# NWSL through the years: sources and conventions

Researched September 12, 2026. The dataset covers actual NWSL membership from 2013 through 2026. It does not project future expansion. WUSA, WPS and USL Super League belong to separate league views; their earlier seasons are not inserted into the NWSL timeline.

## What a season means

Each year is one snapshot of the clubs that played NWSL competition that year, with the public identity used during that season. The map measures great-circle distance from each full county or Canadian census-division geographic centroid to a representative point in the club's principal home municipality. These are city/place anchors, not stadium coordinates, population centers, nearest boundary points, driving distances or fan territories. The same municipality uses the same point as the MLS/USL datasets where available.

Where a club changes its principal home during a season, the established new home is used for that annual snapshot. Occasional alternate venues, postseason neutral sites and traveling tournaments do not create extra teams or separate annual moves. Washington's split 2021–22 schedule uses Washington, D.C.; Denver's 2026 snapshot uses its new principal home in Centennial. The notes below describe these choices. A current next-match link can therefore legitimately point to a different city than the historical map anchor.

**2020 is a competition year, not a regular-season table.** No normal NWSL regular season was played. All nine clubs participated in the regional Fall Series. Orlando withdrew from the summer Challenge Cup but returned for the Fall Series, so it remains on this map. The Challenge Cup's neutral Utah bubble does not move every club to Utah. Sky Blue's Fall Series home was MSU Soccer Park in Little Falls; Washington's was Segra Field in Leesburg. Sources: [NWSL history of the Shield](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/history-of-the-nwsl-shield), [Fall Series announcement naming all nine clubs](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/nwsl-to-continue-breakout-2020-season-with-fall-series), [Challenge Cup announcement](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/nwsl-announces-2020-challenge-cup-presented-by-pg-and-secret), [Spirit Fall Series home announcement](https://washingtonspirit.com/blog/2020/09/01/washington-spirit-to-face-sky-blue-in-fall-series-debut-september-5-on-cbs/), [Sky Blue home match at MSU](https://washingtonspirit.com/blog/2020/10/03/spirit-best-sky-blue-1-0-after-yokoyama-strikes-in-fall-series-finale/).

## Membership checks

The founding roster and home communities are recorded in the [Houston Dash's contemporary NWSL primer](https://www.houstondynamofc.com/houstondash/news/national-womens-soccer-league-primer). The [NWSL milestones timeline](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/nwsl-media-kit-events-and-milestones) and [league retrospective](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/class-is-in-session-nwsl-playoffs-history-from-2013-to-2024) provide the expansion and closure chronology. The [2026 competition rules, participating teams section](https://images.nwslsoccer.com/image/private/t_q-good/prd/tstudhfledlk7z8ygtzd.pdf) lists the sixteen current clubs. Some legacy NWSL articles depend on the site's client-rendered news archive; the specific club statements and media guides below provide corroboration.

| Season | Clubs | Membership change |
| --- | ---: | --- |
| 2013 | 8 | Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Kansas City, Portland Thorns, Seattle Reign, Sky Blue, Washington Spirit and Western New York Flash |
| 2014 | 9 | Houston Dash enter |
| 2015 | 9 | Same membership |
| 2016 | 10 | Orlando Pride enter |
| 2017 | 10 | Western New York's NWSL franchise moves to North Carolina as the Courage |
| 2018 | 9 | Boston and FC Kansas City close; original Utah Royals enter |
| 2019 | 9 | Same membership |
| 2020 | 9 | All nine play the Fall Series; no normal regular season |
| 2021 | 10 | Original Utah winds down; Kansas City and Racing Louisville enter |
| 2022 | 12 | Angel City and San Diego Wave enter |
| 2023 | 12 | Same membership |
| 2024 | 14 | Bay FC and the revived Utah Royals enter |
| 2025 | 14 | Same membership; Chicago's new name takes effect |
| 2026 | 16 | Boston Legacy and Denver Summit enter |

Additional membership evidence: [NWSL's 2017 partnership announcement confirms the first two expansions](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/nwsl-and-ae-networks-announce-historic-partnership); [Boston closure announcement explicitly lists the nine 2018 clubs](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/nwsl-announces-boston-breakers-to-cease-operations); [2021 Kansas City expansion announcement](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/kansas-city-returns-to-the-nwsl-as-expansion-team-in-2021); [NWSL club information](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/nwsl-media-kit-club-information); [official current team directory](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/teams/index).

## Club lineage, identities and principal home communities

- **Boston Breakers, 2013–17:** Dilboy Stadium in Somerville in 2013, then Harvard's facilities in Boston from 2014. Harvard Stadium and Jordan Field are in Allston, Boston; the university's Cambridge mailing identity is not the map city. The club ceased operations before the 2018 season. This is separate from Boston Legacy. Sources: [contemporary league primer](https://www.houstondynamofc.com/houstondash/news/national-womens-soccer-league-primer), [Harvard's 2014 special-events report hosted by Boston's planning agency](https://www.bostonplans.org/documents/planning/institutional-planning/higher-education/special-events-study-2014-04-30), [NWSL closure announcement](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/nwsl-announces-boston-breakers-to-cease-operations).

