TAMPA, Fla. - USL W League today announced the structure of the 2023 W League Playoffs, which will feature 16 teams for the first time and culminate the weekend of July 21-23. All playoff matches will be streamed live.  

The newly expanded playoffs will feature 16 teams from across the league’s four conferences, as well as introduce the use of pods to regionalize the early rounds of the playoffs.  

The 2023 playoffs aim to enhance competition amongst the league, regionalize travel with player welfare in mind and create more opportunities for teams to compete in post-season.  

The locations of all postseason matches will be determined via a bid process conducted by the League. Matchups, game times, and locations will be announced at a later date.  

2023 USL W League Playoff Qualifications are as follows:  

Eastern Conference: Mid Atlantic Division – Top team advances. Metropolitan Division – top two teams advance. A wild card bid will be awarded to the team with the highest points per game remaining from the Mid Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions. 

Central Conference: Great Lakes Division – Top team advances. Heartland Division – Top team advances. Valley Division – Top team advances. A wild card bid will be awarded to the team with the highest points per game remaining from the Great Lakes and Heartland Divisions. 

Southern Conference: South Atlantic – Top team advances. South Central – Top team advances. Southeast – Top team advances. A wild card bid will be awarded to the best second place team amongst the South Atlantic, South Central and Southeast Divisions. 

Western Conference: NorCal – Top two teams advance. Northwest – Top team advances. A wild card bid will be awarded to the team with the highest points per game remaining from the NorCal and Northwest Division.  

The following schedule outlines the date of each round of the 2023 W League Playoffs: 

• July 6-9: Conference Semifinals & Finals
• July 14-16: W League Semifinals 
• July 21-23: W League Final 

The 2023 USL W League season will kick off on May 6. Stay up to date by following the W League on Twitter and Instagram.