The NWSL Challenge Cup, currently known as the
UKG
Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG) is an American multinational technology company with dual headquarters in Lowell, Massachusetts, and Weston, Florida. It provides workforce management and human resource management services.
The company was founde ...
NWSL Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tournament organized by the
National Women's Soccer League
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...
(NWSL), the top-tier women's league in the
United States soccer league system
The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of prom ...
. The tournament is open to all NWSL teams.
The NWSL Challenge Cup was first held in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
as a one-off tournament to mark the league's return to action from the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
It was the first top-tier professional sports league in the United States to restart after COVID-19
lockdowns
A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison ...
began.
Subsequently, the NWSL announced that it would return as an annual
league cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
competition.
The current (2022) holders are the
North Carolina Courage
The North Carolina Courage is a professional women's soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina. It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acquired National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchise rights from the Western New York F ...
.
Records and statistics
Results by team
List of finals
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:NWSL Challenge Cup
National Women's Soccer League
National association football league cups
Women's association football competitions
Women's association football competitions in North America