- **Chicago, 2013–26:** Lisle through 2015; Bridgeview from 2016 through 2025; Evanston in 2026. A single Evanston game in 2025 does not move that year's principal home. Red Stars become Chicago Stars FC for 2025. The 2017 crest revision is distinct from that later name change. Sources: [club's September 2025 match notes, venue history](https://chicagostars.com/assets/2025/09/RS-M19-CHI-vs-ORL-Match-Notes.pdf), [new name and crest announcement](https://chicagostars.com/news/chicago-red-stars-unveil-new-name-and-crest/), [official 2026 Evanston home announcement](https://chicagostars.com/news/in-a-transformational-move-chicago-stars-fc-name-northwestern-medicine-field-at-martin-stadium-the-clubs-home-for-the-2026-national-womens-soccer-league-season/).

- **FC Kansas City, 2013–17:** Overland Park, Kansas in 2013; Kansas City, Missouri from 2014 (Durwood in 2014, later Swope). The league explicitly announced that the club ceased operations. Its player contracts and other assets transferred to a new Utah team; this dataset does not silently merge FC Kansas City with either the Royals or the later Current. Sources: [2013 home in the contemporary primer](https://www.houstondynamofc.com/houstondash/news/national-womens-soccer-league-primer), [UMKC's January 2014 home-field announcement](https://kcroos.com/news/2014/1/8/209366286), [NWSL cessation announcement](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/nwsl-announces-that-fc-kansas-city-will-cease-operations).

- **Portland Thorns, 2013–26:** Portland throughout. The primary crests are dated 2013, 2014–17 and 2018 onward. The heritage rose design used on later apparel is not substituted for the primary mark. Source: [contemporary home listing](https://www.houstondynamofc.com/houstondash/news/national-womens-soccer-league-primer); dated primary-mark catalog entries and current official artwork are recorded in the logo manifest.

- **Reign, 2013–26:** Seattle Reign FC play in Tukwila in 2013, then Seattle in 2014–18. Reign FC play in Tacoma in 2019; OL Reign remain there in 2020–21. OL Reign return to Seattle for 2022–23; Seattle Reign FC and the queen crest return in 2024. Sources: [official 2019 move announcement](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/big-moves-for-reign-fc-new-venue-new-city-new-minority-owners), [2022 club media guide, history section](https://s3.amazonaws.com/nwslsoccer.com/documents/2022/5/17/2022_OL_Reign_Media_Guide.pdf), [2026 club media guide, history section](https://images.nwslsoccer.com/image/private/t_q-good/prd/ytmng28xegmpdhk87has.pdf).

- **Sky Blue / Gotham, 2013–26:** Piscataway through 2019, excluding two 2019 showcase games in Harrison. The 2020 Fall Series used MSU Soccer Park in Little Falls. Although some match reports use Montclair's postal/university name, [an official Red Bulls report locates that field in Little Falls](https://www.newyorkredbulls.com/news/red-bulls-dc-united-reserves-play-1-1-tie). The regular-season home is Harrison from 2021, despite two temporary 2021 Challenge Cup matches at MSU. The name changes to NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2021; from 2025 the display follows the club's shorter public style, Gotham FC. That last label change is not a claim about its legal corporate name. Sources: [Gotham's 2021 debut and venue announcement](https://www.gothamfc.com/news/njny-gotham-fc-ready-for-debut-in-2021-nwsl-challenge-cup-opener), [2025 club announcement using Gotham FC](https://www.gothamfc.com/news/gotham-fc-announces-2025-technical-staff).

- **Washington Spirit, 2013–26:** Boyds through 2019, when Maryland SoccerPlex remained the principal home despite selected Audi/Segra games; Leesburg for the 2020 Fall Series; Washington, D.C. from 2021. Audi was the main of two home grounds in 2021–22, becoming the full-time home in 2023. Black, white and chrome branding begins in 2023, not 2024. Sources: [2019 statement describing the earlier schedule](https://washingtonspirit.com/blog/2019/11/12/washington-spirit-to-play-2020-games-at-audi-field-segra-field-and-the-maryland-soccerplex/), [2020 home schedule](https://washingtonspirit.com/blog/2020/09/01/washington-spirit-to-face-sky-blue-in-fall-series-debut-september-5-on-cbs/), [official 2021 regular-season venue schedule](https://washingtonspirit.com/blog/2021/05/07/el-washington-spirit-anuncia-el-calendario-de-transmisiones-de-la-temporada-regular-del-2021/), [2023 full-time Audi confirmation](https://washingtonspirit.com/blog/2023/03/25/preview-washington-spirit-set-to-open-2023-season-at-audi-field-against-ol-reign/). Branding corroboration is in the logo manifest.

- **Western New York Flash, 2013–16 / North Carolina Courage, 2017–26:** Rochester then Cary. These have separate local-identity records, with the sale and relocation explicitly described rather than counted as expansion. The NWSL franchise rights were acquired in January 2017. The Flash's later activity outside NWSL is not included here. Sources: [Courage club media guide, About the Courage](https://images.nwslsoccer.com/image/private/t_q-good/prd/febwk5imwdenuhemnizi.pdf), [NWSL's 2017 retrospective](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/class-is-in-session-nwsl-playoffs-history-from-2013-to-2024).

