The league’s title match is scheduled to take place at Audi Field in November.
Audi Field will host a championship match this fall.
On Nov. 21, the NWSL Championship will be played in Washington, D.C., for the first time since 2022, when the Portland Thorns FC beat the Kansas City Current. The championship match has been held west of the Mississippi River — in San Diego, Kansas City and San Jose — for the past three years.
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“When we think about what we want in a championship host, it’s really about so much more than a stadium,” NWSL chief operating officer Sarah Jones Simmer said at a news conference Thursday. “We’re looking for a city that embraces soccer, a community that shows up for women’s sports, and on-the-ground partners who share our commitment to delivering a world class experience for players and fans alike. Washington, D.C. checks every single one of those boxes.”
Jones Simmer said the process of selecting the next year’s championship venue begins before the previous final is played. Before last year’s match in San Jose, the league was already in discussions with the Washington Spirit and MLS’s D.C. United to bring the event back to D.C.
“We have high standards for the facility itself,” Jones Simmer said. “It needs to be a world-class field that is capable of holding games at the highest level. This is a marquee event, so we are looking for a quality facility. But we really do look for strong fans and community. … While yes, we did host championship here in 2022, so much has changed in terms of the Spirit and their fans and the way this market shows up for women’s soccer. We’re excited to build on that legacy.”
The Spirit has consistently been near the top of the NWSL’s attendance rankings over the past several years. Last Saturday’s match against the Seattle Reign was the Spirit’s third sellout of the year — and announced as a sellout 11 days before the match, which the team said was the earliest sellout in franchise history.
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“For the Spirit, we’re extremely proud of this opportunity. And more importantly, I’m extremely happy for our fans,” Spirit CEO Kim Stone said. “They have earned this. This is really because of them. I think it’s a wonderful recognition, and this is also a wonderful recognition of this city. This is a city that shows up like few cities show up for women’s sports.”
The Spirit have lost in the NWSL final each of the past two years. As the league enters a month-long break for the men’s World Cup, the Spirit currently sits fourth in the overall standings.
If the Spirit keeps up its run of success, what’s scheduled as a neutral site for the championship game could become a home match.
“I think it’s excited the players that there is this opportunity,” Stone said. “We’ve always risen the atmosphere in the quarterfinals and semifinals to a new height, so I think knowing that we have that opportunity to do it again — I’ll just say, my motto is, ‘Third time’s the charm.’”
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