Professional soccer in America is one step closer to a return, after the National Women’s Soccer League announced plans for a month-long, 25-game tournament called the Challenge Cup that'd begin June 27 in Utah.
The top-flight league, home to nine clubs across the United States, never began its seventh season this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There was great momentum building, though, after the U.S. women’s national team won the FIFA Women’s World Cup (second straight) in France last summer.
The Challenge Cup would start with four preliminary-round games and proceed into a knockout round, with eight clubs advancing to the single-elimination stage. The championship game is set for July 26.