- **Utah, 2018–20 and 2024–26:** Both versions play in Sandy. Original Utah winds down after 2020; a new Royals organization begins competition in 2024. This dataset uses `utah-royals-original` and `utah-royals`, preserving the inactive 2021–23 gap and separate crests. The league sometimes aggregates the two periods under the retained Royals identity; separate operational records here do not deny that shared branding/history. Sources: [2021 Kansas City expansion and Utah wind-down statement](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/kansas-city-returns-to-the-nwsl-as-expansion-team-in-2021), [NWSL club information showing both Utah periods](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/nwsl-media-kit-club-information), [2024 league kit launch including the returning Royals](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/nwsl-and-nike-launch-vibrant-new-kits-ahead-of-the-2024-season).

- **Kansas City Current, 2021–26:** A new expansion club plays as Kansas City NWSL at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas in 2021. The Current name/crest is unveiled at halftime of the last 2021 match; the annual 2021 map retains the inaugural playing identity. Current applies from 2022, at Children's Mercy Park in the same Kansas municipality through 2023. CPKC Stadium moves the anchor to Kansas City, Missouri in 2024. Sources: [2022 venue announcement identifying the earlier home](https://www.kansascitycurrent.com/news/kansas-city-nwsl-to-play-2022-home-matches-at-childrens-merc), [Current name announcement](https://www.kansascitycurrent.com/news/kansas-city-current-reveals-name-and-crest-at-inaugural-seas), [NWSL 2024 opening-week notes on CPKC](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/week-1-preview-nwsl-pitch-notes).

- **Houston, Orlando, Racing Louisville, Angel City, San Diego and Bay FC:** The NWSL starts are 2014, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2022 and 2024 respectively. Home-city anchors are Houston, Orlando, Louisville, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose. Same-city venue changes do not create map moves. Houston's current crest starts in 2021. Sources: [NWSL milestones](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/nwsl-media-kit-events-and-milestones), [league club information](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/nwsl-media-kit-club-information), [current league directory](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/teams/index), plus individual crest announcements in the logo manifest.

- **Boston Legacy, 2026:** Foxborough is the primary anchor because Gillette hosts the majority of the inaugural home schedule; selected games are in Pawtucket. This is a distinct organization from the Breakers. No announced later move is projected into this dataset. Sources: [official primary/select venue announcement](https://bostonlegacyfc.com/blogs/press/boston-legacy-football-club-play-select-matches-centreville-bank-stadium-gillette-2026), [2026 schedule](https://bostonlegacyfc.com/blogs/press/boston-legacy-football-club-2026-nwsl-schedule-gotham-first-game).

- **Denver Summit, 2026:** Centennial represents the principal home from July 18 onward. The inaugural home opener in Denver and spring games in Commerce City are explicit exceptions, not three simultaneous teams. Source: [club's official venues page describing all three 2026 homes](https://www.denversummitfc.com/venues/), [inaugural schedule](https://www.denversummitfc.com/news/club-announcement/denver-summit-fc-announces-inaugural-2026-nwsl-season-schedule/).

## Coordinates, color and artwork

Coordinates are representative place points in longitude/latitude order. Existing cities reuse the checked-in MLS or USL anchors so the same municipality cannot accidentally produce a false distance advantage between leagues. New anchors were read from OpenStreetMap's Nominatim place results on September 12, 2026: [Lisle relation 125477](https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/125477), [Evanston relation 123419](https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/123419), [Centennial relation 112951](https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/112951), [Somerville relation 1933746](https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/1933746), [Boyds node 158422270](https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/158422270), [Little Falls relation 170729](https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/170729). Queries used the city and state, `format=jsonv2`, `limit=1` and `countrycodes=us`. Boyds is a named community rather than an incorporated municipality. These convenient anchors are intentionally approximate; they are not independently measured city geometric centroids. OpenStreetMap data is available under the [ODbL](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright).

The 31 downloaded crest files and their exact URLs, dated identity ranges and source notes are listed in [nwsl-logo-sources.json](/data/nwsl-logo-sources.json). Current art comes from the official NWSL team directory; older primary marks use the dated catalog evidence specified there. The transparent WebP files are capped at 320 pixels on their longest side, with lossless transparency and high-quality color compression. Transparent originals are preferred; source white lettering, panels and outlines remain part of the badge. Any exterior-background cleanup, replacement source, dimensions, byte size and checksum are documented per file. The map uses primary club marks; championship stars and commemorative kit variations are not reconstructed individually unless already present in the selected sourced primary artwork. Club marks remain their owners' trademarks; the source manifest makes no claim that they are public-domain or freely licensed.

Territory fill colors are editorial approximations drawn from each identity's visible palette, not an official brand-specification database. A fill is a map aid and does not imply supporter allegiance or an exclusive club territory.