NWSL and USL Explore…

U.S. Soccer and the federation’s women’s professional leagues are in early discussions regarding a new interleague competition that could commence as early as 2028, according to multiple sources reported by ESPN.

Both the National Women’s Soccer League and USL Super League are recognized as first division leagues by U.S. Soccer, while the WPSL Pro is anticipated to debut as a second-division professional league in 2028.

It is still uncertain how amateur teams might participate in this proposed competition, sources indicated.

There are currently at least four organized amateur leagues that provide summer opportunities for college players, including the WPSL and USL W-League.

While the logistics of a potential competition are still being finalized, all three professional leagues have been included in discussions with the federation.

Historically, women’s soccer in the U.S. has been lacking an interleague event similar to the men’s U.S. Open Cup or England’s FA Cup, which also features a women’s variant.

A well-informed source, who chose to remain anonymous, mentioned that the proposed competition is not likely to be branded as an “Open Cup.”

As for the format and structure, the details are being approached with a fresh perspective rather than replicating the men’s U.S. Open Cup, as per the source’s comments.

A spokesperson for U.S. Soccer declined to provide further comments.

One significant challenge with the proposed idea would be scheduling.

The NWSL season typically starts at the beginning of the calendar year with playoffs occurring in November. After a recent decision in the board room to maintain the current scheduling format at least until 2030, which faced objection from players, the league plans to stay with its existing calendar.

The USL Super League begins in August and concludes in May, while WPSL Pro is expected to follow a spring-to-fall schedule similar to the NWSL when it launches in 2028.

Top amateur leagues primarily feature college players and generally operate from May to July.

The NWSL is also in the process of developing a reserve league, although updates on that initiative have been sparse since its announcement in April 2025. NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman noted in September that such a league wouldn’t debut before 2027 at the earliest.

Attempts to establish additional competitions within the NWSL have not been successful in the past.

Initially, the Challenge Cup was created as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and evolved into a league cup in subsequent years. Since 2024, it has become a one-off match between the winners of the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship, largely driven by sponsorship.

In 2024, the NWSL and Liga MX Femenil from Mexico collaborated for a summer crossover tournament, which faced criticism and was perceived as poorly executed by both leagues’ club executives.

The final took place in San Antonio, Texas, drew minimal attention in late October that year, and plans for the tournament were ultimately abandoned.

Nonetheless, an interleague competition could prove advantageous for all professional leagues, offering meaningful matches beyond the regular season. Outside of a few teams that qualify for the emerging Concacaf competition, such matchups are scarce.

Since the USL Super League began in August 2024, NWSL and USL teams have only met in a handful of friendly matches.