A Summer Season Could Liberate Women's Football from Men's Game Constraints
The announcement that Major League Soccer (MLS) is transitioning from a summer to a winter season has sparked renewed discussions about the National Women's Soccer League's (NWSL) schedule. This debate is not new, as the NWSL has long weighed the advantages and disadvantages of aligning with the European calendar, which traditionally follows a winter schedule.
Benefits of Aligning with European Traditions
Aligning transfer windows would significantly boost competitiveness by simplifying the process of acquiring European-based players, especially during major tournament years. Currently, persuading clubs and players to part ways mid-season can be complex and daunting. Additionally, FIFA's calendar is more oriented towards winter, creating challenges with international windows and domestic seasons in the United States.
During the 2023 Women's World Cup, the NWSL paused for two weeks, causing clubs to lose their international players. The league also halted for a month during the 2024 Olympics and, for the first time, for major tournaments outside Concacaf in 2025, including the Copa América Femenina, Women's Euros, and Women's Africa Cup of Nations. This ensured the NWSL did not compete with or undermine broadcast and commercial deals for those events.
Challenges Posed by MLS's Switch
The move to a winter season by MLS introduces additional complications for the NWSL. This year, 12 of the 16 NWSL teams share grounds with MLS sides. While a split schedule might reduce fixture clashes, the MLS playoffs in May will conflict with the early NWSL season, eliminating a shared off-season for pitch maintenance. This context makes the NWSL season appear as an outlier, potentially forcing it to follow MLS's lead despite years of resistance.
Rethinking Women's Football's Place in the Ecosystem
Instead of conforming to European norms, perhaps it's time to reconsider how women's football fits into the broader football ecosystem. Broadcast slots and commercial deals in an oversaturated market, along with the men's game's reluctance to accommodate women's football, are common barriers to growth. A bold solution could be switching women's football globally to a summer season.
When Women's Professional Leagues Ltd (WPLL) took over England's top divisions from the Football Association, there was a push for clear broadcast slots. However, men's football's unwillingness to provide prime time or free women's games from the Saturday 3pm blackout has forced coverage into less desirable slots, hindering broadcast deals, commercial growth, and audience attendance.
Advantages of a Summer Calendar
Adopting a summer schedule would free women's football from scheduling nightmares in countries with dominant men's leagues. More broadcast slots would become available, allowing the women's game to tailor schedules to its audience. Commercial partners would benefit from increased visibility in a less crowded calendar, and ground-sharing issues with men's teams would diminish. Additionally, weather-related disruptions, such as frozen or waterlogged pitches, would be less frequent.
This is not unprecedented; the Women's Super League in England operated over the summer for six seasons starting in 2011, proving popular due to the enjoyable experience of watching football in sunny conditions.
Potential Complications and Solutions
High temperatures from March to November could pose challenges, similar to winter cold in other regions. Leagues like Sweden's Damallsvenskan, Norway's Toppserien, and Iceland's Besta deild kvenna already use summer schedules to avoid harsh winters. Adjusting kick-off times or implementing a two-week summer break could mitigate extreme weather. Stadium access issues, such as pitch relaying and off-season events, would need careful management.
Global Coordination for Change
Achieving this shift would require a complete overhaul of the calendar, involving FIFA, continental confederations, leagues, and clubs worldwide. Without the constraints of European traditions inherited from men's football, there is an opportunity to design a unique schedule that benefits players, fans, and the game's growth. While ambitious, radical changes have historically propelled women's football forward, making this a viable path for future development.
