Welcome to NWSL opening weekend, starting with the Challenge Cup and six regular season games — including the debut of the brand new soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, and both new expansion teams Utah Royals FC (who have been here before) and Bay FC.
It should be an eventful weekend of soccer, but with the start of the 2024 season also comes the larger project of making sure fans know where to watch the games thanks to new media partners in Amazon Prime Video, ION/Scripps, and ESPN, along with the return of CBS.
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The good news is that there are some regular standing appointments for the league: Amazon Prime Video on Friday nights and ION on Saturdays, but it’s certainly an adjustment from last year’s approach — which largely relied on Paramount+ for watching.
International fans have it considerably easier: everything will be on NWSL+ to stream for free.
More from The Athletic:
- How can NWSL fans watch every match this season? What to know about broadcast, schedule changes
- NWSL players to watch: One key performer for every team’s 2024 season
- Where does NWSL stand entering 2024 season? A focus on player health, incremental growth
- NWSL commissioner on players getting ‘squeezed’ by calendar, World Cup momentum and more
- NWSL kit tiers: The good, the okay and the yuck as every team gets two new looks
NWSL Challenge Cup: Gotham FC vs. San Diego Wave
Friday, March 15 at 8 p.m. ET
Red Bull Arena — Harrison, NJ
Friday night’s Challenge Cup match-up between last year’s shield winners, San Diego Wave FC, and last year’s championship victors, NJ/NY Gotham FC, will stream on Amazon Prime Video. The league has a hub here on the Amazon site, but you can also stream via the Prime Video app on your phone or other devices.
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You do not need an Amazon Prime membership to use Prime Video, but to sign up for it as a standalone service outside of a Prime membership will cost $8.99/month. Otherwise, it’s included for Prime members (ad-free does costs extra).
Kansas City Current vs. Portland Thorns FC
Saturday, March 16 at 1 p.m. ET
CPKC Stadium — Kansas City, MO
The big kick-off for the grand opening of CPKC Stadium will air on ABC on Saturday afternoon, but also be available via ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes (with Spanish-language commentary). ESPN announced earlier this week that former NWSL and USWNT player Ali Krieger will lead their NWSL coverage. She’ll take part in a 30-minute pregame show on ABC (and ESPN+) on Saturday afternoon with Sebastian Salazar at 12:30 p.m. ET.
The Standard.@cpkcstadium | #KCBABY pic.twitter.com/7u4t34iHDU
— KC Current (@thekccurrent) March 13, 2024
According to ESPN PR, the lead-in show will also include some interviews, and for any Star Wars fans: Daisy Ridley will be voicing the opening tease.
Racing Louisville FC vs. Orlando Pride
Saturday, March 16 at 4 p.m. ET
Lynn Family Stadium — Louisville, KY
Welcome to the first test of NWSL+ for the 2024 season!
NWSL+ will be free to stream games, with its dedicated website, plus the league has apps for Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku.
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North Carolina Courage vs. Houston Dash
Saturday, March 16 at 7 p.m. ET
WakeMed Soccer Park— Cary, NC
Ashley Sanchez will make her North Carolina debut on NWSL+.
Utah Royals FC vs. Chicago Red Stars
Saturday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET
America First Field— Sandy, UT
Utah Royals FC will make their return to the league on ION. While the network will usually air a Saturday night double-header, there’s actually no late game on Saturday during this opening weekend.
ION has started social channels for their NWSL coverage, but they also have a dedicated website for the league as well. You can either check to see if ION is on linear television in your area, or you can sign in with select existing streaming services.
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Seattle Reign FC vs. Washington Spirit
Sunday, March 17 at 6:00 p.m. ET
Lumen Field— Seattle, WA
It’s going to be weird to not have Megan Rapinoe on the field in Seattle (though the team just announced they’d be retiring her no. 15 jersey later this summer), but the team has its first game of the year on NWSL+.
Angel City FC vs. Bay FC
Sunday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET
BMO Stadium— Los Angeles, CA
Finally, Angel City hosts new expansion team Bay FC in the final match of opening weekend on NWSL+.
And when in doubt…
The NWSL has its own guide to watching games here — and as a friendly reminder, The Athletic and its writers are not going to be versed in any tech issues with any of these services. If you have problems, it’s always best to ask the league or the specific provider or streaming service.
Pair that guide with the league’s schedule, which has broadcast and/or streaming information for every game, and you should be good to go.
(Top photo: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
