The NWSL's Board of Governors is no longer expected to vote on a potential calendar flip at this week's meeting, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN.
ESPN reported earlier this month that the league's board was expected to vote at its April meeting on whether to change the footprint of the season to begin in the fall and end in the spring, a potentially drastic change that has been debated within the league for years.
Meeting agendas, including major votes, change frequently right up until the start of a board meeting, as ESPN previously reported. The NWSL's board meetings will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in Portland, Oregon, sources confirmed.
Multiple sources said that major board votes can often be delayed when there is a belief that an agenda item lacks the necessary votes to pass. The board consists of NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman and mostly owners from the league's now 18 teams.
CBS Sports first reported the shift away from an expected board vote.
Flipping the calendar, like many major decisions, requires a supermajority, a source told ESPN.
Owners remain divided on the topic, sources told ESPN, with several sources describing a relatively even split between potential votes to keep the current calendar or change to fall-to-spring.
Owners still in favor of keeping the NWSL's current footprint, in which the season begins in February or March and ends in November, are concerned about financial challenges from poor attendance in the winter and the unknown costs of winterizing training facilities and game venues (under-field heating or indoor fields, for example), sources said.
ESPN previously reported that the NWSL board narrowly voted against flipping the calendar in late 2024.
Media rights are at least partly driving the timing of the renewed conversations, multiple sources said. The NWSL will soon negotiate its new media rights deals, which will begin in 2028.
Sources said that the recent intense discussions and league research are at least partly influenced by the need for answers for the next media deal - i.e., potential rights holders need to know when they would be expected to air games.
The polarizing debate over the calendar is multi-layered, however, including arguments around the timing of major FIFA tournaments and transfer windows, as well as weather and facilities.
Even if the board were to vote to flip the calendar, the implementation of the changes could take years.
The collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NWSL Players Association stipulates that the league must provide the union with at least one year's notice if it intends to flip the calendar. The CBA also states that the league holds sole discretion to make the decision, but it would be required to bargain with the union over any CBA item affected by such a change.
The NWSL Players Association said in a statement after ESPN's initial report on a potential calendar vote that most players opposed the idea of flipping the calendar. Weather and infrastructure investments to mitigate it are among the concerns expressed by the union.
"The right question is not whether the league should flip the calendar, but whether the right conditions exist to do so responsibly," the NWSLPA said in a statement earlier this month. "Right now, they do not. The ability to navigate weather-related disruptions depends on consistent control over facilities and operational flexibility across clubs, and that standard has not been met league-wide."
It is not immediately clear if or when the topic will next make it to a vote.
"The NWSL has been actively evaluating its competition calendar, including the potential to align more closely with the international soccer landscape," an NWSL spokesperson previously said in a statement to ESPN. "No decision has been made at this time. Any change of this magnitude will be thoughtfully considered, and we are taking input from all key stakeholders."
