NWSL announces return to play with 2020 Challenge Cup in Utah

In lieu of the 2020 season, the NWSL will host a month-long, 25-game tournament kicking off on June 27th.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought turmoil to the sports world, cancelling or postponing nearly every competition around the globe. The National Women’s Soccer League looks like it will be one of the first team-based sports to return to action, and likely the first on American soil.

On Wednesday, the league announced that there will be a month-long, 25-game tournament called the 2020 Challenge Cup played in the Salt Lake City area. Teams will have one month to prepare before the tournament kicks off on June 27th.

At the start of the tournament, each of the nine NWSL clubs will play four preliminary games to determine seeding. The top eight teams will move on to the quarterfinals, which begin the knockout portion of the tournament. The tournament opener and the championship game will be aired on CBS, while all 25 games will be aired on CBS All-Access.

The Championship Cup will be hosted by Dell Loy Hansen, owner of Utah Royals FC, who will be providing players with housing and will ensure that players training and competition is done in a safe and healthy environment. The league is trying to create an “NWSL Village,” similar to the Olympic Village, where players will be isolated.

Players, coaches, and staff will be tested 48 hours prior to their arrival in Utah, and will be tested consistently once they arrive at the tournament. Their symptoms will be monitored and they will receive regular temperature screenings. If a player tests positive once facilities are in use, the entire team will have to be quarantined. If a player tests positive once games have commenced, the opposing team will be quarantined as well if the game was played within 48 hours of the positive test.

All matches will be played at the Zions Bank Real Academy, Rio Tinto Stadium, and America First Credit Union Field. The first match of the tournament will be played at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah on June 27th and will be aired on CBS and CBS All-Access.