The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has made inroads in the women’s soccer scenario for some time now. The push for a stable women’s soccer league turned successful following massive investments and interest in the game. Automatically, there are far greater plans to make NWSL one of the premier women’s leagues in the world. However, there’s a roadblock to the league’s second division plans, as now confirmed by NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman.
The NWSL commissioner announced that the plans for a Division II league had been put on hold. Logistics issues could probably limit the league’s start with the 2026 World Cup arriving in the USA. Instead, according to a tweet from NWSL soccer insider Jeff Kassouf, the league will launch in 2027. Kassouf tweeted, “The #NWSL’s proposed second division will NOT launch in 2026, commissioner Jessica Berman confirms. The focus for that league’s potential launch is now 2027.”
The delay raised concerns among the stakeholders who had expected to roll out the teams in the league. Creating a second division league would help the NWSL in the long run. Berman acknowledged the delay, and 2027 will be the introductory year. The league filed an application with the U.S. Soccer in April to develop the league. Attempting to go similarly to Minor League Baseball, various logistics issues become a hassle for the league’s establishment. Moreover, the eight Division II teams mentioned in the application were about to play in the Division I teams’ stadiums. With the 2026 World Cup arriving next year, this would add to the infrastructure issues affected by the World Cup.
Berman stated, “We are focused on 2027 now. The decision to file, essentially, was to preserve optionality. We are and have been for the better part of the last year analyzing how and what the best mechanism is to support the space just below the first team environment.”
Having a stable environment helps the process be fast-tracked, as Berman also said, according to CBS Sports, “We do continue to believe that’s the place where we need to play a role, and we’re still evaluating the best way to do that, so we made the decision to extend the horizon for our launch.” With multiple cities and ownership groups interested in expansion, Berman’s postponement of launch could be due to various critical reasons.
Potential reasons for Jessica Berman’s NWSL Division II league postponement
Undoubtedly, the 2026 World Cup remains the most critical event for the USA and its neighbouring countries. In fact, the USA’s stadiums are massive and can hold many people. However, the main talking point would be getting into those stadiums. For example, fans must reach the AT&T Stadium by car, as no mass transit is available. Hence, if the NWSL Division II arrives in 2026, the logistics issues would derail the competition. Training facilities would also be provided to the World Cup teams, and scheduling conflicts pose a significant risk for every team.
Likewise, operation complexity comes in as the 2026 FIFA World Cup could overlap many of the same venues for NWSL teams. The need for additional planning to settle affiliation details, club participation, and financial and competitive sustainability puts roadblocks to the Division II plans. “We did make the decision to stop play during the group stage, importantly, so that’s a time where we think it will be literally impossible for us to play,” said Berman.
Yet, with the NWSL growing to far greater heights in recent seasons, it could be worth the wait. With the establishment of a proper structure and financial sustainability, they can bring more talented soccer players to the league.