisions of four teams, playing a six-game group stage with matches home and away against each divisional opponent. The three top teams qualified for the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup semifinals, as well as the best runner-up of the three divisions. Due to scheduling, the 2022 Challenge Cup semifinals and final overlapped with the start of the NWSL regular season. This resulted in some controversy over field availability and Week 2 matches being moved to accommodate the final.
The North Carolina Courage, NJ/NY Gotham FC, Orlando Pride, and Washington Spirit competed in the East Division, the Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, Kansas City Current, and Racing Louisville FC competed in the Central Division, and Angel City FC, Seattle Reign FC (then known as OL Reign), Portland Thorns FC, and San Diego Wave FC competed in the West Division.
The North Carolina Courage would advance out of the East Division with three wins and three draws, the Kansas City Current would advance out of the Central Division with four wins, one draw, and one loss, and OL Reign would advance out of the West Division with four wins and two draws. The best runner-up came down to goal difference, with the Washington Spirit’s two wins and four draws earning ten points to tie the Portland Thorns’ ten points from three wins, one draw, and two losses in the group stage. The Spirit’s +5 goal difference bested the Thorns’ +3, seeing Washington through to the semifinals.
Seeding of the division winners based on points, with the runner-up to advance automatically seeded fourth, set up the semifinal matches as follows:
1 OL Reign v 4 Washington Spirit
2 Kansas City Current v 3 North Carolina Courage
Due to conflicts regarding the use of the Reign’s home field, the semifinal between OL Reign and the Washington Spirit would be played at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. on May 4, just three days after the season-opening clash between the two on May 1 at the same venue. Washington would advance on penalties 9-8 after playing to a 0-0 draw in regulation. Kansas City hosted North Carolina at Children’s Mercy Park but would fall to the Courage 2-1.
The 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup Championship was played on May 7 at Sahlen’s Stadium in Cary, NC between the North Carolina Courage and Washington Spirit. The Courage won 2-1, and Debinha was again named Tournament MVP.
2023
The 2023 Challenge Cup was played in a similar format to the 2022 tournament, but moved from being a preseason tournament to being played throughout the regular season, with matches played midweek and during international breaks. Players had voiced concerns in previous years regarding schedule and injury risk, and the new format was suggestive of minimizing these concerns. Divisions remained the same for the 2023 tournament as they were in 2022.
North Carolina again led the East Divison, with three wins, two draws, and a loss; Kansas City likewise dominated the Central Division, with four wins, one draw, and one loss; and OL Reign again advanced from the West Division with four wins and two draws. With their best Challenge Cup performance to date, Racing Louisville FC earned the fourth seed as the best runner-up of the three divisions, earning 12 points from four wins and two losses.
The semifinal matchups were as follows:
1 OL Reign v 4 Racing Louisville FC
2 Kansas City Current v 3 North Carolina Courage
OL Reign got to play their home semifinal at Lumen Field, but would fall 1-0 to Racing, while North Carolina again bested Kansas City, this time with a 1-0 scoreline. The 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup final was played at WakeMed Soccer Park for the second year in a row, seeing the Courage best Racing 2-0 after a three-hour inclement weather delay occurring just 11 minutes into the match. Kansas City’s Kristen Hamilton won Tournament MVP, leading the tournament with 5 goals.
2024
As we look to the 2024 season, North Carolina will be the first team unable to contend for the defense of their NWSL Challenge Cup title and a first-time Champion will be crowned.
The countdown to the NWSL season is on, and Red Bull Arena awaits. The March 15 Challenge Cup match will kick off at 8:00 pm EDT, streaming live on Prime Video.