The 2025 NWSL schedule dropped today! I got so excited that I immediately stopped doing laundry (like I needed an excuse) and sat down to write about how the league schedule will impact the upcoming season of Fantasy NWSL.
One note: Especially for those of you joining us from the ShePlays WSL or UWCL competitions, it’s important to remember that there is a very high level of parity and top-to-bottom competitiveness in the NWSL that isn’t always seen in other leagues. That makes it difficult to assess things like fixture difficulty or schedule favorability before (or even during) the season. However, we can assess the schedule in other ways, like so…
- There will be a pause in the regular season during the entire month of July while various confederation championships are played, so the 2025 season will somewhat resemble the 2023 season in structure. However, there are two big differences! First, though the Euros, WAFCON, Copa America Feminina, and the OFC Women’s Nations Cup are are being held in July, CONCACAF and the AFC are not holding major competitions this year. Second, NWSL teams will be able to play non-league teams during the break. Like last season, these games should allow teams to give more players more minutes. Also, depending on how each international tournament shakes out, players participating in the tournaments may get some additional rest once the regular season resumes. That means that players from CONCACAF and AFC nations could be little more valuable from a fantasy perspective for the rounds immediately following the end of the international break.
- The NWSL has announced that (almost) each regular season weekend will begin with a Friday night match, which will start at either 8 pm ET or 10 pm ET. That means that the FNWSL deadlines will be very consistent for much of the season (other than potential double rounds), so just remember to set a reminder for Friday evening all season!
- Speaking of potential double rounds, Gotham visits Portland on Tuesday, April 22nd, which will likely mean a double round in either Round 5 or 6 for those teams. Neither team will play league matches during the weekend of May 23 (they’ll be in Mexico for the W Champions Cup final weekend!), so we are potentially also looking at a blank week for Gotham and Portland around Round 10. This is all hypothetical at the moment, so stay tuned for the official FNWSL round schedule!
- Somewhere around Round 16 or 17, we will see the first Monday match (Seattle v. Chicago) and Thursday match (Angel City v. Orlando) of the season. The (not Red) Stars will have a VERY quick turnaround, as they return from the West Coast to play host to North Carolina on Friday, August 22nd. I don’t love that for Chicago players, but watch Mal Swanson get a hattrick against the Courage right after I take her out of my fantasy lineup.
- The other non-Friday deadlines will be Thursday, September 18th (maybe Round 22) and Sunday, November 2nd (the final round).
- Speaking of, Decision Day is back! After a one season hiatus, all matches on the final day of the regular season will occur on the same day. Two of these games will air on ESPN domestically as a double header, with the remainder airing simultaneously on NWSL+. While we don’t know exactly what that means for timing, the good news is that we should have all injury information updated for every team before the final round of the FNWSL season kicks off, and we might even have most of the lineups – which should make it easier to win your mini-league on the final day!
What are your thoughts on the 2025 schedule? Comment or tweet @MansersAnswers!