OL Reign, NWSL unveil Fall Series

The 2020 NWSL season isn’t quite done yet. Despite some recent high-profile short-term loans and transfers to Europe, teams have returned to training in the past week and each will play four more matches over the next two months, the league announced today.

The NWSL Fall Series features three regional pods of three teams, with each team playing two home and two away matches against the other two members of their pod. OL Reign has been grouped with the Portland Thorns and Utah Royals FC in the West pod. The Northeast pod consists of the Chicago Red Stars, Sky Blue FC and the Washington Spirit, while the South pod includes North Carolina Courage, Orlando Pride and the Houston Dash.

“Building on the success of this summer’s Challenge Cup, I am so excited to smartly and safely take this next step on the NWSL’s journey,” said NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird in a league release. “The women of the NWSL want to compete and we’ve certainly heard from our fans all over the world looking for more action this year. I’d like to thank the NWSL Player’s Association for their constant collaboration, as well as CBS for continuing to invest in our league’s growth and this unprecedented opportunity to showcase the NWSL to a world-wide audience, week-in, week-out.”

The first games will be played on September 5, with matches continuing for seven weeks, through October 17. CBS will broadcast an NWSL Game of the Week every Saturday in September, while CBS Sports Network will air a game each Saturday in October. Four additional games in September will be streamed on CBS All Access. Broadcast details for the remaining 7 games and international broadcasts were not immediately available.

Schedules, competition rules, and other details will be released in the coming week.