NWSL board of governors not expected to vote on fall to spring calendar flip this week

Getty Images

The NWSL's board of governors is not expected to vote on a calendar flip when it convene this week, intending to stick to the current spring-to-fall operation for the time being.

A switch to a spring-to-fall calendar has been a notable topic of discussion around the league for several months now, with commissioner Jessica Berman admitting on several occasions that the league and its stakeholders continue to explore the option. A decision on the issue is not believed to be imminent, though the topic was reportedly on the agenda for this week's meetings at one point, according to ESPN. Frequent updates to the agenda in the weeks, days and hours before such meetings is not uncommon.

"The NWSL has been actively evaluating its competition calendar, including the potential to align more closely with the international soccer landscape," a league spokesperson said in a statement to CBS Sports. "No decision has been made at this time. Any change of this magnitude will be thoughtfully considered and we are taking input from all key stakeholders."

Should the NWSL eventually decide to operate on a fall-to-spring calendar, it would align with the majority of its counterparts in Europe. It is not the first American soccer league to consider a calendar flip, nor would it be the first to actually make the decision – MLS officially voted to change their schedule last November and will usher in its first summer-to-spring season in 2027. The road to MLS' November announcement was a lengthy one, though, with the league's board of governors going back and forth on the details for a number of years before finally locking in a decision that increasingly felt inevitable.

The question of a calendar flip for MLS and one for the NWSL, though, is not apples to apples. While MLS' switch increasingly made sense in the league's competition for players, who are overwhelmingly more interested in summertime transfers before a season starts in most parts of the world, that is not exactly the case for the NWSL.

For the NWSL, the most pressing question is whether or not the league's teams have the facilities to support a calendar flip. Teams are rarely required to consistently train and play in cold weather conditions currently, an issue that usually only comes up during preseason and one that is frequently solved by trips to warmer climates like Florida or Spain. The calendar flip would pose a bigger facilities update for teams like Gotham FC, Boston Legacy and the Denver Summit, though would be the latest step in the league's overall emphasis on training sites and match venues. Training facilities that are specific to NWSL teams, rather than rented spaces at MLS grounds, have opened up in several markets across the U.S. and are increasingly important in expansion conversations. Incoming teams in Columbus, Ohio and Atlanta, both of which will enter the league in 2028, will have spaces specifically dedicated to NWSL teams despite sharing ownership groups with their local MLS teams.

"I'm sure [it does]," Berman told CBS Sports last week while celebrating Columbus' new team, addressing whether or not the topic of a calendar flip comes up in expansion talks. "More specifically, I think because our league plays beginning in early March through the end of November and there's only 52 weeks in a year, there's more overlap than not between a spring-to-fall and a fall-to-spring calendar so not to minimize the importance of the decision, but it is to say the expectation of any team in the NWSL is that you are able to both train and play in a variety of weather conditions. That is just the reality of the geographic footprint of this country."

Facilities remain a primary topic of concern for the NWSL Players Association, too, which has previously expressed its opposition to the calendar flip because of the league's current ability to seamlessly conduct the transition.

"The NWSLPA has engaged our Board of Player Representatives and broader membership on the question of whether NWSL should shift from a spring-to-fall to a fall-to-spring calendar," the union wrote in a statement earlier this month. "We recognize the pros and cons of each and acknowledge that factors outside our control – including the Women's International Match Calendar and limited control over facilities – are driving this conversation.

"We remain concerned, however, that the issue is being framed around the wrong question. The right question is not whether the league should flip the calendar, but whether the right conditions exist to do so responsibly. Right now, they do not. The ability to navigate weather-related disruptions depends on consistent control over facilities and operational flexibility across clubs, and that standard has not been met league-wide. Our top priorities in any scenario are protecting and promoting Player health, safety, and performance. As a general matter, a majority of Players polled on this question currently oppose flipping the calendar."

The decision to flip the calendar can be made at the league's sole discretion but the NWSL is required to give the Players Association at least a year's notice, according to the collective bargaining agreement. The league would also be required to set up a schedule committee that would include input from the union, as well as the establishment of an "extreme cold policy" much like it has an "extreme heat policy" that forced the delay of a match between the Kansas City Current and the Orlando Pride last year.